Herp Conservation Ghana

Herp Conservation Ghana (Herp-Ghana) is a registered non-governmental, non-profit organisation dedicated to amphibian and reptile conservation in Ghana.

The organisation envisions a society committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles and the sustainable management and preservation of threatened habitats on which species depend. Herp-Ghana undertakes research, creates awareness, mobilises responses for important policies, builds capacity and contributes expertise on the conservation of amphibians and reptiles both locally and internationally.

For amphibians, it is focusing in particular on two projects of great importance. The first of these is on the Togo slippery frog (Conraua derooi), a Critically Endangered species found only in the Togo-Volta Hills in the Ghana-Togo border area. Herp-Ghana was instrumental in setting up a reserve for this species in one of its most important sites.

Herp-Ghana is also working on the amphibians of Atewa Forest, where there are two Critically Endangered species found nowhere else: Afia Birago Puddle Frog (Phrynobatrachus afiabirago) and an undescribed species of slippery frog (Conraua spp.) currently being named formally.

Herp-Ghana is part of the campaign to save Atewa Forest from plans by the Ghanaian Government to mine it for bauxite, which would essentially destroy it. While the fight to save Atewa Forest is far from over, Herp-Ghana plans to initiate a captive breeding program in Ghana to save the species endemic to Atewa from extinction. Herp-Ghana is also working with local communities to carry out frog monitoring in Atewa, which is especially important given the likelihood of other undiscovered frog species occurring there.

Learn more about Herp-Ghana and the conservation of Atewa Forest in Synchronicity Earth’s interview with its founder, Caleb Ofori-Boateng.