An Interview with Dr Caleb Ofori-Boateng, Founder of Herp Conservation Ghana
Dr Caleb Ofori-Boateng was the first formally trained herpetologist in Ghana, and has become a global champion for Ghana’s biodiversity, particularly its unique and threatened amphibians. He is the founder of Herp Conservation Ghana, the latest partner in our Amphibian Programme, and has been working to save Atewa Forest, one of the highest priority ecosystems in West Africa, from mining since he first visited it and fell in love with its wildlife in 2006.
What is the biodiversity like in Ghana?
Ghana is an amazing place in terms of its biodiversity. We are not a landlocked country, so we have the sea, the coast, then the forest and then as you go north there is the savanna ecosystem. This is where I was born and raised, and where I grew up in a national park, the wildlife was visible. You could see them and interact with them.
Since I have become a conservationist, I have mainly worked in forest ecosystems. The Atewa forest is particularly special to me. The first time I worked in Atewa Forest was in 2006, when the government was thinking of mining the reserve for bauxite. I was still a very young student, I had just finished my BSc, and I was called upon as an assisting scientist to a senior herpetologist to conduct a Rapid Assessment Programme of the site. It was a three week expedition, until then I had seen the forests from afar but this was the first time that I slept in the middle of a rainforest. It was life changing.
The lead herpetologist was from the Ivory Coast, and we were asked to work together because we were both supervised by the same German professor (Mark-Oliver Rödel). We worked both in the day and in the night. The other team members who were studying birds and mammals and other species all went out during the day and then came back at nightfall, lit a fire, got a beer or a Coca Cola, had dinner and a chat. But when it got to 8pm, me and my supervisor would leave again for night-time surveys.
