Ankasa Conservation Area
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| Ankasa Conservation Area | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Location | Ghana |
| Nearest city | Axim |
| Coordinates | 5°17′00″N 2°39′00″W / 5.283333°N 2.65°W |
| Area | 50,000 ha (190 sq mi) |
The Ankasa Conservation Area is located in southwestern Ghana, approximately 365 kilometers west of Accra, near the border with Côte d'Ivoire.[1] It encompasses the Nini Suhien National Park to the north and the Ankasa Forest Reserve to the south.[2]
The park is approximately 500 square kilometers, and consists largely of tropical evergreen rainforest.[3] The Ankasa Conservation Area is the only wildlife protected area in Ghana that is located in the wet evergreen tropical high rainforest belt.[4]
The Ankasa, Nini, and Suhien Rivers all pass through the park, and are known for their rapids and waterfalls. The forest has the most biological diversity of any in Ghana, with over 800 vascular plant species, 639 butterfly species, and more than 190 bird species.[4][5] Animal life includes the elephant, bongo, leopard, western chimpanzee,[6] Diana monkey,[7] and other primates. Apart from the forest reserve which was selectively logged until 1976, the rest of the protected area is almost intact.[4]
The Ankasa reserve, along with the Nini-Sushien National Park, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of many bird species.[8]
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