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Mission Statement | Mandate
| Objectives & Strategies |
WD Estates | Website
The Wildlife Division is one of
the three divisions of the reconstituted Forestry
Commission. It began as a branch of the Forestry
Department of the Ministry of Agriculture responsible
for wildlife issues. In 1965, it became a full-fledged
line agency of the Ministry of Forestry known as
the Department of Game and Wildlife, which later
changed to Wildlife Department after the adoption
of the Forestry and Wildlife Policy of 1994. In
the intervening, the Department moved from the Ministry
of Forestry to the Ministry of Lands & Mineral
Resources, Lands & Natural resources to the
present Ministry of Lands & Forestry. It is
responsible for all wildlife in the country and
administers 16 wildlife-protected
areas (PAs), 5 coastal Ramsar Sites and the
Accra and Kumasi Zoos. It also assists with the
running of 2 community owned Wildlife
Sanctuaries.
Mission Statement
To ensure conservation, sustainable
management and development of Ghana’s wildlife
resources for socio-economic benefit to all segments
of society.22
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Mandate
To conserve wildlife in Ghana in
general and manage wildlife protected areas in particular
within representative ecological zones of the country.
Objectives and Strategies
The Division has thus adopted
the following strategies: -
- Protect and develop Ghana’s
permanent estate of wildlife-Protected Areas (PAs).
Promote management and development of wildlife
outside wildlife-Protected Areas.
Develop Eco- tourism potentials of the PAs.
Promote the development of wildlife - based enterprises.
Develop linkages with other agencies and NGOs
whose activities impact on wildlife.
Assist local communities to develop and manage
own reserves e.g. Boabeng Fiema and Agumatsa Wildlife
Sanctuaries.
Foster closer collaboration with communities closer
to PAs through the promotion of community resource
management areas (CREMA).
Promote public awareness and education on wildlife
management issues.
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WD Estates
WD manages 13,489km (6.2 ) of Ghana's
total land surface area through a system of protected
areas, in which the land is acquired and given legal
recognition. The 16 PAs are grouped as follows:
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7
National Parks
6 Resource Reserves
2
Wildlife Sanctuaries
1 Strict Nature
Reserves
In addition, it manages 5 coastal
Ramsar
Sites, 2 Zoos in Accra and Kumasi.
Though our PAs cannot boast of
the spectacular large numbers and diverse species
of wildlife associated with some eastern and southern
Africa countries, it has a variety of species some
of, which are endemic to the country.
Some PAs have been developed
into key eco-tourism sites within the last few years.
Here are snapshots
of some prominent PAs.
 Check
the Ghana Wildlife Website for more information.
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