News published: 15 March 2023

In October, in collaboration with the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) and CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, BGCI hosted a four-day workshop to effectively plan conservation action for Ghana’s threatened tree species, with a particular focus on thirty-eight endemic and near-endemic species.

Representatives from 17 organisations including government, NGOs, and academic institutions attended the workshop. A visioning exercise resulted in a qualitative description of what the successful recovery of Ghana’s threatened trees would look like. After the session, participants’ contributions were translated into a set of measurable goals. Four working groups then discussed the key barriers to the effective conservation of the target species and the priority strategies to overcome them were identified.

A session was also held on which tools are needed to maintain momentum, reduce duplication of efforts, and build and sustain partnerships for the identified conservation actions. Based on the outputs of the workshop, a national conservation strategy has been published and will provide a roadmap to future conservation activities in the country.