The Mole Ecological Landscape (MEL) covers a total land area of approximately seventeen thousand square kilometers (17,000 sq. km) and it provides support to an estimated population of over 320,000 inhabitants.
With a total of five administrative districts, the MEL is acknowledged as a key biodiversity and ecotourism hotspot within the northern sector of the country.
Strategically located within the MEL is the Mole National Park which is Ghana’s premier wildlife protected enclave and it was established to help in the conservation of a representative sample of the Guinea Savanna woodland ecosystem.
Despite great efforts by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission towards the management, conservation, and development of this enviable resource, its managers acknowledge that such a gargantuan task cannot be borne on the shoulders of any one individual or organization alone.
It, therefore, requires concerted and holistic effort by the varied stakeholders within the Landscape.
It was for this reason that managers of the Mole National Park with support from the GWS/SIBCI Initiative organized a stakeholders’ forum on Friday 13th August 2021 to discuss issues of common interest and to seek ways of effectively synergizing efforts towards the conservation of this unique resource.
A total of thirty participants were drawn from various sectors in the MEL which included NGOs such as A Rocha Ghana, JakSally Development Organisation, GWS/SIBCI, Conservation Partners, CODEC, local CBOs such as the West Gonja Management Advisory Unit, institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Services Division, students, traditional authorities as well as hospitality establishments within the Park, Mole Motel and Zaina EcoLodge) were present to partake in this ground-breaking program.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah/MEL
