Our work spans both the Guinea Savannah Woodlands and tropical high forests. We are dealing with environmental challenges in the context of rapid demographic growth, poverty, weak governance of natural resources and increasingly climate change, which are leading to the impoverishment of natural capital in both northern and southern Ghana. including ecosystem services on which the Ghanaian population largely depend. Econest engenders harmony between green economic activities towards improvement of livelihoods of communities surrounding protected areas and conservation of biodiversity within and around protected areas. We work in collaboration with public agencies to strengthen and operationalize management systems for protected areas. We support resource dependent communities to meaningfully participate and derive benefits from the integrated management of natural resources within and around protected areas and corridors adjoining them in the Guinea Savannah woodlands.
Ghana has been identified as one of the range states with appreciable populations of shark, rays and marine mammals and turtles. The rising demand for shark fins especially in Asia is driving unsustainable harvesting of sharks whilst marine mammals are also landed for food by locals. Ecological Nest’s marine and coastal programme is targeting to enhance understanding through the provision of data on state of by-catch, efforts, landings, and domestic trade data to better understand the taxonomy of these marine biodiversity. We are as well promoting the creation and management of marine protected areas in the Gulf of Guinea.
In Ghana, biodiversity has suffered drastic declines across different ecosystems including marine and coastal ecosystems, tropical forest ecosystems and the guinea and coastal savannahs. The quest for national development is threatening biodiversity in all fronts. Major agricultural commodities are pushing their frontiers into protected areas and forest reserves in Ghana. Ecological Nest is intervening in partnership with other like-minded institutions through biodiversity assessments, ecological restoration, enhancement of conservation and climate co-benefits, promoting and scaling up locally decentralized management of natural resources through full operationalization of the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) concept.
It is clear evident that climate change is affecting many countries of the world, adversely affect socio-economic sectors, which include water resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and human settlements, ecological systems, and human health. Vulnerable communities in Ghana are suffering the brunt including those living in coastal areas and the savannah areas. Ecological Nest is aiming to work in agricultural commodity landscapes (including Cocoa, Rubber, cashew, shea) adjourning adjoining protected areas with the aim to transform such landscapes into climate-smart production systems. We are also work to support smallholder farmers adapt to the harsh climate impacts on their food systems. We take keen interest in ecological restoration of degraded landscapes that support biodiversity whilst promoting the protection of such landscapes.