Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 2
Stand structural characteristics and aboveground carbon stocks of intact and degraded Rhizophora-dominated mangroves in the Greater
Amanzule wetlands, Ghana
Community
Type
Status
Stand
height
(m)
Stand Height
above stilt root
(m)
Above
ground
component
Density
(Nr/ha)
Basal area
/ha (m
2
/
ha)
Volume
(m
3
/ha)
Carbon content
Aboveground
root/shoot
ratio
Tonnes/
ha
As
percentage
of total
Egbazu
Estuarine
Intact
20
17.82
Shoot/stems
2,500
23.43
250.55
111.49
72.71
0.37
Roots
82,000
46.50
93.88
41.78
27.24
Regeneration
4,000
0.31
0.16
0.07
0.05
Total
153.34
100.00
Metika
Lagoonal
Intact
20
16
Shoot/stems
3,000
15.28
146.70
65.28
66.76
0.50
Roots
32,000
15.91
72.87
32.43
33.16
Regeneration
4,000
0.31
0.16
0.07
0.07
Total
97.78
100.00
Bankanta
Nor
Estuarine
Intact
20
16.76
Shoot/stems
2,250
69.13
695.14
309.34
73.39
0.36
Roots
94,000
71.64
251.86
112.08
26.59
Regeneration
4,000
0.31
0.16
0.07
0.02
Total
421.48
100.00
Nzelenoanu
Estuarine
Intact
10
7.74
Shoot/stems
6,000
8.74
40.61
18.07
27.84
2.59
Roots
64,000
44.42
105.00
46.72
72.00
Regeneration
6,000
0.47
0.24
0.10
0.16
Total
64.90
100.00
Mean values for intact mangroves
Shoot/stems
3,438
29.15
283.25
126.05
60.2
0.41
Roots
68,000
44.62
130.90
58.25
39.7
Regeneration
4,500
0.35
0.18
0.08
0.1
Total
184.37
100.0
Bakanta
(New and
Old)
Estuarine
Degraded
15
11.98
Shoot/stems
3,250
17.51
125.84
56.00
19.71
3.96
Roots
178,000
179.24
498.02
221.62
78.02
Regeneration
368,000
28.91
14.45
6.43
2.26
Total
284.05
100.00
promote activities that have minimal impacts on the wet-
lands. To promote tourism, they have built walkways and
provided boats to view plant and animal species in the
reserve. As a result, the number of tourists has been on the
increase since 2006 to more than 10,000 annually (Fig.
5
),
generating annual revenues of nearly 24,000 Ghanaian cedis
(US$16,000).
GWS reaches out to the community and the schools in an
effort to educate the population about conservation. In east
Nzulezo, they have a task force office that distributes infor-
mation on protecting the turtle populations in 5 km stretches
along the length of the major nesting beaches. The task force
works with the local law enforcement to discourage people
from eating turtles and turtle eggs. They monitor the turtle
nesting sites and collect information on the number of dif-
ferent species, the number of eggs and the distance of the
nest from the high tideline. To protect the turtle populations,
they will sometimes move the eggs to a hatchery until the
turtles are ready for release to the sea. In the last two years,
they have recorded over 200 turtle nesting sites. And vil-
lagers who once hunted the turtles now volunteer on the task
force to protect them. Six of the local communities have
donated land to the reserve and work with GWS on various
Degraded mangroves
Intact mangroves
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
0-1cm
(Seedling
regeneration)
1-5cm
(Saplings)
5-10cm
(Posts)
10-30cm
(Poles)
30-50cm
(Standard)
Stem size (diameter) class
Fig. 4
Stem diameter distribution in mangrove forests of Greater
Amanzule wetlands, Ghana
Importance and Opportunities for Local
Tourism Industry Development
The Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS) has been playing a
critical conservation role in the area, especially as it has
introduced small-scale development projects that protect
biodiversity while enhancing the economy. In addition, they
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