Segré EDGE Fellow Emmanuel Amoah has been awarded the first Segré Species Survival Award for his work to conserve the slender snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) in Ghana.
At the beginning of his Segré EDGE Fellowship, Emmanuel set out the following objectives for his project on the West-African slender snouted crocodile:
- Identifying and conserving the last remaining key habitats for this species in Ghana
- Lead the development of the conservation strategy Survival Blueprint along with local stakeholders
- Build capacity amongst local students for implementing conservation activities and monitoring crocodiles
- Engage local communities through outreach highlighting the importance of this species, identifying ways to change behaviours such as hunting (deliberate and accidental bycatch) and implementing sustainable fishing practices
During the course of his Fellowship he discovered two significant subpopulations of the species at Tanoso and Obuasi in Ghana, boosting efforts to successfully conserve the shy crocodile species.
Thanks to his Segré Species Survival Award, Emmanuel hopes to continue his important research on the West African slender snouted crocodile. As part of his new project, Emmanuel hopes to:
- Conserve critical nesting areas of West African slender-snouted crocodile subpopulations at Obuasi and Tanoso
- Estimate Mecistops cataphractus population and distribution along along the Tano and Jimi drainages
- Conduct feasibility study on creating Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) at Tanoso and Obuasi
- Assess community-based ecotourism potential of Tanoso project site
- Strengthen and build local capacity (eg local volunteers, traditional leaders etc.) to enhance the species’ conservation
- Mitigate threats of West Africa slender-snouted crocodile through awareness campaign
Find out more about Emmanuel’s EDGE species and project.