West African Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA)

The West African Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA) was established in 2001. Their primary goal is to effectively preserve primate habitat in the West-African Upper Guinean Rainforest, which is under serious threat of destruction. WAPCA runs a number of projects to preserve and protect endangered primated of West Africa including the critically-endangered Roloway monkey and white-naped mangabey, both in the field and through captive breeding.

WAPCA works closely with the Wildlife Division of the Ghana Forestry Commission with the protection of the rainforest. They are also currently working with the Research and Actions for the Conservation of Primates Côte d’Ivoire (RASAP-CI) to assist local communities to declare the Kwabre and Tanoé Forest as federated community managed conservation areas with the long term goal of creating a community-owned trans-border rainforest.

Twycross Zoo support WAPCA to protect the forests of Ghana and the surrounding areas by supporting community patrols to prevent illegal logging and helping develop reforestation projects. In 2016 they were able to provide a new boat for the forest patrols to make patrols more effective and planted 12,000 trees in community plantations.

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