Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary needs support

Ghana is blessed with abundant tourist sites, most of which are in dire need of development to make the country the number one tourism destination we yearn to become.

One such site identified by an individual which needs urgent support is the Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary in the Bono Region.

There is already the Buabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in the Nkoranza North District in the Bono East Region, which boasts about 700 Mona, Black and White Colobus monkeys.

There is also the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary in the Volta Region, which covers an area of 387 sq km and is home to close to 2,000 True Mona and Patas monkeys.

The Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary, which sits on a 40-acre of forest land, is located about 10 kilometres from Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Municipality in the Bono Region and is home to a rare breed of Mona, Campbell, the Spot-nosed, as well as the Oliver Colobus monkeys.

Like the two other more well-known monkey sanctuaries in the Bono East and Volta regions, Duasidan has for several decades attracted tourists from home and abroad because of its rare breed of monkeys.

Unfortunately, as explained by a tour guide, Kwabena Badu, in a postcard by the Daily Graphic last Friday, the sanctuary does not charge tourists when they visit, but they voluntarily give what they can for them to take them round, most probably because the site has not been developed and adopted by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).

According to the caretaker, 78-year-old Kwabena Kyeremeh, who also discovered the monkeys some 25 years ago and decided with his brother to take care of them, making them friendly with the animals, several promises have been made by the GTA and the Dormaa Municipal Assembly to support them develop the sanctuary, but they are yet to see any such move.

We urge the GTA to go to the aid of the sanctuary to, as the desire of the brothers is, develop it like the Buabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary so that it attracts more visitors.

We would do ourselves and future generations a disservice if we look on for this gift of nature to slip through our fingers.

Already, the caretakers say sometimes for a whole month, not even a single tourist visits the site because of its current poor state, and they get so demotivated that they abandon it to go to their farms.

This does not bode well for the sustainable maintenance and preservation of the Duasidan Sanctuary, and we ask all stakeholders, such as the Dormaa Municipal Assembly, GTA, Wildlife Society of Ghana and other well-meaning organisations, to help keep this treasure and also make it a place to visit at all costs.

We congratulate Kwabena Kyeremeh and Kwabena Badu on keeping this treasure for 25 years, and especially for putting measures in place to restrict the public, including residents, from entering the forest to collect firewood and hunt the monkeys and other animals while preventing bushfires from destroying the habitat of the monkeys over the years.

However, we believe that at this point, the government needs to come in to properly demarcate the area as an eco-tourism site, streamline the feeding of the monkeys and train tour guides/game wardens from the community to also offer them a livelihood.

The government also needs to support the construction of a tourist reception centre on-site, as well as support the building of lodging facilities around and on the site, for visitors who would like to spend some days with the animals in the wild and help market the sanctuary to the world.

Elsewhere, research centres are even constructed on site as well as souvenir shops, among others, to give guests a memorable experience when they visit. We should be able to replicate this.

It is sad that successive governments have failed to develop the sanctuary for the nation to derive the optimum benefit from eco-tourism, but we urge the government to change the narrative before we lose it all.

The municipal assembly stands to gain a lot of revenue if the sanctuary is developed into a thriving eco-tourism destination, and must lead the charge in ensuring that it receives a breath of life.