News
NASA highlights Ghana’s declining forest reserves
In southwestern Ghana, a patchwork of tropical forest lies among widespread farmland dotted with towns. These forest fragments are remnants of the Upper Guinean forest of West Africa, a biodiversity hotspot that has been diminished by human activity and fires.
Primates, elephants, hippopotamuses, and butterflies are among the thousands of animals that live in the region’s primary forests, which are almost entirely within a network of forest reserves. But satellite images indicate that these protected forest remnants have become even smaller in recent decades.
The false-colour images above, acquired by the Landsat 4 and Landsat 9 satellites, show 12 protected forest reserves and Bia National Park in the Bia-Goaso forest district in 1989 (left) and 2023 (right). The forested canopies of the reserves are dark green, whereas the surrounding landscape is lighter green.
“This area has historically been an important forest habitat for biodiversity, but elephant populations have declined precipitously because of human encroachment and habitat degradation,” said Michael Wimberly, a professor of geography and environmental sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. The photograph below, taken by Wimberly, shows intact forests in a reserve east of the Bia-Goaso region.
Wimberly and a team of researchers in the United States and Ghana used Landsat data to study forest degradation, loss, and recovery in the reserves across Ghana from 2003 to 2019. Although vegetation change was relatively slow from 2003 to 2015, it picked up significantly between 2015 and 2019.
Overall, there was more forest loss and degradation than recovery, resulting in a gradual decline of tree cover.
The drivers of change here are multifaceted, noted Wimberly. In 2016, drought associated with El Niño parched forests and promoted fires across more than 12 percent of Ghana’s moist semi-deciduous and upland evergreen forests. Forest loss was especially prevalent in a reserve known as Bonsam Bepo, south of the city of Goaso.
In a reserve southeast of this image, mining operations contributed to forest loss. In the reserve north of Bia National Forest, widespread logging for timber from 2017 to 2019 led to forest degradation. In other reserves, such as Krokosua (the u-shaped reserve at the bottom of the image), the expansion of cocoa farms has consumed forest. Ghana and neighbouring Côte D’Ivoire produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa.
A 2024 United Nations report on the state of the world’s forests highlighted the Forest Data Partnership, an effort to help people in Ghana access remote sensing data to track commodities linked to deforestation and prevent forest loss.
The approach is being field-tested in Ghana and at the joint NASA-USAID SERVIR program’s regional hub for West Africa to help make agricultural production and food systems more sustainable.
Wimberly and colleagues continue to monitor Ghana’s tropical forest landscapes and forest reserves using Landsat data and models to classify the health of forests. Their updated results can be explored in this interactive map.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Ahyiresu and Abofrem, two quiet communities in the Atwima Mponua District, have been shaken to the core by a chilling midnight drama that reads like a nightmare.
A pastor and a young mother stand accused of attempting to bury a five‑month‑old baby girl alive, a crime that has ignited outrage and disbelief across the township.
According to police, Apostle Richmond Akwasi Frimpong, 36, Head Pastor of the Anointed Grace Prayer Ministry at Kuffour Camp, conspired with his uncle Emmanuel Appiah, 53, and the child’s mother, 23‑year‑old Beatrice Agyapomaa, to dispose of the infant, Anaya Achiaa, under the cover of darkness.
A fourth suspect, Emmanuel Donkor, remains on the run.
The suspects were caught near a refuse dump around 10 pm on April 9, 2026, after a vigilant resident, Akwasi Twezor, noticed their suspicious movements.
When confronted, they claimed the child was already dead and had palace approval for burial. But Twezor’s instincts proved right—the baby was still alive, gasping faintly for breath.
Chief Linguist, Nana Yaw Badu, later confirmed that Frimpong had misled him earlier in the evening, securing permission for burial by falsely declaring the child dead.
The infant was rushed to the Abofrem Clinic, where she is now responding well to treatment. Police described her as “very beautiful.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Evelyn Yitamkey, Commander of DOVVSU in Bibiani, confirmed that the suspects have been provisionally charged.
Frimpong faces attempted murder and conspiracy charges, while Agyapomaa and Appiah are charged with conspiracy and abetment.
They were remanded by the Bibiani Circuit Court, presided over by Judge Frank Asiedu Nimako, to assist investigations.
The docket has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice, ASP Yitamkey indicated.
The attempted crime has provoked fury among residents, many suspecting ritual motives aimed at bolstering the pastor’s influence.
Crowds attempted to attack the suspects outside court, but police intervention prevented mob justice.
The Assembly Member for Ahyiresu, Yusuf Suleiman, has assured residents that justice will be pursued swiftly.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The forecourt of the African University of Communications and Business (AUCB) in Accra came alive on Friday with colour, creativity and innovation, as Level 300 students transformed the space into a lively exhibition of ideas.
Under the theme “Building meaningful brands beyond the logo,” the students invited patrons into a world where ordinary products were reimagined through storytelling, design and purpose.
From scented candles to innovative food concepts, each stand told a unique story, one that went beyond aesthetics to capture identity, value and human connection.
For many of the students, the event was more than just an academic exercise; it was a moment to dream out loud.
Guided by their lecturer, Peter Wonders, they explored what it truly means to build a brand in today’s competitive world where trust, consistency and experience matter just as much as logos and slogans.
Chairman of the occasion, Nana Kum Gyata VI, in his remarks said a brand is what people say about you when you are not present.
At the end of the presentations, awards were presented to deserving groups with Vida Nyaneba emerging as the overall best branding student.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
