protected: 19,868 acres
Ghana | Quadruple Protection for the Togo Slippery Frog Reserve in Ghana
For almost half a century, scientists suspected the Critically Endangered Togo Slippery Frog was extinct. Decades passed without a sighting. Then, in 2005, a small population of the species was found in the Togo-Volta highlands that span eastern Ghana and western Togo in West Africa. To help secure the species’ future, Rainforest Trust and partner Herp Conservation-Ghana established the Onepone Endangered Species Refuge in 2018. This was the first forest area protected specifically for frogs in all of West Africa.
Togo Slippery Frog | © PPI / Les Films au Clair de Lune
When another breeding population of the Togo Slippery Frog was discovered just outside the refuge, Rainforest Trust and Herp Conservation-Ghana rushed to expand the refuge in 2024. With support from CAF donors, we helped safeguard an additional 19,868 acres, expanding the Onepone Endangered Species Refuge to 22,000 acres in total. In addition to the Critically Endangered Togo Slippery Frog, the recently expanded refuge also protects habitat essential for the Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture and Endangered Whitebellied Pangolin.
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark | Steve Poole
protected: 123,602 acres
Republic of Congo | Save Endangered Sea Life from Overfishing in the Congo
The Republic of Congo’ s Loango Bay is known for its calm waters and abundant, diverse marine life. Numerous critically endangered species can be found here, including Atlantic Humpback Dolphins, Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, and Angelsharks. Critically Endangered Hawksbill Turtles, Endangered Green Turtles, and Vulnerable Olive Ridley Turtles also frequent the bay, which is one of only two known foraging grounds for sea turtles along the Central African coastline.
Unsustainable commercial overfishing— especially for shark fins— and oil exploration and drilling put this all at risk. To protect Loango Bay and its marine species, Rainforest Trust and partner Renatura, with the generous support of our donors, established the 123,602-acre Loango Bay Community Marine Reserve in collaboration with the Republic of Congo’ s government.
Democratic Republic of Congo | Lock Up Millions of Tons of Carbon in the World ' s Largest