Voices on the Ground : Caleb Ofori-Boateng , Ph . D . A Pioneer for Amphibians in Africa
Dr . Caleb Ofori-Boateng grew up in national parks in Ghana with baboons and elephants . His father was passionate about conservation and worked as a ranger and then assistant park manager at Mole National Park . Caleb particularly remembers his father taking him and his brother and sisters out in an old Jeep at dusk to see elephants , buffalo , and large herds of antelope known as “ kob .”
Caleb naturally credits these early experiences for his deep devotion to wild species . But instead of becoming singularly focused on the large mammals that fascinated him as a child , he developed a special affinity for frogs .
“ When so many people around me were clamoring for the protection of other , more ‘ spectacular ’ species , I noticed that nobody seemed to care about frogs ,” Caleb said . “ Protecting tiny frogs is as important as protecting a tiger or an elephant .”
Caleb was the first formally trained herpetologist in Ghana , where there are still very few . He founded Herp Conservation Ghana ( Herp-Ghana ), a non-profit organization dedicated to amphibian and reptile conservation .
On his first trip out into the field early in his career , Caleb assisted a senior herpetologist to conduct amphibian surveys in Southern Ghana and western Togo . They searched for frogs after dark , navigating the often-steep terrain by head lamp . On one of these nightly jaunts , they heard the whistle of a frog that puzzled them . It turned out to be a species entirely new to science , soon to be announced by the scientific community .
Rainforest Trust supported Herp-Ghana in 2017 to create the original 847-acre Onepone Endangered Species Refuge to protect the elusive Togo Slippery Frog and other threatened species from logging , spreading agriculture and settlements , and hunting . In 2020 , with additional funding support from Rainforest Trust , Herp-Ghana worked with local communities to expand the refuge by 1,285 acres to safeguard additional populations of the frog along with threatened plants , pangolins , vultures , butterflies and hundreds of other species .
There is very strong community support for the project , mostly thanks to Caleb ’ s irresistible passion for the work and his love for the local Avatime people , whose ancestry dates back thousands of years in the region .
“ I learned from my father ’ s down-to-earth way with people that building trust within the community is essential to conservation ,” Caleb says .
Rainforest Trust also supported Caleb and his team in developing their ecotourism plan , which is thriving , thanks to a new canopy walkway that opened in 2022 as part of a multiphased ecotourism program . The walkway passes under a waterfall at one point , emphasizing the importance of water conservation for people and wildlife in Ghana . The program has received unprecedented national attention , and visitors now number in the thousands each year . This success has been transformational for the local economy .
A Replicable Model of Conservation
Herp-Ghana ’ s program at Onepone has immense value to science . Caleb and his team receive many requests from other communities across Africa and the world to learn how they can protect their forests .
“ I deeply believe people and wildlife can coexist and thrive . We have proven that it is possible , it ’ s not just an abstract idea .”
And how are the frogs doing ?
“ Frog populations are growing !” Caleb reports . “ I am hoping they will be downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered in the next assessment . Their populations have grown three or four times over our original counts .”
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