16 February, 2023
Green Turaco (Tauraco persa) in Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, Togo. Photo by Nico Arcilla.
IBCP is delighted to announce the donation this month of 20 posters displaying color photographs of characteristic birds of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park. Requested by our colleagues at the University of Lomé and Togolese government, these posters were produced to help raise awareness and educate people about avifauna of Togo’s largest protected area. IBCP graduate research associate Kristen Rosamond worked to produce the posters together with postdoctoral fellow Olivier Boissier, who has now delivered them to our Togolese colleague, Professor Komlan Afiademanyo, for distribution and display at locations chosen by colleagues in Togo’s Ministry of the Environment and Fazao-Malfakassa National Park staff.
To our knowledge, this is the first such poster on birds of Togo. It includes 54 original photographs of bird species identified in the park taken by Nico Arcilla. Fazao-Malfakassa National Park protects many endangered and vulnerable species such of birds, mammals, and other wildlife, many of whose populations have been extirpated elsewhere due to accelerating, and often illegal, overhunting and habitat destruction. Togo now joins Ghana as the recipient of conservation education materials provided by IBCP to celebrate and conserve the amazing birds and other wildlife park rangers work to protect every day. By raising awareness of the beauty and value of Togo’s birds, we aim to bolster conservation awareness and action. Meanwhile, the IBCP team, led by Olivier Boissier, is back in Fazao conducting bird surveys to add to our knowledge of birds in this seldom-studied region. We look forward to posting an update from him soon!
IBCP bird poster delivered to Togo. Poster by Kristen Rosamond.