The Gbele Resource Centre or Gbele Game Production Reserve is one of the lesser known game reserves in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. It is located in the Sissala West, Sissala East Municipal and Daffiama Bussie Issa districts of the

Upper West Region The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...

The reserve is the fourth largest in Ghana. The nearest town is Tumu, capital of the Sissala East Municipal District which is 17 kilometres to the north. A total of 176 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. The staff in the reserve are aware of an additional 18 species. The reserve contains antelope, hartebeest, bushbuck, waterbuck, savannah duikers and warthogs, baboon, patas, green monkey among others. There are about 190 species of birds as well. There are nature hikes provided as well. About 30 kilometres to the north of the centre is the Gwollu Defence Wall.

Location

The Gbele Resource Centre is located to the northeast of Wa, capital of the Upper West Region. To the west is

Nadowli Nadowli is a small town and is the capital of Nadowli district, a district in the Upper West Region of north Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea a ...

Jirapa Jirapa is the capital town of the Jirapa Municipal in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Institutions * The only girls' secondary school in the region, Saint Francis of Assisi Girls' Secondary School, is situated in the town. * Jirapa Senior Seco ...

and

Lawra Lawra is a small town and is the capital of Lawra district, a district in the Upper West Region of Ghana.Lawra ...

. To the north is

Nandom Nandom is the capital town of the Nandom Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Nandom town and the multiple villages that surround it to the north, south, east, and west are inhabited by Dagara people. The Dagara of the Nandom municipal ...

and Hamile . There is a village called Gbele located within the reserve.

Resettlement

In 2019, the government finalised an agreement with settlers in the park which will ensure that they had all vacated the reserve by March 2020 and moved to new housing units it had built for them. The resettlement programme began in 2011. The settlers had migrated into the reserve in search of fertile land for farming.

Habitat

The topgraphy of the reserve is generally flat. The Kulpawn River which is seasonal flows from the west to the southeast. Around the Gbele village are thickets clumps consisting of the

African baobab ''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; rad ...

, acacia and sycamore fig trees.

Flora

* ''

(

Adansonia digitata ''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus '' Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ...

)'' * '' Faidherbia (Acacia albida)'' * ''

Sycamore fig ''Ficus sycomorus'', called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times. The term '' sycamore'' spelled with an A ...

(Ficus sycomorus)''

Fauna

Gbele Resource Centre is the only wildlife reserve where the ''

Rufous-rumped lark The rufous-rumped lark (''Pinarocorys erythropygia'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in western and central Africa from Mali, Guinea and Sierra Leone to eastern Sudan, South Sudan and north-western Uganda. Its natural h ...

'' is known to occur and breed. It is also one of only three reserves where the ''

Yellow-billed oxpecker The yellow-billed oxpecker (''Buphagus africanus'') is a passerine bird in the family Buphagidae. It was previously placed in the starling and myna family, Sturnidae. It is native to the savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan ...

'' is recorded. Birds: * ''

Black-headed weaver The black-headed weaver (''Ploceus melanocephalus''), also known as yellow-backed weaver, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Taxonomy and systematics ''P. victoriae'' Ash, 1986 is now thought to be a hybrid between ''P. melanoceph ...

( Ploceus melanocephalus)'' * '' Dorst's cisticola ( Cisticola guinea)'' * ''

Gambaga flycatcher The Gambaga flycatcher (''Muscicapa gambagae'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guin ...

(Muscicapa gambagae)'' * ''

Northern carmine bee-eater The northern carmine bee-eater (''Merops nubicus'') is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to ...

(Merops nubicus)'' * '' Red-throated bee-eater (Merops bulocki)'' * ''

(Pinarocorys erythropygia)'' * '' Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis)'' * '' Violet turaco (Musophaga violacea)'' *'' Willcocks's honeyguide (Indicator willcocksi)'' * ''

(Buphagus africanus)'' Animals: *'' Buffalo'' *''

Bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

(Tragelaphus scriptus)'' *''

Elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

'' *'' Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus)''

Gallery

File:Baobab and elephant, Tanzania.jpg, African baobab ''(Adansonia digitata)'' File:Faidherbia albida.JPG, Faidherbia albida ''(Acacia albida)'' File:Sycomore in Ethiopia.jpg, Sycamore tree ''(Ficus sycomorus)'' File:Violet Turaco RWD3.jpg, Violet turaco''(Musophaga violacea)'' File:Flickr - Rainbirder - Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus).jpg, Yellow-billed Oxpecker ''(Buphagus africanus)'' File:Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus koba).jpg, Roan antelope ''(Hippotragus equinus koba)'' File:AlaudaErythropygiaWolf.jpg, Rufous-rumped lark ''(Pinarocorys erythropygia)''# File:Ugandan defassa waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa) male.jpg, Waterbuck ''(Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa)''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gbele Resource Centre National parks of Ghana Protected areas of Ghana Upper West Region