Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is situated to the west of the coastal town of Winneba, approximately 55 km west of Accra. The northern part comprises two protected areas, Yenku A and B Forest Reserves, covering 10% of the site, while the traditional hunting areas of the Efutu people make up another 15%. Also included is the catchment of three seasonal streams, the Pratu, the Boaku and the Muni, which drain into Muni lagoon. This lagoon, its surrounding flood-plains and the adjacent sandy beach, constitute the southern part of the site. It is a shallow, saline, semi-closed, coastal lagoon, with a surface area of c.300 ha. Reports indicate that during the rains the lagoon fills up completely and spills over to flood the surrounding area about once every 10 years. At such times, the villagers dig a canal to open the entrance to the sea and the excess water is released.The catchment is a gentle undulating plain bordered to the north and the north-east by the Yenku Hills (290 m) and in the south-west by the Egyasimanku Hills (205 m). The hill-slopes facing the lagoon are fairly steep. The lagoon shoreline is covered with
Sesuvium portulacastrum,
Paspalum vaginatum and
Sporolobus virginicus, successively, up the sides of the dunes. The dunes themselves are planted with coconut-palm
Cocos nucifera. The vegetation in the northern part of the wetland includes mangroves, with
Typha australis,
Ludwigia erecta and other typical freshwater hydrophytes occurring further inland. The vegetation in the upland areas is dominated by grassland and thickets, a
Eucalyptus plantation, as well as forest vegetation in various stages of maturity.
See Box for key species. Forty-eight species of waterbird have been recorded at the site, the most abundant of which are
Himantopus himantopus,
Charadrius hiaticula,
Tringa nebularia,
Calidris ferruginea,
Sterna hirundo,
S. maxima,
S. sandvicensis and
Chlidonias niger. The terrestrial avifauna of the site numbers at least 114 species and includes
Illadopsis puveli, the only site from which this species was recorded.
Non-bird biodiversity: Three species of marine turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, Chelonia mydas and Dermochelys coriacea (all EN) are reported to nest on the beaches.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site was designated as a Ramsar Site in 1992 which includes the two Forest Reserves. The main threats in the upland area are hunting and habitat destruction through bush fires and extraction for fuelwood. The area is known as one of the most important sources of bush-meat in the country. The lagoon itself is heavily overfished.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site (Ghana). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/muni-pomadze-ramsar-site-iba-ghana on 23/12/2024.
