At RCCN, today, Thursday 27th August 2020, we invite you to meet Edward Wiafe from Ghana.
- Who is Edward and on which red colobus taxa is he working on?
Edward Wiafe is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Presbyterian University College in Ghana. For a couple of years now, he has been researching for the potentially extinct Procolobus waldroni (Miss Waldron’s red colobus) in forest reserves and other protected areas in Ghana.
- How did he find himself working or researching on red colobus monkeys specifically?
He is a primatologist based in Ghana. He is passionately researching on all primates in Ghana with emphasis on the endangered ones such as Miss Waldron’s red colobus suspected to be extinct. He studied Natural resources management, Forest ecology and management, and Zoology (Conservation Biology) for his BSc. MSc. and PhD degrees, respectively. He developed an interest in the red colobus monkeys in the course of his duties as a wildlife ranger at the conservation unit. His quest for working on red colobus arose when a first publication concluded that Miss Waldron’s red colobus has not been sighted for a long time. Since this group of primates are among our closest relatives, he has a keen interest in saving them.
- Are the red colobus populations in his area facing any threats and how does he foresee the future of these red colobus monkeys if nothing is done?
Edward reiterates that Miss Waldron's red colobus has not been sighted in the country for over a long period and scientist suspect they might have gone extinct. If this is to be confirmed, then the young generation may certainly never know about their existence and this will constitute a great loss in the community’s heritage.
- What could be the key solution to reverse the threat status in her area?
According to Edward, the key solutions are continuous search for the species in the sites where they have been known and/or suspected to occur, public education and awareness-raising.
- Why according to Edward are red colobus monkeys less known to people compared to other monkeys?
He reveals that they are less known to people because these species are rare and occur in small numbers, they occur in areas relatively far from human habitats and where they can be found, they live at the upper layers of the forest canopy.
- Does Edward have any specific expectations from the red colobus conservation Network
He expects the RCCN and its members to support research activities and create awareness on the species in every range country.
Edward is member of the Red Colobus Survey Task Force and is very much motivated to support all actions to find evidence of the presence of Miss Waldron’s red colobus, conserve all other existing red colobus monkeys and lays lots of hopes on RCCN and the red colobus conservation action plan. To this regards, he is opened to networking with everyone who shares the RCCN vision and is committed to reverse the narrative on red colobus monkeys. He can be contacted at Email: Edward.wiafe@presbyuniversity.edu.gh ; Tel: +233-200600799
Thank you all for visiting the RCCN webpage and post.
See you next Thursday for a new post on our red colobus actors
Aghomo Florence
Coordinator of the red colobus conservation network and the red colobus working group under the IUCN/SSC/PSG and APS