The Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary and lake created after a dam was built across the Owabi River to supply drinking water to the city of Kumasi. The Site is centred around the reservoir and includes riverine forests and an important plantation of the exotic tree Senna siamea. It is rich in indigenous and migratory bird species: about 161 birds belonging to 29 families have been recorded, 13 of which are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Site provides habitat and food for a variety of wildlife including Mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) and African civets (Civettictis civetta), and an important diversity of butterfly species. It is used for educational and recreational purposes by both local communities and tourists, but is under severe pressure from the encroachment of human settlements and intensive agriculture.