Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site

picture of the site
picture of the site
picture of the site
picture of the site

Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site

  • Country: 
    Ghana
  • Site number: 
    567
  • Area: 
    101,022.7 ha
  • Designation date: 
    14-08-1992
  • Coordinates: 
    05°55'N 00°50'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site covers part of the Volta River estuary. It comprises several small islands and a complex of lagoons with varying salinity. The dominant vegetation includes swamps, scrublands, and mangrove forests, which are heavily exploited by resident communities for fuel woods and commercial fishing. The Site provides safe nesting grounds for the threatened olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and it is particularly important for the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) and the vulnerable West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). It is considered the most important coastal wetland for birds in Ghana, and supports over 72 resident and migratory bird species estimated to number over 100,000 individuals. The wetland supports the livelihood activities of hundreds of thousands of people. Sea erosion and pollution are the major threats.

Administrative region: 
Volta Region

  • Last publication date: 
    13-08-2015

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents