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Monkeys carry their young ones to safety in the morning rain, while squirrels and other rodents flee across ravaged portions of Accra�s only forest reserve being cleared into demarcated streets ready to be developed into estates. The once peaceful habitat for these animals has been threatened, and the future of the 360-hectare forest reserve, with its diverse wildlife and plant species, are at the brink of extinction. More than two hectares of the 8.2 hectares of forest cover in Compartment 9A of the total 360 hectares Achimota Forest has been cleared in a latest raid on the habitat by a private developer. The Achimota Forest is a legally constituted forest reserve, which was gazetted in July 1930, and under the control of the Forestry Commission. The forest had earlier been earmarked by the government to be developed into a major ecotourism destination, as part of efforts to save the forest from further destruction. But right in front of the Forestry Commission begins the destruction by a private developer. Nii Nortei, the Mankralo of Osu, claims to have obtained judgment against the Lands Commission, in respect of certain portions of the forest, which is currently being cleared by a private developer. The Forestry Commission says the wrong defendant, Lands Commission was sued in the case, and that it is the only institution mandated to develop and maintain Ghana�s forest and wildlife resources, including the Achimota Forest. �Lands Commission is the caretaker of only public lands, and therefore, has no jurisdiction over the Achimota Forest Reserve.� The Forestry Commission Director of Operations (Plantations), Hugh C.A. Brown, described the situation as a slap in the face of the Commission, considering the fact that the destruction is being done right under the nose of the commission mandated by law for the conservation and management of forest resources, and the coordination of policies related to them. Mr. Brown fears that if nothing is done urgently to stop the developer, the forest will be encroached upon further. He told The Chronicle that the Commission has filed a criminal suit against the developer for destroying a forest reserve. On Tuesday morning, when The Chronicle visited the reserve, further depletion of the forest cover had taken place. Effects on wild life Assistant Public Relations Manager (Wildlife Division), Mr. Joseph Yaw Oppong, reiterated the importance of wild life and the trees as being basic for human survival. A general vision of the Commission is to leave future generations and their communities with richer, better, and more valuable forests and wildlife endowment than it inherited, but the rate of depletion of the country�s forest cover, through illegal mining and logging, proves a difficult task for its achievement. �Wildlife is life, if we destroy the forest, we are doing harm to ourselves,� he lamented. He noted that the Achimota Forest, currently serves as a breeding place for animals from the Accra Zoo which were too fragile to be transported to Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, when the zoo was relocated for the construction of a presidential palace in 2007. �There is a lot of breeding of some endangered species like the Patas monkey,� Mr. Oppong said Furthermore, an educational and research exchange programme between the Commission and its partners, France and Germany, with regards to the breeding of these endangered species, is threatened by the development in the forest he noted. Mr. Oppong warned that if nothing is done to preserve the forest, the country risks not finding early diagnoses for diseases that require the use of wildlife for research. �If we destroy the forest, and there is any disease, with regards to spread by wildlife, and we are unable to get any of these wildlife species for a test to diagnose what kind of disease it is, then we are doomed as a country,� he warned. Ghana is currently on high alert on the spread of the deadly Ebola virus across West Africa. The World Health Organisation reported that between May 29 and June 1, Guinea, which documented its first case in December 2013, has recorded 37 new cases, and 21 new deaths. This new figure brings to a total, 328 cases (193 of them laboratory-confirmed) and 208 deaths. Sierra Leone, which also reported its first cases a few weeks ago, has reached a cumulative total of 79 cases (18 confirmed), including six deaths. According to online reference Wikipedia, the disease is first acquired when a person comes into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal, such as a monkey or fruit bat.