Dr. Bright Obeng Kankam is a Senior Research Scientist and the head of the Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Division at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG).

He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology (Specialty: Primatology) from the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His research interests include biodiversity conservation, ecosystem dynamics, species interactions, and the impact of human activities on natural habitats. Dr. Kankam focuses on studying wildlife populations, their habitats, and the relationships between species and their environment to understand the causes of biodiversity decline and develop sustainable conservation methods. His current research projects encompass primate ecology, animal behaviour, mining impacts on wildlife, ecosystem management, wildlife monitoring, conservation, wildlife ecology, and habitat restoration. He has provided consultancy services to mining companies on biodiversity management programs for over ten years.

Additionally, Dr. Kankam serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary in Canada. He previously held the position of Senior Lecturer (Part-time) in the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Wildlife and Range Management at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He has supervised research conducted by both undergraduate and graduate students. He also acts as an external assessor for graduate students' theses at various universities, including Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana. Dr. Kankam is a member of the Research Staff Association of CSIR, the African Primatological Society, and serves as a Scientific Committee Member of the West African Primate Conservation Action.

1. Boahen, F. A., Oduro, W., Attuquayefio, D. and Kankam, B. O. (2024). Small Mammals Distribution and Composition in the Agumatsa Range, Volta Region, Ghana. West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 32(1):1-8. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/wajae

2. Kankam, B.O. (2023). Wild meat consumption in zoonotic pandemics in Ghana. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2023.2220004

3. Kankam, B.O., Antwi-Bosiako, P., Addae-Wireko, L., and Dankwah, C. (2023). Growing population of the critically endangered white-thighed colobus monkey (Colobus vellerosus) from forest fragments in Ghana. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 39(e33), 1–6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467423000214

4. Kankam, B.O., Buah, R. D. K., Korang, J. K., Kesse, S. K., Opusumah, E. E., Osei-Kumi, J., Owusu-Ansah, G. and Oppong, S. K. (2022). Leaf selection by Colobus vellerosus: comparing the nutritional content of small and large food plants at Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary, Ghana. Ghana Journal of Forestry, 38:21–30.

5. Badiella-Giménez, N., Kankam, B. O. and Badiella, L. (2021). Influence of Visitors on Time Budget, Ranging and Strata Use of Lowe's Monkey (Cercopithecus lowei) at Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana. Zoological Studies, 60:51. doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-51 https://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/60/60-51.html

6. Boahen, F. A., Kankam, B. O., Quartey, J. K., and Attuquayefio, D. K. (2021). Altitudinal variation in small mammal distribution on Mountain Afadjato. Science and Development, 4(2):1-10.

7. Amankwah, A. A., Quaye-Ballard, J. A., Koomson, B., Amankwah, R. K., Awotwi, A., Kankam, B. O., Opuni-Frimpong, N. Y., Baah, D. S., Adu-Bredu, S. (2021). Deforestation in forest-savannah transition zone of Ghana: Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary. Global Ecology and Conservation, 25, (2012) e01440 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01440

8. Kankam, B. O. and Abukari, H. (2020). Predicting residents' intention to conserve the hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) in the Birem North District, Ghana. Heliyon 6. doi :https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04966

9. Ofori-Boateng, C., Leaché, A. D., Kankam, B. O., A. Hillers, A. (2018). A new species of puddle frog, genus Phrynobatrachus (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from Ghana. Zootaxa, 4374: 565–578.

10. Kankam, B. O., Saj, T. L. and Sicotte, P. (2013). Short-term variation in forest dynamics: Increase in tree density in Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana. Ghana Journal of Forestry, 29: 19-33.

11. Kankam, B. O. and Sicotte, P.(2013). The Effect of Forest Fragment Characteristics on Population Density of Colobus vellerosus in the Forest-Savanna Transition Zone of Ghana. Folia Primatologica, 84: 74-86.

12. Kankam, B. O. and Oduro, W. (2011). The impact of frugivory on recruitment in the pantropical forest tree Antiaris toxicaria Leshenault. African Journal of Ecology, 50: 21–28.

13. Kankam, B. O. and Oduro, W. (2009). Frugivores and fruit removal of Antiaris toxicaria (Moraceae) at Bia Biosphere Reserve, Ghana. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 25:1- 4.

14. Beier, P., Drielen, M. and Kankam, B. O. (2002). Avifauna collapse in West African forest fragments. Conservation Biology, 16(4): 1097-1111.

15. Kankam, B.O., Saj. T. and Sicotte, P. (2010). How to measure “success” in community-based conservation projects: The case of the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. In: Puplampu, K. P. and Tettey W. J. (Eds.), The public sphere and the politics of survival in Ghana. Woeli Publishing Services, Accra, Ghana. Pp 115-141.

November 2010
Ph.D. Anthropology, University Of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada [Specialty: Primatology]

March 2002
M.Phil. Wildlife And Range Management, Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

February 1998
B. Sc. Natural Resources Management, Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Ecology, wildlife management, and biodiversity, focusing on ecosystems, animal populations, behaviour, and species conservation in natural and reclaimed areas. I create management plans and biodiversity documents in these areas.

My research interests in biodiversity conservation encompass ecosystem dynamics, species interactions, and the effects of human activities on natural habitats. I also investigate wildlife populations, their habitats, and the relationships between species and their surroundings. My goal is to comprehend the factors contributing to biodiversity decline and devise sustainable conservation strategies.

July 2014 – Present:
Senior Research Scientist, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG).

March 2002 – July 2014:
Research Scientist, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG).

January 1999 – March 2002
Research Assistant, Research Scientist, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG).

No positions posted.

June 2016 – Present:
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4

August 2019 – July 2020 Academic year:
Senior Lecturer (Part-time), Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Wildlife and Range Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

August 2014– July 2019:
Lecturer (Part-time), Institute of Renewable Natural Resources (IRNR), Department of Wildlife and Range Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

2017:
CSIR-FORIG Best Scientist Contribution to Internally Generated Funds through Research Projects

2018:
CSIR-FORIG Best Scientist - Contribution to Internally Generated Funds through Research Projects

2019:
CSIR-FORIG Best Scientist -Attraction of funds through project proposals

ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI:
Obuasi Biodiversity Baseline review and management plan.

NEWMONT GHANA GOLD LTD:
Ahafo South Biodiversity Monitoring

NEWMONT GHANA GOLD LTD:
Akyem Biodiversity Monitoring

No achievement posted.

• Research Staff Association of CSIR
• African Primatological Society