under a project conducted for the United Nations Development Program (Dudley 1990). The Park can now boast of a Tree House which sits about 20metres from the forest floor in the trees in the Secondary Forest. This facility which houses close to 25 people provides an adventurous opportunity for campers to especially at night experience forest life. Due to the thickness of the rainforest, a number of the fauna (genets, leopards, etc.) are active in the night searching for prey to feed on. The Tree House thus provide a close proximity to the wildlife of Kakum. A trained Tour Guide is always on hand to take campers on the night hikes as well as sharing Folklore of the Kakum Forest by a bonfire. It is an intriguing adventure. Threats and conservation The threats faced in the park which are being addressed relate to poaching; visible proof has been recorded in the form of "camps, empty matchboxes, pieces of rubber tyres, used carbide, gunshots and cartridges"), hunting, land encroachments and chainsaw operation. Human-wildlife conflicts around the park are due to park elephants damaging the agricultural crops of the farmers. To prevent raids by elephants during the cropping season on the agricultural fields, farmers have adopted the practice of building pepper fences around their lands to protect their farms. The park is administered by the Wildlife Department of Ghana. Under the direction of Conservation International and with funding support from USAID, Kakum is considered the best protected forest in Ghana. As a result, it is now a major tourist spot. Though poaching is still prevalent, the management practice of involving local communities to share the benefits of the park would yield positive results. In the park, gamekeepers are specially trained in the medical and cultural significance of the local foliage. Tourism Kakum is Ghana's first protected area which has received major support for visitor facilities. The visitor centre opened on Earth Day 1997 and the park received the Global Tourism for Tomorrow Award the following year. Tourism numbers have increased over the years: 2,000 in 1992; 27,000 in 1996; over 70,000 tourists in 1999; and it attracted 135,870 visitors during 2009. References Dudley, J.P. (1995) Forest elephant conservation in West African rainforest fragments. Nature et Faune 11(2): 8-21. United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, Accra. Dudley, J.P., A.Y. Mensah-Ntiamoah, and D.G. Kpelle. (1992) Forest elephants in a rainforest fragment: preliminary findings from