Culture And Climate Change Interface, With -

Culture And Climate Change Interface, With Particular Reference To Ghana

Michael Kofi Nsiah, Sunyani Polytechnic, P.O. Box 206, Sunyani

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CULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE INTERFACE, WITH PARTICULAR

REFERENCE TO GHANA

Michael Kofi Nsiah

* Michael Kofi Nsiah is the Planning Officer, Sunyani Polytechnic, Ghana. He also works as a Research

Assistant, RASCON Consultancy, Ghana. Michael obtained his B.A.. (Social Science) and Dip. ED from

the University of Cape Coast and M.Sc. (Dev. Policy and Planning) from KNUST, Ghana. Cert. In

Adaptive Water Management (Jehu Nehru University-New Delhi), Contact: P. O. Box 206, Sunyani

Polytechnic, Sunyani , Ghana.Email: [email protected]

.



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Abstract

In every society, there is a culturally unique way of thinking about the world which

unites the people in their behaviours and attitudes to the environment. Culture, which

may be classified as material, social, ideological and art has implications on climate

change. Ideological culture for example, relates to what people think, value, believe,

and hold as ideals and, therefore, has a very unique way of influencing climatic change

in Ghana as well as how people should respond to the actions of others and their

environments.

How culture can be a powerful tool to enhance resilience is not well understood.

The paper, therefore, examines how both material and ideological culture can act as

positive tools to be harnessed to change the perception of people towards possible

adaptation to climatic issues. It also examines sectoral policies, and scientific

knowledge and cultural practices, including traditional authorities that can encourage

both utilization and conservation of natural resources. The research was mainly based

on, Review of Literature, Key Stakeholder Consultations Field Survey and Personal

Observations.

The findings indicate, among other things, that, Cultural values are very powerful tools

to help conserve the environment since native wisdom has, from time immemorial,

been used to preserve the environment. Ignoring culture of the people would present

difficulties in ensuring sustainability. Climate change threatens the existence of

ecosystem and the livelihoods of the poor who depend on agriculture. Ghana is an

agrarian country and therefore, climatic change is a human security problem. Climate

change in Ghana, for example, is affecting rainfall pattern in terms of intensity, volume,

water bodies for irrigation and dams such as the Akosombo dam and its capability for

power supply etc.

It is recommended, among others, that workshops on climate change should not leave

out traditional and religious authorities. Government of Ghana should set up a special

fund that can be accessed for culturally oriented climate change interventions.



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Introduction

Cultural dimensions of environmental issues have become strong pillars in environmental

management debate for sustainable development. According to (Burroughs 2005), the

growing body of literature on adaptation to climate and environmental change addresses a

wide range of factors that facilitate or prevent adaptation. The importance of information,

governance, financial resources, planning frameworks, technology and social capital has

been discussed widely. However, the role of culture in mediating the nature, efficacy and

sustainability of adaptation has only recently become a topic of discussion.

Acknowledging the ecological debt we owe to the planet earth, as a result of our

activities, cultural issues must be part and parcel of our eco-development plans and our

everyday activities towards environmental conservation.

Climate and Vegetation in Ghana have undergone a lot of changes. Forests are now being

transformed into savanna. Desertification is now advancing at an unprecedented rate. It is

now certain that the observed increases in mean temperatures are expected to continue, if

the human induced triggers of temperature such as lumbering, poor farming methods,

overgrazing by herdsmen, pollution etc are ignored. The cost of environmental

degradation to the economy of Ghana is estimated at 10 per cent of GDP, as water and air

pollution, deforestation and desertification continue to take their toll.

The Environmental Protection Agency established in 1994, has been using

Environment Assessment Administration Procedures as its major tool for achieving

compliance with environmental best practices. The agency promotes compliance by

working in partnership with other stakeholders, such as the Ghana Minerals

Commission which also has an equal mandate, to enforce environmental legislation.

However, cultural dimensions of climate change have not attracted a major policy

focus.

Mainstreaming Culture in Environmental Issues

Culture is the totality of the way of life of the people and it includes knowledge, belief,

art, law, custom, moral and other capabilities and habit that a person has acquired as a



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result of being a member of society. It is really a powerful phenomenon and if the

individual is socialized to acquire the habit of cleanliness, care for the environment etc.

then he/she would be more concerned to be part of the solution to environment problems.

In every society there are traditions, norms, social expectations customs and value

systems that impact, shape and mould the individual’s behaviour. People have frames that

determine how they make sense of and interpret phenomena around them and culture

happens to be the cornerstone of how they would see environmental issues. Any principle

of governance not derived from or based on our traditional values would not be founded

on ingrained attitudes and convictions of the majority of the people and would therefore

lack the commitment of the citizenry (Hagan, 1997). Commitment to preserve the

environment should be met internally through interplay of factors including cultural

elements such as beliefs, religion and taboos.

Triangle of Beliefs

The concept of religious belief systems can be categorized into three. They are: belief

in the principles of Traditional Religion to solve a problem, belief in the principles of

modern religion to solve a problem and a belief in the principles of non-existence of

any deity to solve a problem. The principles of the various belief systems can be

brought on board to solve environmental problems (Fig.1)

Global warming affects all belief systems but there have not been more concerted

efforts by the belief systems to have a common agenda to fight the common enemy of

environmental degradation. To advocate going back to the ancient myths to solve

climate change challenges, at this contemporary era, is to incur the displeasure of some

modern thinkers whilst going to their religions and other belief systems is to make

better inroads with respect to climate change interventions. This does not imply that all

belief systems should come together under one roof to draw a common climate agenda.



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Fig I: Triangle of Beliefs

Source: Author’s Construct

What are being advocated for include a comprehensive climate change orientations and

interventions using the principles of the holy books and other belief systems to energize

the believers to be more committed towards environmentally friendly programmes. Each

belief system should carve its own path but at the end of the day, all belief systems may

have contributed to the fight against the common enemy-Environmental Degradation.

Belief Systems and Conservation

All belief systems have important verses or quotations for ecological conservation. For

example, Deuteronomy (20:19) in the Bible, forbade the destruction of fruit-bearing

trees even when waging war against an enemy’s city. The verse concludes that “thou

shall not cut them down (for a tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the

siege” (Regenstein L www.all-creatures.org). In Koran chapter 55:6 it is recorded that

trees bow down in adoration. Again, the Bhagavad Gita is even more emphatic with

respect to conservation of the ecology. “Conserve the ecology or perish” the Gita

stresses (Source: http//www.arcworld.org/faith.asp?page ID=77)

Modern

Religion

Traditional

Religion

Atheist

Climate

Change



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Belief Systems and Conservation in Ghana

Ghana can benchmark what is happening in Tanzania which has used the teachings of

Koran to preserve the Masali Island from pollution and turned it into Tourist Centre.

The island of Masali is just a small dot in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Pemba. It is

surrounded by a coral reef which is a home to a rich variety of fish and turtles. A few

years ago this fragile island was under serious pollution through the use of chemicals for

fishing. According to Care International project director, Ali Thani, it was only possible

to convince the people with their religious leaders because they believed that it is easy to

ignore the government but difficult to break God’s (Dickenson, 2005)

In the past many traditional authorities or individuals in Ghana, set aside small areas

of forest as sacred lands which were strictly protected by customary laws. These sacred

areas are collectively, called Sacred Groves which are found all over the country. Various

stories were told about people who had been spirited away or met their untimely death

because they attempted to destroy the vegetation, polluted some water bodies or visited

the forbidden places on the taboo days. These stories, among others, put some fear into

the people thereby preventing them from destroying the traditional reserved water bodies

and forests. The traditional authorities were successful in preserving the environment

through these cultural stories and taboos. A typical example is that of sacred grove is

Buabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.

Fig 2: A monkey resting in the sanctuary Fig 3. The author and a Sicus Plant

Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2007



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The contribution of the sanctuary to micro-climate is immense. It has also become a

great carbon sink contributing to Greenhouse gases reduction. Figures 2and 3 shows a

monkey resting on a tree with and the author standing by a sicus plant respectively,

and contemplating on the serenity and beauty of nature preserved through belief

system of myth.

Scientific Approach to Preserve the Environment

Of course, fighting the challenges of climate change should be integrative. Using

cultural issues in isolation would not be effective. It should be blended with the

scientific approach. It is the gap of overemphasis on pure scientific approach and less

emphasis on culture as a strategy of facing global environmental challenges that is

worrying.

The Mole National Park, in the Northern Region of Ghana, is a classical example of

how scientific approach to conservation can protect natural resources. The park was

created with Wild Life Preservation Act 1957, (L.I 710). The act, among other things,

prohibited any encroachment of the park. Since then the area is fully preserved. The

size of the park is 7,000 sq kms. and has become a home of large number of ungulates

including elephants. The elephants, for example, freely move in the park as shown in

fig 4 below.

Fig 4: Elephants resting at Mole National Park

Source: Field Trip, 2007



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Cultural Strategies to Protect the Environment

Traditional Religious leaders, traditional authorities, festivals and gender issues which

are part and parcel of the culture of the people of Ghana, should form an integral part of

our instruments towards fighting environmental degradation. Cultural initiatives that

can be implemented as interventions include collaborating with Traditional Religious

Leaders and Traditional authorities.

Traditional Religious Leaders Approach

Traditional Religious practitioners who are also herbalist should be involved in finding

solution to environmental degradation. The major healing device used by them is herbs.

Traditional medicine would be extinct if there is indiscriminate cutting down of trees and

bush burning in the phase of few programmes to resuscitate the vegetation. Therefore, the

traditional religious leaders would be more willing to contribute their quota to any

environmental amelioration programme. Their participation in environmental workshops

for example, would equip them with some scientific knowledge to enhance their

campaign against destruction of familiar medicinal trees.

Traditional authorities and adaptation to climate change

According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11, the Great traditional Ashanti King, there is no

physical war in Ghana but the new war is a war against ignorance, hunger, illiteracy

environmental degradation etc.

Fig 5: Picture of Otumfuo addressing the people at a durbar of chiefs

Source: Asantehene Royal Diary, 2009.



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It is also of cardinal significance to note that the majority of Africans are found in the

rural areas hence they prefer looking up to their chiefs, who are their traditional leaders,

for some initiatives including environmental conservation.

Mobilization of the youth for conservation- some traditional leaders initiatives

Since chiefs and queen mothers are the custodians of the land they should lead the new

war which is fighting environmental degradation, pollution, hunger and ignorance that

is the neo-enemies of humanity. The empowerment of the traditional authorities for

example, to mobilize the youth to plant trees along river banks in their localities to

serve as carbon sink, would be a step in the right direction toward addressing climate

change challenges. The Okyehene Amoatia Oforipanin II, the great traditional king of

Akim Abuakwa Traditional area, in the Eastern Region, for example, has led

environmental conservation interventions in most parts of the Eastern Region by using

modern and traditional wisdom to mobilize his subjects to conserve the environment.

Furthermore, the paramount chief of Kokofu Traditional Area Barima Offe Akwasi

Okogyeasuo II has embarked on Afforestation programme. The move is to protect

forest and rivers in the traditional area, in order to prevent extinction due to human

activities.

The advantage of working through the traditional authorities is that they are the natural

leaders of the people and they are well organized.

Figure 6: Traditional Authorities in Arbitration

Source: Asantehene Royal Dairy, 2009

They have very efficient

traditional structures to sit in

arbitration to try cases that are

customarily in character. The

same structures can be

adopted to deal with

environmental ‘crime’ and

other environmental issues if

they are well coordinated



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Strategy to adapt to climate change through traditional festivals

Festivals are the best traditional way of bringing people in their numbers from all over

the country together, especially, the natives of the festival area. The main objective of

festivals is to bring the people to remember the past traditional events and see how the

way forward can be improved. Festivals are celebrated all over the country and are

celebrated throughout the year. They start from January and ends in December.

If traditional authorities do accept the idea to factor climate change awareness creation as

part of the activities during festivals, the education would be more effective.

Environmental issues can come on board as preliminary activity prelude to the climax of

festival. The traditional authorities have great influence during festive occasions.

There are a lot of festivals in Ghana including Adae Kese in the Ashanti Region, Apoo

festival by the people of Techiman and Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, and

Aboakyere festival of Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana, etc. The features have

assumed national character bringing all sorts of people together including foreign

nationals.

The Aboakyere festival of the people of Winneba in the Central Region, for example, is

a competition between two traditional groups. It is celebrated yearly in the first

Saturday of May every year. There are two traditional groups (Asafo). Each of the

groups must catch a live deer from its protected thicket and bring it to the chief. The

first group to bring the live animal wins the competition. The festival, from time

immemorial, has contributed to the preservation of the vegetation which is the home of

the deer. No one is allowed to clear the area for farming because it is a taboo to do so;

and people really comply with this prohibition.

The occasion would be a fertile ground for the traditional chiefs and other national

figures to create the necessary environmental awareness. This is not to suggest an

activity to mar or adulterate the sacredness of the occasion but an additional

developmental programme to supplement and enhance the festival. Preliminary

activities like environmental talks and tree planting to be named after the festival



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Fig 7: The Asafo Group carrying Deer on their shoulders

Source: Ghana Tourist Board.

could be arranged. The picture above shows one of the traditional asafo groups sending

the live deer to the paramount chief to be used as sacrifice.

Traditional Participation Approach

According to Hagan (1997), traditional societies project participation not only as a means

of deriving and concerting individual efforts; they saw it as an end in itself. Because of

this any person who isolated himself was also suspected of evil. Such a person was,

indeed, often accused of witchcraft. Recognizing participation as an essential expression

of our humanity was however not deemed enough. Clear principles were spelt out to

encourage it. Some of these principles are embedded in their proverbs. Some of these

include : ‘When two persons lay a trap both of them have to visit it (Akan)’. In other

words, it is only when two persons plan and set a trap that the two must move together to

see it (Hagan 1997). Environmental Protection measures must necessarily capitalize on

this traditional value of participation and involve the local people, the excluded and the

marginalized. Their inputs are essential elements in the environmental sustainability

equation. When Environmental Agencies distance themselves from the local people, who

are in the majority, without factoring in traditional consultations, they do not get their

support. This would render the officers powerless to implement environmental policies

efficiently and effectively

The significance of the festival is that

native wisdom through festival

coupled with myth have helped to

preserve the environment, as greater

care is taken by the natives to avoid

the destruction of the vegetation

where the wild deer are inhabited.



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Mainstreaming Gender in development

It is significant to point out that woman and children are responsible for around 70

percent of household food production in Ghana. Culturally, household chores are the

responsibility of women and children. Depletion of natural resources and decreasing

agricultural productivity may place additional burdens on women’s’ health and reduce

income-generating activities. Any policy aimed at better environmental management

should necessarily involve women who suffer more than men in the search for water,

firewood, food in order to manage the home.

Figure 8: Women and Children anxiously looking for water

Source: Author’s Field Trip

Figure 8 shows women and children at Manso Odaho in the Amansie West District in the

Ashanti Region struggling for water because the rivers they fetched

water are polluted and dried up and a whole village had to live on few number of

boreholes. Lateness for school is a common feature especially during the dry season in

the village because the pupils had to wake up early and spend hours at the borehole.

Status of women

In the traditional set ups, there are well organized women groups. The queen mothers

serve as heads of traditional women groups. In partnership with central government

women’s groups issues could be harnessed for gender balance in our society. Among



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the Akan tribe in Ghana, for example, women are placed on a higher status. Figure 9

shows the Queenmother of Asantis receiving homage at the palace

Figure 9: Queen of Ashantis (Asantehemaa)

Source: Asantehene Royal Diary, 2009

When a tribunal sits to settle a case, its members retire to take a decision and this final

act culminating in giving justice is referred to as “consulting the old woman” (Tufuo

etal, 1989)

Recommendations

Achieving Sustainable environmental management is to battle with a complex and

interacting factors of which culture is a cardinal issue. It is, therefore, important to

recognize the immense potential contribution that culture can offer for more proactive

and sustainable environmental management. The following recommendations should be

viewed with the seriousness they deserve.

Special funds should be created by the government so that traditional and religious

leaders who present good proposals can access to create the necessary environmental

awareness.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should intensify stakeholder workshop

and bring more women groups, religious and traditional leaders on board since they

would go back to their people to sensitize them to combat environmental degradation

through modern and their belief systems.

Women are key

stakeholders in

environmental issues.

They are only to be

empowered in terms

of knowledge and

logistics to be able to

fight global climate

change.



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All cultural programmes including festivals should have climate change themes

incorporated for awareness creation.

The government should partner chiefs and farmers in afforestation schemes. They

should be part owners of the trees they plant. Ownership of the timber they plant is an

absolute necessity for the success of reforestation schemes. Farmers would not plant

and maintain tress they do not fully and securely own.

Conclusion

The issue of culture and climate change nexus should be the centre of climate change

debate. There is the need to move away from over concentration on pure scientific

solution to climate change problems. Managing climate change challenges is a

formidable task of attempting to untie very difficult knot. However, it is increasingly

becoming clear that greater inroads can be made if serious attempts are made to deeply

understand our cultural heritage and use that as the basis for climate change

interventions.

Reference

1. Asante, S.K (Dr.), (Speech delivered as part of the Ghana Academy of Arts and

Science Presidential Lecture, Daily Graphic Wednesday, December 6, 2006).

2. Bohensky E.L (2008) ‘Discovering Resilient Pathways for South African Water

Management, Two Frameworks for a Vision.

http://www.ecologyandsocietyy.org/vol 13

3. Dickenson Daniel (2005), Eco-Islam hits Zanzibar fisherman,

http://news.bbc.co.uk accessed 17/2/2009

4. Burroughs W.J. (2005). Climate Change in Pre-history. Cambridge University

Press.

5. Hagan, G,P (1997), Traditional values and ethics of Good Governance, Paper

presented at National Workshop on Governance in Ghana, 16-18 June, 1997,

Accra International Conference Centre.

6. (http://the statesmanonline,com 9/16/2008) Statesman news ‘Annual cost of

environmental degradation to Ghana’.



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7. Iddirisu, Samwini Nathan (1997, National Workshop on Governance in Ghana,

16-18 June, 1997, Accra International Conference Centre

8. Ministry of lands and forestry (1999) Managing Ghana’s wetlands:. A national

wetlands conservation strategy. Ministry of lands and forestry, Accra

9. Nsiah-Gyabaah K., (2007), Global Climate Change, Vulnerability and

Sustainable Agricultural Development in Ghana, Proceedings of Sunyani

Polytechnic Lecture Series II QuakiType, Ltd. Accra .

10. Regenstein L, Animals Religion and the environment www.all-creatures.org,

accessed 23/2/2009.

11. Royal Diary of Asantehene, 2009, Express International Ltd, Accra.

12. Tufuo J.W and C.E, Donkor (1989), Ashantis of Ghana, people with a soul,

Anowuo Educational Publication, Kumasi.

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