The Importance of Traditional Conservation Practices in Fighting Climate Change.
Forest fringe communities in the Afadzato South District of the Volta Region have urged the Government to recognize the efficacy of traditional practices in the fight against climate change. According to locals, traditional taboos, beliefs, and cultural practices aimed at preserving water bodies, forests, and sacred groves have been more successful in protecting the environment than policies and laws.
Representative Togbe Tsoble Adoka of the Goviefe Traditional Area in the district cited the Togbe Weto Sacred Grove as a prime example of how traditional conservation practices can help mitigate climate change. The Grove, located at Goviefe Todzi, has served as a climate buffer for both local residents and the Akwapim-Togo-Atakora range for many years.
The Weto Range is home to various ecosystems, including watersheds, mountain forests, savanna grasslands, rivers, and streams. Despite being destroyed by wildfires in 1983, the local people continued to protect the mountain, which they believe is the source of their socioeconomic development, until it regained its original spiritual, cultural, and environmental significance.
According to Togbe Adoka, the chieftaincy institution, which is highly respected in the communities, wields significant influence. He emphasized that chiefs and queens can mobilize people to protect the environment against bushfires and other negative practices that destroy biodiversity.
The Weto Grove is a diverse habitat that provides a habitat for various flora, fauna, avifauna, and invertebrates. These species help boost the ecosystem, serving as a barrier against climate change. The range boasts various animals, including antelopes, duikers, hedgehogs, rats, bushbuck, snails, and warhogs.
Togbe Adoka explained that the diversity of medicinal plants in the Grove helps treat diseases, while seeds, nuts, and snails serve as sources of food. The deity in the sacred grove is also considered powerful, believed to cure ailments, protect people during conflicts, and provide children to women considered barren.
To ensure strict compliance with traditional ways of protecting the grove against bushfires, the elders of Goviefe Todzi sent emissaries to present local gin to the other sub-chiefs in the seven adjoining communities to seek their support and consent in ensuring that no one set fire in the forest. The presentation of the drinks, coupled with clearly spelt-out punitive measures, served as a bond between the people to protect the environment.
To further support conservation efforts, Mr. Pascal Benson Atiglah, the Executive Director of Accelerated Rural Development Organisation (ARDO), has intensified sensitisation of residents on the need to conserve forests and sacred groves. The organisation promotes the planting of economic trees such as Monodora Myristica for income generation and provides protective gear for fire volunteers.
ARDO is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Programme under the UNDP and the New England Biolabs Foundation, a private organisation fostering community-based conservation of landscapes. The organisation also advocates for a ban on chainsaw activities, which affect efforts to conserve forests.