THREATS TO SACRED GROVE CONSERVATION IN GHANA

This article is an excerpt from my undergraduate thesis titled, “Threats to Sacred Grove Conservation in Southern Ghana: A Case Study in the Winneba Forest District”.

Sacred groves refer to forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community (Sacred groves of India, 2008). In the past, small patches of forests were set aside, normally close to settlements, as sacred lands that could not be touched. These lands were strictly protected by customary laws.  Collectively they are known as sacred or fetish groves (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1995). Sacred groves are controlled by traditional authority (usually the fetish priest in charge of the god of the grove, the chief of the village, and heads of relevant clans).

 Preservation of sacred groves is enshrined in taboos, cultural and religious rites and is maintained through reverence for the gods and ancestral spirits (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1995). Many have special regard for and relationship with indigenous protected areas not because of their importance to biodiversity but because of their spiritual values. Most researchers believe that sacred groves not only preserve biological diversity but also cultural diversity (Pruthi and Burch, 2009).

According to Ntiamoa-Baidu, (1995) Ghana has about 1,904 sacred groves ranging from 0.5 to 1,300 hectares. Such groves fall under Category 7 of the IUCN/UNESCO conservation areas and about 79 percent of the groves are in the south (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1995). Sacred groves are important resources for conserving rare flora and fauna biodiversity and in some cases they remain as the only samples of the original vegetation in the area, the rest having been lost to anthropogenic activities.

Sacred groves provide the fringe communities with medicinal plants, wild food plants, game and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and in some cases may protect some important water sources (Jachie and Kagyasi Sacred Grove Conservation Project, GHA/94/020). Sacred groves are the sacred ecosystems functioning as a rich repository of nature’s unique biodiversity (Jonathan, 2008).

Despite the fact that many sacred groves are still well preserved, many have also been destroyed and others are now threatened by anthropogenic activities. The “social fence” traditionally provided by the local conservation ethic is weakening in a number of places ( Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006). Presently, sacred groves are vulnerable and have no major protection from the rapid urbanization and over exploitation of resources as a result of ever increasing population of humans. The threats vary from one area to the other and more specifically, from one grove to the other. The major threats include disappearance of traditional beliefs, rapid urbanization, developmental interventions, commercial forestry, encroachment, invasion by exotic weeds, fuelwood collection and economic development (Jonathan, 2008). Many countries and local communities have lost their legal ownership of sacred groves to the government which in a way has helped in the destruction of the groves (Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006).  Changes in spiritual and religious values also have affected sacred groves preservation. Sacred groves are assumed to have originated from hunter–gatherer societies and thus in animistic beliefs. Some countries have converted to other religions and this has led to the degradation of sacred groves. In ancient Europe (4th–5th century AD), for example, groves were  destroyed with the arrival of Christianity (Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006) and many places in India, local folk deities have been, and continue to be, replaced with Hindu deities (a process referred to as “Sanskritization”; Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006). Moreover, in many countries local traditions are being challenged by westernized urban cultures, so that the institution of sacred groves is losing its cultural importance for the younger generations of local people (Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006). Today the traditional belief systems which were fundamental to the concept of sacred grove conservation are considered mere superstitions. The rituals are now known to very few people, mostly belonging to the older generation. The traditional values are gradually fading out with the recent advent of modernization, urbanization and people’s changing aspirations. As a result, there is no fear in violating cultural norms and taboos leading to the destruction of sacred groves.  Conflicts among the sacred grove managers have also resulted in degradation of sacred groves, when policy decisions are made to benefit certain minority sections of the village society, against the traditions of the sacred grove. The marginalized group who feel aggrieved turns to indulge in activities which destroy the grove (FAO, 1990).   Changes in traditional natural resource management and the sustainability of practices in Ghana are important areas of concern (Ntiamoa-Baidu 1995). Factors which cause the changes are biophysical and socioeconomic (Sarfo-Mensah and Oduro, 2007). Breakdown of traditional beliefs and associated taboos play a major role in traditional natural resource management practices and this is because the spirituality of local people serves as the basis for all human endeavours. Sacred groves have been one of the worst victims to the changes and studies show that the erosion of traditional beliefs have been the main cause. The breakdown of beliefs that protect these areas has been attributed to western-type education and religion, to the immigration of people who may have no respect for local traditions, and to a lack of modern legislation to reinforce traditional rules (Sarfo-Mensah and Oduro, 2007).  Presently, the Ghana’s sacred groves are suffering from other threats like logging, hunting, bushfires, conversion into farmlands, and human settlements as well as mining. All these threats have not resulted from only breakdown of traditional beliefs but, high population growth and changing attitudes of human have also contributed immensely.

References

Sacred Groves of India [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sacred_grove] (Assessed 2009 August 31)

Jachie and Kagyasi Sacred Grove Conservation Project, (GHA/94/020) [sgp.undp.org/web/projects/5467jachie_kagyasi.cfm] (Assessed 2009 October 28)

Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. 1995. African Biodiversity Series, Indigenous vs. Introduced Biodiversity Conservation Strategies: The Case of Protected Area Systems. Produced by the Biodiversity Support Program Number 1.       

                                  

Pruthi, I and Burch, W .2009. Socio-Ecological Study of Sacred Groves and Memorial Parks: Cases from USA and India. International Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering 1:1 2009, 7pp-10pp. 

FAO .1990. The Cultural and Symbolic Importance of Forest Resources. [www.fao.org/docrep/T9450E/t9450e00.htm] (Assessed 2009 November 6).

Sarfo-Mensah P. and Oduro, O .2007. Traditional Natural Resources Management Practices and Biodiversity Conservation in Ghana: A Review of Local Concepts and Issues on Change and Sustainability. NOTA DI LAVORO 90.2007.

Bhagwat, S. A. and Rutte, C. 2006.  Sacred Groves: Potential for Biodiversity Management. Front Ecol Environ 2006; The Ecological Society of America, 4(10): 519–524pp.