Climate Change and Indigenous Akan Religio-Cultural Practices

Abstract

AbstractMost national and international discussions have not seriously recognized the role religio-cultural practices of indigenous Africans can play in mitigating the effects of climate change. This paper, examines the contribution the indigenous people can make towards the mitigation of the effects of climate change, using the Akan of Ghana as a case study. Mostly, indigenous people who are the major stakeholders in land use in Ghana are marginalized when policies aimed at reducing environmental degradation are made. This has resulted in low gains in the fight against environmental degradation despite several interventions in Ghana. A recent report puts Ghana into a net-emitter of GHG bracket. This means the country has to embark on a Low Carbon Development Strategy to address the situation. This paper, therefore argues that unless indigenous people—major stakeholders of land use—are duly involved; it will be difficult to address the effects of climate change in Ghana.