William Oduro

Changes in Beliefs and Perceptions About the Natural Environment in the Forest-Savanna Transitional Zone of Ghana: The Influence of Religion

The potential of traditional natural resources management for biodiversity conservation and the improvement of sustainable rural livelihoods is no longer in doubt. In sub-Saharan Africa, extensive habitat destruction, degradation, and severe depletion of wildlife, which have seriously reduced biodiversity and undermined the livelihoods of many people in rural communities, have been attributed mainly to the erosion of traditional strategies for natural resources management. In Ghana, recent studies point to an increasing disregard for traditional rules and regulations, beliefs and practices that are associated with natural resources management. Traditional natural resources management in many typically indigenous communities in Ghana derives from changes in the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards tumi, the traditional belief in super natural power suffused in nature by Onyame, the Supreme Creator Deity. However, this is closely entwined with ecological, demographic and economic factors. Whilst these factors have driven the need to over-exploit natural resources, a situation which threatens the sustainability of community forests including sacred groves, religion has been used to justify such actions. This paper explores changes in tumi and the sustainability of sacred groves in the forest-savanna transitional zone in Ghana. It would confirm that changes in traditional animist beliefs, such as tumi, which informs the worldview of local people and underlies traditional natural resources management, is mainly due to the advances made by Christianity and Islam.

Traditional Representations of the Natural Environment and Biodiversity Conservation: Sacred Groves in Ghana

Local cosmologies and traditional perceptions of the natural environment, especially forests, have been a major influence in the management of the natural resources and biodiversity amongst rural communities in the transitional zone of Ghana. Sacred groves, which are typical outputs of traditional conservation practices, derive from indigenous religious beliefs and perceptions of forest. Sacred groves are believed to be the abode of local gods, ancestral spirits and other super natural beings. These beliefs and perceptions have in the past strongly supported the conservation of biodiversity. However, changes in local cosmologies threaten the protection of rare species, habitats and ecological processes. Data from the study confirm evidence from several studies in Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa that the tremendous ecological, social, institutional, religious and economic changes in communities that have protected sacred groves threaten the survival of these cultural artefacts. The paper demonstrates that in contemporary natural resources management, the sacred grove model may still be used as a means of restoring and protecting landscapes in indigenous communities. Even in communities where population explosion and economic pressures have reached thresholds that undermine the natural landscape, the model may still be useful to keep pockets of forests within the landscape.

Two-stage recovery of amphibian assemblages following selective logging of tropical forests.

There is a lack of quantitative information on the effectiveness of selective-logging practices in ameliorating effects of logging on faunal communities. We conducted a large-scale replicated field study in 3 selectively logged moist semideciduous forests in West Africa at varying times after timber extraction to assess post logging effects on amphibian assemblages. Specifically, we assessed whether the diversity, abundance, and assemblage composition of amphibians changed over time for forest-dependent species and those tolerant of forest disturbance. In 2009, we sampled amphibians in 3 forests (total of 48 study plots, each 2 ha) in southwestern Ghana. In each forest, we established plots in undisturbed forest, recently logged forest, and forest logged 10 and 20 years previously. Logging intensity was constant across sites with 3 trees/ha removed. Recently logged forests supported substantially more species than unlogged forests. This was due to an influx of disturbance-tolerant species after logging. Simultaneously Simpsons index decreased, with increased in dominance of a few species. As time since logging increased richness of disturbance-tolerant species decreased until 10 years after logging when their composition was indistinguishable from unlogged forests. Simpsons index increased with time since logging and was indistinguishable from unlogged forest 20 years after logging. Forest specialists decreased after logging and recovered slowly. However, after 20 years amphibian assemblages had returned to a state indistinguishable from that of undisturbed forest in both abundance and composition. These results demonstrate that even with low-intensity logging (≤3 trees/ha) a minimum 20-year rotation of logging is required for effective conservation of amphibian assemblages in moist semideciduous forests. Furthermore, remnant patches of intact forests retained in the landscape and the presence of permanent brooks may aid in the effective recovery of amphibian assemblages.

Traditional Natural Resources Management Practices and Biodiversity Conservation in Ghana: A Review of Local Concepts and Issues on Change and Sustainability

This paper reviews the importance of traditional natural resources management practices in Ghana. It highlights the roles of traditional beliefs, taboos and rituals in the management and conservation of key natural resources in the country. The paper is based on desk studies undertaken as part of anthropological studies conducted in the forest-savanna transitional agroecological zone of Ghana to study the spirituality of forests and conservation. Among the major conclusions of the paper is that although the potential of traditional natural resources management for biodiversity conservation in Ghana is enormous, the sustainability of these practices is seriously threatened. This stems from the rapid changes in the belief systems. Both biophysical and socio-economic factors were found to underlie these changes. The breakdown of traditional beliefs and associated taboos which underpin traditional natural resources management practices were found to be the greatest threat to the sustainability of these practices. The paper recommends that more anthropological research should investigate local perceptions of forest space and landscape, biodiversity conservation and traditional beliefs, and their significance for natural resources management. Such studies would provide valuable insights into the changing values of local people in relation to protected areas such as sacred groves and forest reserves and the management of other natural resources.

Frugivores and fruit removal of Antiaris toxicaria (Moraceae) at Bia Biosphere Reserve, Ghana.

In tropical forests, most individual fruit-bearing trees depend on frugivores for seed dispersal (Howe & Smallwood 1982, Wilson 1992). Seed dispersal enhances germination potential, provides an opportunity for seeds to escape predation under the parent plants, and reduces seedling numbers under parent trees (Şekercioglu et al . 2004). The way frugivores handle seeds and process them may influence the seed fate of many plants (Janzen 1971). The quantity of seeds dispersed and the quality of dispersal provided by frugivores impact plant fitness (Herrera & Jordano 1981). Schupp (1993) defined the effectiveness of seed dispersal by frugivores as an empirical measure of quantity of seeds dispersed and quality of dispersal from the parent plant to a suitable microsite. Seed dispersal by frugivores increases the chances for seedling survival away from the vicinity of the parent plant because in tropical forests seed predation is concentrated under adult trees that prevent seedlings from establishing near parent trees (Howe & Miriti 2004).

The genetic diversity of Jatropha curcas (L.) germplasm in Ghana as revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers

Jatropha curcas (L.) has gained popularity as a biodiesel plant to serve as an alternative fuel source and generate income to small landholders. The success of J. curcas as alternative fuel source and income generation depends on the identification of genetically divergent materials of the plant and developing superior planting stocks for farmers. This paper presents genetic diversity assessment of 40 representative accessions drawn from 90 accessions collected from ten regions of Ghana based on their seed yield performance. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis on the 40 accessions with ten primers revealed an average polymorphism of 24.99%. Genotype Genotype*Environmental biplot analysis which incorporates divergence effects due to genotype (PC1) and interactions between genotype and field parameters (PC2) was 44.7%. Hence the RAPD information indicates narrow genetic diversity among the accessions used in the study and J. curcas germplasm in Ghana. It is therefore recommended that local germplasm of J. curcas should be officially conserved and immediate efforts be made to widen the genetic base through research and introduction from other regions.

Relative contribution of neutral and deterministic processes in shaping fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages in Afrotropical forests

Abstract The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography has gained the status of a quantitative null model for explaining patterns in ecological (meta)communities. The theory assumes that individuals of trophically similar species are functionally equivalent. We empirically evaluate the relative contribution of neutral and deterministic processes in shaping fruit‐feeding butterfly assemblages in three tropical forests in Africa, using both direct (confronting the neutral model with species abundance data) and indirect approaches (testing the predictions of neutral theory using data other than species abundance distributions). Abundance data were obtained by sampling butterflies using banana baited traps set at the forest canopy and understorey strata. Our results indicate a clear consistency in the kind of species or species groups observed at either the canopy or understorey in the three studied communities. Furthermore, we found significant correlation between some flight‐related morphological traits and species abundance at the forest canopy, but not at the understorey. Neutral theorys contribution to explaining our data lies largely in identifying dispersal limitation as a key process regulating fruit‐feeding butterfly community structure. Our study illustrates that using species abundance data alone in evaluating neutral theory can be informative, but is insufficient. Species‐level information such as habitat preference, host plants, geographical distribution, and phylogeny is essential in elucidating the processes that regulate biodiversity community structures and patterns.