Challenges of preserving indigenous ecological knowledge through intergenerational transfer to youth

Abstract

Indigenous communities have acquired significant ecological knowledge which is now gaining global recognition. This makes its preservation for the benefit of society essential. Preservation of indigenous knowledge has been pursued through cultural transmission processes which resulted in intergenerational knowledge transfer to youth. Using data from research conducted in two indigenous communities in Ghana, this paper examines key cultural transmission processes including socio-cultural functions that enabled young persons to interact with and thereby acquire ecological knowledge from elders and other knowledgeable persons. It identifies constraining variables such as limited youth focus on, and inadequate hands-on involvement in, traditional aspects of these functions as critical factors that might negatively affect long-term, sustainable use of acquired knowledge. The paper then examines possibilities of using prominent community members as role models for young persons and other measures for strengthening community interactive processes through which intergenerational knowledge transfer could be sustained.