Climate change and preservation of minority languages in the upper regions of Ghana: A systematic review

Abstract

A well-recognized fact is that addressing the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and minority groups remains a central focus toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goals 11 and 13. Approaches for effective adaptation to climate change through national and local efforts fundamentally aim to create environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive, and economically vibrant communities. This paper associates the impacts of climate change to the preservation of threatened minority languages in semi-arid areas in Northern Ghana. This review relies on primary and secondary sources on climate-induced migration, minority languages, and threats of language loss through a keyword search followed by rigorous content analysis. The study confirms that forced displacement due to harsh climatic and other environmental conditions is currently occurring in the upper regions (Upper East and Upper West Regions) of Ghana with minority linguistic groups being forced to migrate to the southern part of the country, where their culture and language are threatened due to large linguistic groups. The literature well establishes the north–south mobility with various debates on its root causes. However, the phenomenon is understudied along with the lack of specific national strategies for addressing it and the associated language loss. Therefore, the need emerges for further studies to enhance the current understanding of the phenomenon to inform policy interventions and protect minority languages threatened by climate-induced migration. The focus on an understudied subject and geographic scope makes the findings extremely relevant for the expansion of knowledge on internal migration in the context of climate change in Northern Ghana.