Empirical measure of cultural sustainability

Abstract

In developing countries like Ghana, there is an urgency for focusing development on social, environmental and economic issues without a critical assessment of the sustainability of culture which is undergoing acculturation and assimilation. This limited focus is because of the non-existence of a clear measure for cultural sustainability. Consequently, this study sought to develop a measure for cultural sustainability by using the Ga/Dangme culture of Ghana as a reference since it has been one of the most threatened cultures from pre-colonisation to the present. The study employed a questionnaire for data collection and adopted exploratory, confirmatory, compositing and path analysis techniques to measure and assess the interaction between the indicators of cultural sustainability and spatial techniques to assess the effects of land cover change on cultural sustainability. Areas with high land cover change saw high cultural change which negatively affected all the seven indicators of cultural sustainability. Locality negatively affected diversity and eco-cultural resilience. High diversity was observed because of chieftaincy disputes which affected the eco-cultural civilisation of the younger generation. The Ghana Cultural Commission and the Ga/Dangme Traditional Council should, therefore, embark on programs to stimulate vitality and resolve chieftaincy disputes to promote the eco-cultural civilisation of the Ga/Dangme for a sustainable culture.