Abstract
Traditional festivals in Ghana are cultural events that are primarily organized to venerate the ancestors while remembering iconic events in the history of ethnic societies. However, due to the deleterious condition of the environment and its biodiversity resources, there is a great potential of tactically tailoring these traditional festivals to halt this wanton destruction while ensuring the sustainable development of biodiversity. This is especially important in local communities where illegal mining activities and deforestation has soared up recently in Ghana. Three traditional festivals in Ghana, namely, the Opemso festival, Papa Nantwi festival and the Apoo festival of some ethnic societies in Ghana were phenomenologically studied in a qualitative research approach with the aim of directly observing and carefully investigating into how the traditional festivals could be used as platforms for achieving environmental sustainability. Sixty-six purposive sampled respondents, some of whom were personally interviewed, while others were interviewed in a Focus Group Discussion were involved in the study. The research revealed after the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the accrued data that traditional festivals, though earmarked for the exhibitions of the rich culture of ethnic societies, they could be harnessed as avenues for the sustainable development of local communities. The study, therefore tasks environmentalists, foresters, biodiversity conservation planners and environmental development agencies to liaise with local communities in mapping out pragmatic environmental sustainability programs to bring to cessation, the environmental malfeasance in Ghana.
Highlights
Traditional festivals serve as avenues for propagating the rich cultural heritage of local communities [1]
The research revealed after the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the accrued data that traditional festivals, though earmarked for the exhibitions of the rich culture of ethnic societies, they could be harnessed as avenues for the sustainable development of local communities
The research was aimed at finding proactive ways of adapting traditional festival celebrations in helping in the development of the biodiversity in the host communities
Summary
Traditional festivals serve as avenues for propagating the rich cultural heritage of local communities [1] These social events are primarily celebrated to advertise and reaffirm the place identities of local communities [2] of which their cultural identities, their norms, beliefs and moral values are vividly espoused during the occasion [3]. [8] contends that traditional festivals help in revitalizing the indigenous knowledge which has been unjustly negated but are valuable tools for natural resource management. This might explain the often much emphasis placed on the development and conservation of the environment and its biodiversity resources. Traditional festivals promote the ideologies linked to the preservation of the environment and its natural resources [9]
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