Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential synergy?

Sluka, Robert D.; Kaonga, Martin L.; Weatherley, Janice; Anand, Vijay K.; Bosu, Daryl; Jackson, Colin

doi:10.1080/14888386.2011.599780

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At a practical level, this suggests that the shaping of conservation initiatives should involve striking some challenging balances. For example, outside interventions might seek guidance from religious experts and other leaders on ways to incorporate Traditional practices/beliefs in ways that resonate with Traditionalists, but that are palatable to Christians (see for example, [ 23 ]). Another challenge lies in taking advantage of the ‘openness’ of some respondents to new ideas without unduly raising expectations (note the much larger performance gaps for some groups) and/or alienating those that may be wary of the utility of those ideas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another challenge lies in taking advantage of the ‘openness’ of some respondents to new ideas without unduly raising expectations (note the much larger performance gaps for some groups) and/or alienating those that may be wary of the utility of those ideas. Notably, there are longer-term trends in Ghana towards the decline of those identifying with Traditional religions; at the same time, many Ghanaians practice ‘hybrid’ forms of religion, where elements of Traditional beliefs/practices are incorporated by those that identify as Christian [ 18 – 20 , 23 ]. How will conservation interventions adapt to this changing religious landscape?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, survey patterns were strongly supported by focus group results, as indicated below. Third, giving respondents the close-ended choice of self-identifying as either Christian or Traditional may present a false binary, given the ‘hybrid’ religious practices of some individuals [ 23 , 28 ]. Fourth, while the focus groups suggest a role between Traditional beliefs/practices and CREMA perceptions in the Avu Lagoon case study, we do not have full information about what specific Traditional rules/norms might be associated with lands/objects that are covered by the Avu Lagoon (and other CREMAs), and what level of congruence there is between those guidelines and CREMA rules ( cf [ 19 ]).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In at least one case, NGOs have made a clear link between Christianity and CREMAs (and, more generally, the imperative to conserve). A Rocha Ghana (ARG), for example, is an NGO with a Christian background that has worked with teams of Christian and Islamic scholars to help develop the Murugu-Mognori CREMA, adjacent to Ghana’s flagship Mole National Park [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether the focus is on Traditional religions or Christianity, however, the emphasis of much work at the religion-conservation nexus in Africa/Ghana is on identifying the specific religio-cultural institutions and beliefs that can serve as entry points or can be leveraged for conservation interventions [ 17 , 23 – 24 ]. Less attention has been paid to how religion/religious beliefs, as a core element of Ghanaian culture, might shape perceptions of, receptivity towards, and/or evaluations of conservation interventions, including CREMAs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Religion and perceptions of community-based conservation in Ghana, West Africa

Murray

Agyare

2018

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adapting community-based protected areas to local context and evaluating their success across a range of possible socio-economic and ecological outcomes depends, in part, on understanding the perceptions of local actors. This article presents results from a mixed methods study that focuses on how and why religious identity, a prominent aspect of Ghanaian culture, is related to perceptions of the performance of several Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs). CREMAs are a form of Ghanaian protected area that emphasizes community participation and a range of socio-economic and ecological objectives. Using importance-satisfaction analysis, large-scale survey results show that respondents that identify as Christians consistently assign greater importance to CREMA outcomes than do those that identify with Traditional religions. Education and whether respondents were native to an area (both of which were correlated with religious identity) were also systematically related to perceptions of CREMA importance, with those that are educated and non-native to an area tending to assign higher importance to CREMA outcomes. Follow up focus group participants from the Avu Lagoon CREMA suggest that the patterns result from differing ‘openness’ to new ideas, relative dependence on natural resources, acceptance of Traditional practices associated with conservation, and a sense, for some, that ecological conditions are divinely ordained. Christianity, education and non-nativity are associated with much larger performance gaps, particularly with respect to socio-economic impacts. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for conservation interventions and the use of perceptions in assessing protected area performance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Religion and perceptions of community-based conservation in Ghana, West Africa

Murray

Agyare

2018

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Leadership and listening

Gosler

Bhagwat

Harrop

et al. 2013

Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

African Traditional Religion and Natural Resource Management: The Role of Totems and Deity Worship in Ghana

Benson¹

2021

AJES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: The exploitative tendencies of human activities have hugely hampered the environment, diversely. To that end, the international community has adopted several devices that are mainly anchored on law, ethics and religious doctrines to address the challenges. This paper looks at the relevance of religion towards environmental conservatism. In that regard, the main objective of the study was to ascertain how Traditional African Religious practices, in particular totemism and deity worship, do enhance the sustainable utilization of natural resources and the preservation of ecosystems. Methodology: This study which was guided by qualitative methods using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participant-observations; purposively selected 45 participants based on their knowledge on the subject area across three ethnic groups in Ghana. Findings: Findings showed that even though practices of totemism and deity worship by African Traditional Regions (ATRs) have aided environmental protection throughout the centuries, it is only coincidental as reasons behind the practices are spiritual and not born out of environmental consciousness or pragmatism. And that, practices of totemsim and deity worship are widely spread in Ghana and observed by all clans in the country. Recommendations: For effective environmental protectionism, it is recommended amongst other things that in addressing current ecological challenges, both modern scientific methods and indigenous traditional modes be synchronized efficiently. Findings in this article call for the festering of ideas amongst religious environmentalists, environmental institutions, governments and policy makers, towards the efficient management of environmental resources in the given circumstances.

show abstract

Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential synergy?

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

Religion and perceptions of community-based conservation in Ghana, West Africa

Religion and perceptions of community-based conservation in Ghana, West Africa

Leadership and listening

African Traditional Religion and Natural Resource Management: The Role of Totems and Deity Worship in Ghana

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About