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Sacred groves versus
gold mines: biocultural
community protocols
in Ghana
10
by BERNARD GURI YANGMAADOME, DANIEL BANUOKU
FAABELANGNE, EMMANUEL KANCHEBE DERBILE,
WIM HIEMSTRA and BAS VERSCHUUREN
Introduction
The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and
Organizational Development (CIKOD) has
been working with the Tanchara community in the Upper West Region of Ghana
since 2003.1 In 2004, an Australian mining
company, Azumah Resources Limited, was
granted permission by the Ghanaian
government to prospect for gold in the
Upper West Region. The possibility of finding gold attracted illegal miners to the area,
scarring the land and polluting the streams
with toxic chemicals used for gold extraction. Their activities also threatened the
sacred groves in Tanchara – green clusters
of indigenous trees and shrubs revered as
sacred lands. Sacred groves are important
sources of medicinal plants, and conserve
soil and water supplies. Most importantly,
they are home to the community’s ancestral spirits, and play a key role in the
community’s spiritual life. Traditional regulations for the protection of the sacred
groves are enforced by the Tingandem, the
spiritual leaders who are regarded as the
true owners of land. They advise the Chief
and the Pognaa, the Chief ’s female counterpart.
In 2010, in response to these threats to
the sacred groves and water supplies – and
for the first time in their history – a united
group of ten Tingandem came together to
protest against the mining activities. This
article relates the events leading up to and
following this protest, including how, with
the help of CIKOD, the community was
mobilised to recognise and document its
institutions and assets, and work towards
achieving its own development vision.
Building on this work, the community
developed a biocultural community protocol (BCP) as a tool to seek legal protection
for its traditional knowledge and natural
resources against the threat of gold mining
(Natural Justice, 2009). The article draws
out lessons for others developing and using
1 CIKOD is a Ghanaian non-profit organisation. Board members include the Pro-Vice Chancellor
of University of Development, the President of the National House of Chiefs, a Former MP for
Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region and a Queen Mother (traditional female leader) from
Mampong Akwapim. CIKOD is coordinator of the ETC COMPAS network in Africa.