Bio-Cultural Community Protocols on Sacred Sites, Bern
Guri and Daniel Banuoku CIKOD, Ghana
Mr Guri and Mr Banuoku presented on CIKOD’s recent
experiences in developing a BCP on sacred sites in
Ghana’s upper west region. They indicated that the BCP
was initiated to enable the community to negotiate with
external parties.
An endogenous approach was used to enable the BCP
development process to be based on the community’s
own criteria of development while taking into account
the material, social and spiritual well-being of the
community.
The BCP development process included the following
steps:
A proper entry using traditional protocols
Identifying and strengthening decision making
structures
Raising awareness
Mapping sacred groves, wetlands and burial
ground
Researching into national and international legal
instruments that work against or support
community rights to sacred sites
Starting a dialogue with mining company, district
assembly and regional coordinating council
The challenges encountered were as follows:
No legal backing of customary laws
Customary laws are not obeyed by the youth because of religion and education
The threat of gold mining to take over sacred sites
The lessons learnt from the entire process:
Firstly, it was important to go
at
the
pace
of
the
community, especially the
elders. It was essential that
they were provided with and
understood all information
concerning each step in the
process. . It was also critical
to gather perspectives from
all the members of the
community as opposed to
focus on the elders only.
Secondly, it was worthwhile
to show the appreciation of
the
community’s
cultural
resources and biodiversity
while documenting them.
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