Th e way many Ghanaians relate to the environment now is not the best; they just do not care about how to handle the environment in a sustainable way. Th ey have forgotten that life is environment and environment is life due to rapid cultural change, population explosion etc. Th ere is indiscriminate logging, annual bushfi res, illegal surface mining, bad farming practices, dumping of human and industrial wastes into our water bodies and the like. It is estimated that over 90 percent of Ghana's high forest has been logged since the late 1940s. Th e sanitation situation is growing from bad to worst as the records show. All eff orts to salvage the situation over the years have failed to yield the needed results. It is for this reason that this paper argues strongly for the inclusion of indigenous Ghanaian religion and culture in this fi ght, for they have proven to be eco-biased religion and culture due to the environmentally benefi cial mechanisms inherent in them. Specifi cally, the traditional Akan use their conception of land, taboos, totemism, sacred groves and sasa to ensure the conservation of nature. Th erefore, this paper believe, the time has come for us to forge a common ground in our eff orts to fi nd a lasting solution to our environmental problems from both the perspectives of science and that of Indigenous Spiritualities and Culture.Keywords state of environment in Ghana, Akan worldview, Akan and nature salvaging, totems, water bodies, sacred grove, sasa 252 S. Awuah-Nyamekye / Worldviews 13 (2009)

No abstract

Unlike several decades after the World War II, there is now a growing recognition of the importance of religion for designing development programmes and projects. However, the involvement of religions of the indigenous peoples is not given the desired attention. This article, therefore, aims at presenting African traditional religion’s voice in this important discourse by using the traditional Akan people of Ghana as a case study. Despite its suffering from stereotyping, African traditional religion continues to play a critical role in the life of the traditional African. The term “Development” is not easy to define, the divergent theories on it point to this fact. The traditional Akan people’s understanding of development, however, is derived from their religious worldview. The institution of chieftaincy, gerontocracy, institution of taboos, kinship ties and their attitude towards nature are the main development mechanisms among the Akan. Despite the threats these mechanisms are undergoing today, the potential of these indigenous mechanisms for development is not in doubt, hence the need for further research.

The people of Berekum Traditional Area, Brong Ahafo region, Ghana, use their religio-cultural practices to instil and impart traditional ecological knowledge to their youth. Qualitative methodology research identified the main means by which indigenous ecological knowledge is transmitted to students: proverbs, myths, folktales, and rituals. There is evidence that indigenous methods of imparting ecological knowledge and thereby dealing with environmental problems are facing some challenges that appear to have interfered with their effectiveness. These challenges may be attributed to a change in the people's worldview resulting from cultural contact and modernity. The findings indicate that indigenous ecological knowledge is a potential resource that can complement scientific means of dealing with the region's environmental problems.