ASANTE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: REPOSITORIES OF CONSERVATION ETHICS FOR GHANA’S BIODIVERSITY

The indigenous knowledge systems of the Asantes handed down to them by their past but active forebears carries a lot of weight in biodiversity conservation discussions. This is promulgated by the numerous conservation ethics hidden in the cultural and artistic practices of the people. Using the Asante Bekwai Traditional Area and it’s Protected Areas as a case study, the researcher accentuates the enormous conservation ethics in the Asante indigenous knowledge particularly cosmological beliefs, taboos and totems. Data analysis spiral was implemented for the interpretation of the data accrued via focus group interviews and non- participant observations. The study revealed that the Asante indigenous knowledge systems were and is still instrumental in conserving the biodiversity resources by regulating the residents’ behaviours towards the biodiversity resources in the environment. The research contends that the conservation ethics of Asante indigenous knowledge transcends time and must be utilized in contemporary conservation strategies for biodiversity. The study advocates for a renaissance and factorization of Asante indigenous knowledge in various developmental projects in Ghana. It tasks developers of conservation strategies and projects in Ghana to tactfully synergize the Asante indigenous knowledge with the Western scientific knowledge to aid in conserving and arresting the deficiencies in Ghana’s biodiversity.