Project: Ongoing

Funded by: Foundation Franklinia

Project Partner: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

In February 2023, BGCI published in collaboration with the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group and CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), a conservation action plan for Ghana’s threatened tree species, with a particular focus on thirty-eight endemic and near-endemic species. Conserving Ghana’s botanical diversity is of utmost importance for providing resilience to a changing climate, delivering vital ecosystem services and sequestering carbon. Raising awareness of the importance of the country’s native trees was identified as a key objective in the Conservation Action Plan.

A neglect of traditional cultural practices has been identified as one of the reasons behind increasing rates
of deforestation in Ghana. Historically, there are very few resources available to teach indigenous knowledge of native tree species in Ghana and the current national curriculum focuses on western dominated content. In 2023, a novel pilot project developed with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) produced lesson plans, activities and resources for indigenous knowledge (e.g. songs, myths and proverbs) related to native tree species and aligned them to the elementary school Ghanaian curriculum. Children were given the chance to visit areas of native forest where they participated in outdoor activities including drawing, how to plant a native tree species and native tree identification exercises. Children were also given an opportunity to engage with local elders who have a wealth of traditional ecological knowledge.