Conservation Education: Roles of indigenous knowledge and cultural beliefs in southwest Nigeria

BABALOLA, Folaranmi Dapo - Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
folababs2000@yahoo.com; +234 8025487802

The world is currently faced with loss of biological diversity at an alarming rate. This is coupled with change in the global climate and extinction of natural resources. Conservation education is scientific in nature with little or no focus on the contribution of indigenous knowledge and traditional beliefs. A problem of integration of traditional beliefs into science is that of the refusal of many scientists to recognize traditional ecological knowledge as science because of its spiritual base, which they regard as superstitious and fatalistic. Many discussions implicitly or explicitly assume that biodiversity conservation is possible only within protected areas. As a matter of fact, most of the world’s biodiversity is in areas used by people. Local people have incentives to conserve biodiversity when their livelihoods depend on a multitude of products and values produced by biodiversity. In the past, sacred groves (forests that have been protected since the ages by traditional societies) were present in numerous parts of the world, but have been disappearing and few remain today. The principle behind these sacred groves is pro conservation. Hence, to conserve biodiversity, we need to understand how human cultures interact with landscapes and shape them into cultural landscapes.

A study conducted on selected scared groves in southwest Nigeria discovered the roles of indigenous knowledge and cultural beliefs in biodiversity conservation. One of such groves was Osun-Osogbo Sacred groves located in Osun State, Nigeria. It was named by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2005. The Osun cultural festival is a unique annual celebration in honor of the river goddess, popularly called Osun. The festival has acquired an international status witnessed by both domestic and international tourist. River Osun was believed to have provided the water of life which saved the inhabitants of ancient Osogbo town from hunger, pestilence and religious war centuries ago. It is still believe to provide protective guidance till today. The annual celebration is therefore done in reverence and appreciation to the goddess of fertility.

The Osun-Osogbo sacred grove is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people; it is probably the last in Yoruba culture. In the past, over thousand species of plants were identified in the grove. The grove also has riparian vegetation which houses primate species, birds, snakes and other reptiles, forest antelopes, squirrels, and amphibians. The riparian vegetation is unique in the sense that it is the only remaining relic of the Nigeria rain forest ecosystem endemic to the grove. The local people living close to the grove believed that trees such as Adansonia digitata, Bombax buonopozense, Newbouldia laevis and Melicia excelsa are sacred and should be preserved in their natural environment buttresses evidence in-situ conservation in the areas. Plant like Newbouldia laevis are considered very important in Yoruba culture most especially for installation of ‘Oba’ (King), traditional rulers and chiefs. Such plants, among others, are highly protected and prevented from going into extinction. Other plant species were protected because of their medicinal values. Entrance into the grove (as well as other groves) are regulated and restricted to some categories of people who happen to be the custodians.

Establishment of shrines and grooves where cutting is prohibited is highly contributory to the conservation of biodiversity.  Adherents of local beliefs fully appreciate the fact that many human catastrophes have their origin in the misapplication of science and technology. Modernization has taken its toll on wilderness conservation (just as it has affected all other aspects). For a peaceful co-existence of all of these beings, the humans, who consider themselves to be in charge, must be careful not to provoke or destabilize their environment and their "co-tenants."