Employment Creation Potential, Labor Skills Requirements, and Skill Gaps for Young People Ghana Case Study

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Employment Creation Potential, Labor Skills Requirements, and Skill Gaps for Young People Ghana Case Study RESEARCH STREAM Addressing Africa’s youth unemployment through industries without smokestacks June 2021 Employment creation potential, labor skills requirements, and skill gaps for young people Ghana case study Ernest Aryeetey, Priscilla Twumasi Baffour, Festus Ebo Turkson AGI Working Paper #30 Industries without smokestacks Ernest Aryeetey is the secretary-general of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). Priscilla Twumasi Baffour is a senior lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. Festus Ebo Turkson is a senior lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the Brookings Institution for the invitation to join the project “Addressing youth unemployment in Africa through industries without smokestacks.” The authors would like to thank John Page for the very helpful comments and direction. The authors are also grateful to the workshop participants at the Brookings Institution virtual workshop in June 2020 for their very useful comments and discussions. Brookings gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the Mastercard Foundation and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Brookings recognizes that the value it provides is in its commitment to quality, independence, and impact. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment. The views expressed by Brookings do not necessarily represent those of the Mastercard Foundation or its Board of Directors, or IDRC or its Board of Governors. The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings Employment creation, labor skills requirements, and skills gaps for young people: A Ghana case study Abstract The issue of jobless growth and the poor performance of manufacturing have become major concerns in Africa. A new growth trajectory has emerged in the region with services as the driver of growth, contrary to the expectations of manufacturing export-led transformation with the capacity to absorb low to medium-skilled workers as previously observed in East Asia and other newly industrialized countries. It has become imperative for African countries, such as Ghana, to redirect attention towards identifying and supporting sectors with more significant employment potentials, in the quest to provide decent employment for a rapidly growing population, especially the youth. Indeed, the challenge of jobless growth in Ghana has brought to fore the need to diversify the economy away from mineral dependence through industrial transformation, mindful of the new technological developments. In this report, ‘industries without smokestacks’ (IWOSS) the Ghana case study identified agro-processing and tourism as two of the sectors that could be relied on to potentially address the country’s jobless growth issue and enhance the competitiveness and productivity of small and medium-sized firms. The report has demonstrated that both the agro-processing and tourism sectors have several characteristics that make them unique to the situation of Ghana: (1) there is an improved regulatory environment for both sectors, and this is supported by various public policies to improve related infrastructure and unearth the potential in the two sectors; (2) both sectors offer critical employment avenues for the youth with at least secondary education, and this pool can be found among the relatively large unemployed individuals; (3) both sectors have a huge export capacity, and this is critical in enhancing competition; (4) the technologies used in both sectors are labor intensive, and this has prospect in addressing the country’s unemployment challenge, and (5) there has been some effort to address various constraints in the value chains of both sectors. Projecting into the future, we find agro-processing and tourism (hotels and restaurants) will experience a much higher annual employment growth than manufacturing and other non-IWOSS sectors by 2035. Although skill transformation of the workforce will mainly take place in non-IWOSS sectors, our projections to 2035 suggest that the IWOSS sectors in Ghana would generate more high-skilled jobs in an economy that will continue to be dominated by low-skilled workers. Overall, constraints identified in agro-processing and tourism sub-sectors include the lack of adequately skilled labor, lack of access to credit facilities, inadequate infrastructure, cost of electricity, limited capacity to export and restrictive/cumbersome regulatory environment. Specific constraints identified in the limited survey conducted on selected firms within the IWOSS sector highlight the lack of skills that are critical to the operations of IWOSS sectors (agro-processing and tourism) with the specific skills being systems skills, technical skills, and problem-solving skills. Based on this, it is recommended that a deliberate effort is made to address these various challenges to enhance the potential of the two sectors. Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings Industries without smokestacks Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 2. Country context and background.................................................................................... 4 3. Patterns of growth: The role of IWOSS .......................................................................... 12 3.1 What is IWOSS?............................................................................................................. 12 3.2 Overview of trends in agro-industry and tourism................................................................ 12 3.3 Sectoral decomposition in employment and productivity: IWOSS in comparative perspective with non-IWOSS over the last decade ........................................................................................... 20 3.4 Policies to promote IWOSS sectors in Ghana .................................................................... 23 4. Constraints to IWOSS growth ....................................................................................... 29 4.1 Regulatory environment and requirements....................................................................... 29 4.2 Infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 31 4.3 Skills ............................................................................................................................ 32 4.4 Capacity to export .......................................................................................................... 33 4.5 Agglomeration ............................................................................................................... 33 4.6 Firm capabilities ............................................................................................................ 34 4.7 Constraints within the value chains ................................................................................. 34 4.8 Potential for future output and employment growth and demand for labor .......................... 36 5. Scenarios for the future: Projecting output and employment growth and demand for skilled workers............................................................................................................................. 40 6. Firm survey results ..................................................................................................... 44 6.1 Identifying skills in business ........................................................................................... 45 6.2 Digital skills................................................................................................................... 50 6.3 Future occupational and skill needs ................................................................................ 50 6.4 Business environment.................................................................................................... 52 6.5 Innovation and technology.............................................................................................. 54 7. Policy implications: Unlocking growth potential and overcoming skill gaps ....................... 56 7.1 Measures to ensure rapid overall growth ......................................................................... 56 7.2 Measures to realize the potential of the IWOSS sectors ..................................................... 58 8. Conclusion................................................................................................................. 59 References........................................................................................................................ 61 Appendix A: The employment and growth opportunities in Ghana’s tourism sector: A case report of the Elmina Castle .................................................................................................................... 64 Appendix B: Tables............................................................................................................. 67 Appendix C:
Recommended publications
  • Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a Conservation Study
    Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a conservation study http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.hyland001 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a conservation study Author/Creator Hyland, Anthony David Charles Date 1979 Resource type Dissertations Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) Volta-Tano Watershed, Ghana, Elmina, Fort St. Jago Rights By kind permission of Anthony David Charles Hyland. Description A detailed assessment of Elmina Fort in 1979 within the context of Ghana's emerging conservation movement at that time. It also describes the nearby town of Elmina, and the use of the fort at the time.
    [Show full text]
  • Jubilee Field Draft EIA Chapter 4 6 Aug 09.Pdf
    4 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BASELINE 4.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a description of the current environmental and socio- economic situation against which the potential impacts of the Jubilee Field Phase 1 development can be assessed and future changes monitored. The chapter presents an overview of the aspects of the environment relating to the surrounding area in which the Jubilee Field Phase 1 development will take place and which may be directly or indirectly affected by the proposed project. This includes the Jubilee Unit Area, the Ghana marine environment at a wider scale and the six districts of the Western Region bordering the marine environment. The Jubilee Unit Area and its regional setting are shown in Figure 4.1. The project area is approximately 132 km west-southwest of the city of Takoradi, 60 km from the nearest shoreline of Ghana, and 75 km from the nearest shoreline of Côte d’Ivoire. Figure 4.1 Project Location and Regional Setting ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT TULLOW GHANA LIMITED 4-1 The baseline description draws on a number of primary and secondary data sources. Primary data sources include recent hydrographic studies undertaken as part of the exploration well drilling programme in the Jubilee field area, as well as an Environmental Baseline Survey (EBS) which was commissioned by Tullow and undertaken by TDI Brooks (2008). An electronic copy of the EBS is attached to this EIS. It is noted that information on the offshore distribution and ecology of marine mammals, turtles and offshore pelagic fish is more limited due to limited historic research in offshore areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Tourism Development and Its Effects on Host Community: a Case Study of Kakum National Park in the Central Region of Ghana By
    TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND ITS EFFECTS ON HOST COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY OF KAKUM NATIONAL PARK IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF GHANA BY ALLEN KWASI MARFO (B. A. INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT STUDIES) A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PLANNING Faculty of Planning and Land Economy College of Architecture and Planning APRIL, 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work toward the MSc. and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains neither materials previously published by another person or materials which have been accepted for the award of any other degree by this or any other university except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. ALLEN KWASI MARFO ....................................... .......................................... (Name of Student and ID) (PG5435811) Signature Date Certified By: Dr.Charles Peprah ...................................... .......................................... (Supervisor) Signature Date Certified By: Prof. Imoro Braimah. ...................................... ......................................... (Head of Department) Signature Date ii DEDICATION In Memory of the Late Rt. Rev. James Kwadwo Owusu,the First Bishop of Sunyani Catholic Diocese and My LateFather MahamaWatra. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am greatly indebted to a host of individuals who contributed in one way or the other towards the preparation and completion of this thesis. First and foremost, I am particularly grateful to the Almighty God, my Creator, for His abundant grace, strength and guidance, without which nothing could have been achieved. Secondly, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Charles Peprah, for his help, advice and continual support and availability from the start until the last days of this work.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ohio State University
    Intersections of History, Memory, and “Rememory:” A Comparative Study of Elmina Castle and Williamsburg Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ashley Camille Bowden, B.A. Graduate Program in African American and African Studies The Ohio State University 2009 Thesis Committee: Dr. Walter Rucker, Advisor Dr. Leslie Alexander Dr. Ahmad Sikainga Copyright by Ashley Camille Bowden 2009 ABSTRACT The representation of freed and enslaved people of African descent at sites such as Elmina, Ghana, and Williamsburg, Virginia, are subject to much criticism and praise. “Founded” by the Portuguese in 1482 and later controlled by the Dutch, Elmina is distinguished as the first of its kind. Initially established as a trading center between Africans and Europeans, those interactions soon gave birth to Elmina as a dungeon for holding Africans as slaves for sale into slavery. Williamsburg, a living history museum, is identified as the second colonial capital following the Jamestown settlement. On the eve of the American Revolution its citizens were confronted with questions of freedom, independence, and bondage. While many white settlers fought for independence and freedom from England, they simultaneously embodied slavery and unequal treatment towards enslaved and free African Americans. Today, both Elmina and Williamsburg reflect historical spaces as memory of the past. This thesis explores the ways that contemporary historical interpreters depict Elmina and Williamsburg. Some of the goals of this thesis are to study and analyze the sites‟ contemporary flaws, the sources these flaws, the ways that the histories of these sites are packaged for guests, and to explore how the sites‟ guests are encouraged to re-interpret and identify with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic and Social Council 10 February 2017
    United Nations E/2017/51 Distr.: General Economic and Social Council 10 February 2017 Original: English 2017 session 28 July 2016-27 July 2017 Agenda item 20 United Nations research and training institutes Report of the Council of the United Nations University on the work of the University Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................... 2 II. Overview ..................................................................... 2 III. Institutional highlights .......................................................... 5 IV. Institutional priorities ........................................................... 10 V. Research projects ............................................................... 12 VI. Policy process linkages .......................................................... 16 VII. Education and capacity development ............................................... 18 VIII. Events ........................................................................ 20 IX. Communication and dissemination ................................................ 21 X. Financial and human resources ................................................... 22 Annex Members of the Council of the United Nations University ............................. 24 17-02084 (E) 170217 *1702084* E/2017/51 I. Introduction 1. Since 1975, the United Nations University (UNU) has been conducting evidence-based research that addresses real-world concerns. The aim of the research is to provide credible, objective guidance towards solving the
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Conflict Recovery in Africa: the Micro Level
    Post-conflict Recovery in Africa: The Micro Level Christopher Blattman, Yale University July 2010 Entry for the Oxford Companion to the Economics of Africa, edited by Ernest Aryeetey, Shanta Devarajan, Ravi Kanbur, and Louis Kasekende, Oxford University Press: Oxford. Development in Africa is inseparable from warfare. In the mid-1990s alone, a third of sub- Saharan African countries had an active civil war; many lasted a decade or more. Mass violence has afflicted nearly every African nation since Independence. These conflicts are epic events in each nation’s history, destroying life, skills, wealth, and infrastructure, and potentially damaging a society’s social bonds and institutions. We have only a rough understanding of the macroeconomic consequences of internal war worldwide: output falls dramatically then recovers slowly but steadily over time.1 One of the greatest barriers to understanding macro-level impacts and recovery is the dearth of micro-foundations. The majority of unanswered questions are empirical: what factors of production fall and by how much? How fast does each recover? What is the distribution of gains and losses? What role is there for public policy and programs? We are especially far from a satisfactory body of micro-empirical evidence. Until about ten years ago, most of our micro-knowledge came from public health: epidemiologists measured mortality, morbidity and disease; psychologists measured the incidence and determinants of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the 1990s a handful of labor economists studied the labor market impacts of military service, but limited their attention to American and European veterans. In the past decade, however, economists and political scientists have attacked these questions with increasing 1 Surveys of the macro literature include Blattman and Miguel (2010), Collier and Hoeffler (2007), and Humphreys (2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Global Development Under Pressure
    GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT UNDER PRESSURE BROOKINGS BLUM ROUNDTABLE 2011 AUTHORS Kemal Derviş, Laurence Chandy, Homi Kharas, Ariadne Medler, and Noam Unger CO-CHAIRS Richard C. Blum and Kemal Derviş lobal Economy and Development at Brookings services throughout Africa and Asia, and new energy-efficient examines the opportunities and challenges technologies throughout the developing world. The Center’s Gpresented by globalization, and recommends Global Poverty & Practice concentration is the fastest-growing solutions to help shape the policy debate. Recognizing that undergraduate minor on the UC Berkeley campus, giving the forces of globalization transcend disciplinary boundaries, students the knowledge and real-world experience to become the program draws on scholars from the fields of economics, dynamic participants in the fight against poverty. In addition development, and political science, building on Brookings’ to choosing from a wide variety of new courses, students worldwide reputation for high-quality, independent participate directly in poverty alleviation efforts in more than research. To address new challenges in development fifty developing countries. assistance, the Global Economy and Development The mission of the Aspen Institute is twofold: to foster program recently established the Development values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect Assistance and Governance Initiative. Through targeted on the ideals and ideas that define a good society; and to areas of research on aid effectiveness, governance and provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and anti-corruption, and reform of U.S. global development acting on critical issues. The Institute does this primarily in efforts, as well as undertaking key convening activities four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the like the signature Brookings Blum Roundtable, the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events.
    [Show full text]
  • 2009 Budget.Pdf
    REPUBLIC OF GHANA THE BUDGET STATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY of the GOVERNMENT OF GHANA for the 2009 FINANCIAL YEAR presented to PARLIAMENT on Thursday, 5th March, 2009 by Dr. Kwabena Duffuor MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING on the authority of H. E. John Evans Atta Mills PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA Investing in A BETTER GHANA For Copies of the statement, please contact the Public Relations Office of the Ministry: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Public Relations Office – (Room 303 or 350) P.O. Box MB 40, Accra, Ghana. The 2009 Budget Statement and Economic Policies of the Government is also available on the internet at: www.mofep.gov.gh ii Investing in A BETTER GHANA ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 3G Third Generation ADR Alternate Dispute Resolution AEAs Agricultural Extension Agents AFSAP Agriculture Finance Strategy and Action Plan APR Annual Progress Report APRM African Peer Review Mechanism ART Anti-Retroviral Therapy ASF African Swine Fever ATM Average Term to Maturity AU African Union BECE Basic Education Certificate Examination BoG Bank of Ghana BOST Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation BPO Business Process Outsourcing CAHWs Community Animal Health Workers CBD Central Business District CBPP Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia CCE Craft Certificate Examination CDD Centre for Democratic Development CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDECOM Central Regional Development Commission CEPA Centre for Policy Analysis CEPS Customs Excise and Preventive Service CFMP Community
    [Show full text]
  • Europeans in Ghana 3
    Cambridge University Press 978-9-988-89640-9 — Essential History Primary 6 Learner's Book 1 Paperback, 1 Elevate eBook 9789988896409 Excerpt More Information Strand Europeans in Ghana 3 Let us learn about ... The impact of European presence in Ghana Answer these questions in groups. 1 Who were the first Europeans to arrive in the Gold Coast? 2 What items did the Europeans trade with the people of the Gold Coast in exchange for gold? 3 What things did the Europeans introduce when they arrived in the Gold Coast that you still see in Ghana today? 4 Do you think European presence in the Gold Coast has affected Ghanaians today positively or negatively? Give reasons to support your point of view. 5 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-9-988-89640-9 — Essential History Primary 6 Learner's Book 1 Paperback, 1 Elevate eBook 9789988896409 Excerpt More Information Strand 3: Europeans in Ghana Sub-strand 4: The impact of European presence The history of European presence in the KEY WORDS Gold Coast settlers settlements You have learnt in History lessons from earlier years that impact Europeans including the Portuguese (1471), the Danes (1658), establishment the Dutch (1554) and the British (1598), among others, came to commodity the Gold Coast mainly to trade. They traded European goods exports with the people of the Gold Coast in exchange for gold, land and other items. You also learnt how these trading activities shifted from trading in goods and services to trading in people who worked as slaves on plantations in the New World (Americas).
    [Show full text]
  • Young Economists Outreach Programme in Elmina
    INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (ISSER) CORNELL UNIVERSITY AND ECONOMY OF GHANA NETWORK (EGN) YOUNG ECONOMISTS OUTREACH PROGRAMME DRAFT: 2 January 2008 Program for Opening Session: 10th January 2008 9.00: Seating of Invited Guests and Participants 9.30: Welcome Address and Introduction of Chairman Prof. Ernest Aryeetey Director, ISSER Chairman’s Opening Remarks Prof. E. Addow- Obeng Vice Chancellor University of Cape Coast Remarks from Co-organizers Prof. Ravi Kanbur Cornell University Opening Statement Hon. Nana Ato Arthur Regional Minister Central Region 10.00: Chairman’s Closing Remarks 10.20: Vote of Thanks Mrs Ama Pokuaa Fenny (ISSER) 10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break Programme for 10th January 2008 Session 1: 11.00 – 13.00 Individual Meetings with Young Economists (Parallel Sessions) Meetings Ernest Aryeetey--ISSER, Legon with Elizabeth Asiedu--University of Kansas Christopher Barrett--Cornell University Robert Bates--Harvard University Ravi Kanbur--Cornell University Andrew McKay--University of Sussex Gobind Nankani--President, Global Development Network Yaw Nyarko--New York University Abena Oduro-Dept. of Economics, Legon Nii Kwaku Sowa--Director General, SEC, Ghana Chris Udry - Yale University 2 13.00 - 14.00 LUNCH Session 2: 14.00 – 16.00 Young Economists Research Presentations I (Micro) Chair: Chris Barrett Presenters William Baah-Boateng: “Gender Discrimination in the Ghanaian Labour Market” Ebo Turkson: “Firm Growth Dynamics: Evidence from Ghana’s Manufacturing Sector” Seidu Alhassan: “Effectiveness and Sustainability
    [Show full text]
  • UNU/UNESCO 2009 International
    UNU/UNESCO International Conference September 28 & 29, 2009 • Tokyo, Japan www.unu.edu/globalization Africa and Globalization Learning from the past, enabling a better future Presenter & Panellist biograPhies Walid MahMoud abdelnasser Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Japan Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser served as chief of cabinet to the Egyptian minister of foreign affairs (2001–2002) and subsequently at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington D.C. (2002–2006). There- after he was director of the Diplomatic Institute in Cairo (2006–2007). He was seconded to the United Nations from 1992 to 1999. He is the author of seventeen books in Arabic, four in English, and has contributed to numerous publications in Arabic, French, English and Japanese. He is a member of the Egyptian Council of Foreign Relations, the Egyptian Writers’ Association, and the editorial board of the journal Beyond published by the association of former Egyptian employees at the United Nations. He holds a PhD in political science and a “license en droit”. CleMent e. adibe Associate Professor of Political Science, DePaul University, Chicago Clement Eme Adibe is an associate professor of political science at DePaul University, Chicago. He obtained his PhD in political studies from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, in 1995 and was the Killam post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, in 1995 and 1996. He served as a researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland in 1995. He was a research fellow at the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University (1992–1993); Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University (1993–1994); Legon Center for International Affairs, University of Ghana, Legon (1993); Queen’s Center for In- ternational Relations, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada (1994); and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Oslo, Norway (2001–2002).
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy As a Complement to the Existing Scientific Biodiversity Conservation Models in Ghana
    Environment and Natural Resources Research; Vol. 8, No. 3; 2018 ISSN 1927-0488 E-ISSN 1927-0496 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Traditional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy As A Complement to the Existing Scientific Biodiversity Conservation Models in Ghana Dickson Adom1 1 Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana Correspondence: Dickson Adom, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. E-mail: [email protected] Received: May 1, 2018 Accepted: June 5, 2018 Online Published: June 18, 2018 doi: 10.5539/enrr.v8n3p1 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n3p1 Abstract Biodiversity management in Ghana has been largely driven by scientific conservation models. The time-tested and useful traditional conservation ethos in the Ghanaian cultural and artistic elements such as festivals, proverbs, cosmological belief systems and taboos are often watered down by conservationists in biodiversity conservation schemes. This is due to conservationists’ lack of clear-cut guidelines on how to effectively utilize the traditional knowledge systems in complementing the scientific conservation models they are well versed. The developed traditional biodiversity strategy was based on the findings from a robust phenomenological study conducted among purposively and randomly sampled key stakeholders in biodiversity management in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The document aims at offering comprehensive information and guidelines to conservationists on effective ways of implementing traditional knowledge systems in biodiversity conservation issues in Ghana. It ultimately aims at filling the dearth in traditional knowledge systems that have been an age-long problem for the conservation ministries and agencies in Ghana. The informative directions in the developed traditional biodiversity strategy would offer another lens to addressing conservation issues in Ghana while acting as a viable complement to the scientific models.
    [Show full text]