Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria
Globally, sacred groves represent a traditional form of community-based conservation system, recognized for their capacity to preserve areas that are of cultural and religious importance to local people. In most cases, the entire community takes on a watchdog role to guard against encroachment and u...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115551 |
| _version_ | 1855526360451121152 |
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| author | Adeyanju, S. Bulkan, J. Onyekwelu, J. Peterson St-Laurent, G. Kozak, R. Sunderland, T.C.H. Stimm, B. |
| author_browse | Adeyanju, S. Bulkan, J. Kozak, R. Onyekwelu, J. Peterson St-Laurent, G. Stimm, B. Sunderland, T.C.H. |
| author_facet | Adeyanju, S. Bulkan, J. Onyekwelu, J. Peterson St-Laurent, G. Kozak, R. Sunderland, T.C.H. Stimm, B. |
| author_sort | Adeyanju, S. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Globally, sacred groves represent a traditional form of community-based conservation system, recognized for their capacity to preserve areas that are of cultural and religious importance to local people. In most cases, the entire community takes on a watchdog role to guard against encroachment and unauthorized access either by its members or outsiders who might desecrate such sites. Our paper investigates the effects of different governance arrangements on three sacred groves in southwest Nigeria⎯Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove (UNESCO World Heritage Site); Idanre Hills (Nigerian National Monument) and Igbo-Olodumare (local cultural site)⎯on their socio-economic and religio-cultural benefits and contribution to biodiversity conservation. Using a mixed-methods design of a semi-structured questionnaire (n=167), key informant interviews (n=2), and focus groups (n=7), we collected data from local community members, traditional priests, sacred grove devotees and tourism officials. We found that customary institutions have guided reverence for sacralized spaces and wise utilization of their unique resources. The growing recognition of sacred groves has paved the way for socioeconomic rewards for individuals and government as cultural tourism increases. We found that the involvement of formal institutions alongside customary institutions in sacred grove management reinforces compliance with conservation laws within the sacred groves, especially where traditional norms are weak or may be disregarded. We discuss the implications of these observations and offer suggestions to improve community engagement, uphold traditional ecological knowledge, and develop ecotourism within the groves. We conclude that the co-existence of community-based conservation through a system of established traditional norms and prohibitions as well as formal government legislation and management, offers assurance for the long-term preservation of sacred groves and their biodiversity. |
| format | Preprint |
| id | CGSpace115551 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| publisherStr | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1155512024-11-15T08:52:34Z Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria Adeyanju, S. Bulkan, J. Onyekwelu, J. Peterson St-Laurent, G. Kozak, R. Sunderland, T.C.H. Stimm, B. biodiversity conservation indigenous people natural resource management Globally, sacred groves represent a traditional form of community-based conservation system, recognized for their capacity to preserve areas that are of cultural and religious importance to local people. In most cases, the entire community takes on a watchdog role to guard against encroachment and unauthorized access either by its members or outsiders who might desecrate such sites. Our paper investigates the effects of different governance arrangements on three sacred groves in southwest Nigeria⎯Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove (UNESCO World Heritage Site); Idanre Hills (Nigerian National Monument) and Igbo-Olodumare (local cultural site)⎯on their socio-economic and religio-cultural benefits and contribution to biodiversity conservation. Using a mixed-methods design of a semi-structured questionnaire (n=167), key informant interviews (n=2), and focus groups (n=7), we collected data from local community members, traditional priests, sacred grove devotees and tourism officials. We found that customary institutions have guided reverence for sacralized spaces and wise utilization of their unique resources. The growing recognition of sacred groves has paved the way for socioeconomic rewards for individuals and government as cultural tourism increases. We found that the involvement of formal institutions alongside customary institutions in sacred grove management reinforces compliance with conservation laws within the sacred groves, especially where traditional norms are weak or may be disregarded. We discuss the implications of these observations and offer suggestions to improve community engagement, uphold traditional ecological knowledge, and develop ecotourism within the groves. We conclude that the co-existence of community-based conservation through a system of established traditional norms and prohibitions as well as formal government legislation and management, offers assurance for the long-term preservation of sacred groves and their biodiversity. 2021-09-01 2021-10-21T01:13:11Z 2021-10-21T01:13:11Z Preprint https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115551 en Open Access MDPI Adeyanju, S.; Bulkan, J.; Onyekwelu, J.; Peterson St-Laurent, G.; Kozak, R.; Sunderland, T.; Stimm, B. 2021. Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria.. Preprints, 2021090001. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202109.0001.v1 |
| spellingShingle | biodiversity conservation indigenous people natural resource management Adeyanju, S. Bulkan, J. Onyekwelu, J. Peterson St-Laurent, G. Kozak, R. Sunderland, T.C.H. Stimm, B. Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title | Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title_full | Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title_fullStr | Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title_short | Drivers of Biodiversity Conservation in Sacred Groves: A Comparative Study of Three Sacred Groves in Southwest Nigeria |
| title_sort | drivers of biodiversity conservation in sacred groves a comparative study of three sacred groves in southwest nigeria |
| topic | biodiversity conservation indigenous people natural resource management |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115551 |
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