Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Perception, experience, and indigenous knowledge of climate change and variability: the case of Accra, a sub-Saharan African city

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Regional Environmental Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Several recent international assessments have concluded that climate change has the potential to reverse the modest economic gains achieved in many developing countries over the past decade. The phenomenon of climate change threatens to worsen poverty or burden populations with additional hardships, especially in poor societies with weak infrastructure and economic well-being. The importance of the perceptions, experiences, and knowledge of indigenous peoples has gained prominence in discussions of climate change and adaptation in developing countries and among international development organizations. Efforts to evaluate the role of indigenous knowledge in adaptation planning, however, have largely focused on rural people and their agricultural livelihoods. This paper presents the results of a study that examines perceptions, experiences, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change and variability in three communities of metropolitan Accra, which is the capital of Ghana. The study design is based on a three-part conceptual framework and interview process involving risk mapping, mental models, and individual stressor cognition. Most of the residents interviewed in the three communities of urban Accra attributed climate change to the combination of deforestation and the burning of firewood and rubbish. None of the residents associated climate change with fossil fuel emissions from developed countries. Numerous potential adaptation strategies were suggested by the residents, many of which have been used effectively during past drought and flood events. Results suggest that ethnic residential clustering as well as strong community bonds in metropolitan Accra have allowed various groups and long-settled communities to engage in the sharing and transmission of knowledge of weather patterns and trends. Understanding and building upon indigenous knowledge may enhance the design, acceptance, and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies in Accra and urban regions of other developing nations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Over the past decade, there has been a renewed interest in culture and its relationships with development (Nederveen Pieterse 2001; Haggis and Schech 2002; Owusu 2009). This interest is associated with the broader discussions of culture in the social sciences described as the “cultural turn” (Steinmetz 1999; Nederveen Pieterse 2001; Haggis and Schech 2002). A widely shared view is that culture represents a dimension of development which should no longer be ignored or viewed as an impediment to development, as was largely perceived under classical modernization thinking (Nederveen Pieterse 2001). The resurgence of “rural studies” is one outgrowth of this dimension of social science that methodically analyzes “ethnography” overlain onto existing landscapes of knowledge (Cloke 1998).

  2. There were 13 adult females, 12 adult males, and 15 youth totaling 40 in James Town; 12 adult females, 12 adult males, and 15 youth totaling 39 in Ussher Town; and 14 adult females, 15 adult males, and 14 youth totaling 43 in Agbogbloshie.

  3. Old Fadama is a densely populated settlement of immigrants stretching from Agbogbloshie to the Korle Lagoon. It was once a wetland and was first settled in the 1980s by people who fled the Kokomba and Nanumba war. In more recent times, Old Fadama has become a shelter for many women and young people from the northern parts of Ghana who have migrated to Accra to seek a better standard of living (Tufuor 2009). Old Fadama occupies three hectares of land with an estimated population of 80,000 (People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements 2011). The Government of Ghana made an effort to restore the area through the “Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project” in 2003, which was disputed by the inhabitants of Old Fadama who would be required to leave the area. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has tried to evict the people (as recently as January 2011) and resettle them elsewhere in the Greater Accra region (Afenah 2012). The matter is still in dispute.

  4. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that changes in land use at a global scale contributed an estimated 1.6 [0.5 to 2.7] Gt of carbon per year to the atmosphere over the 1990s while the annual fossil carbon dioxide emissions increased from an average of 6.4 [6.0 to 6.8] Gt of carbon per year in the 1990s (IPCC 2007b, p. 2–3). There is some evidence that the loss of terrestrial vegetation cover in parts of Africa is influencing local climate variability through feedback mechanisms, but the complexity of the interactions precludes attribution and simple interpretations (Boko et al. 2007).

  5. The Agbogbloshie community is close to a coatings and paint manufacturer on Old Fadama Road that engages in car refinishing and commonly burns automotive waste products, including electrical refuse. It is also close to Old Fadama, which is one of the largest dumping sites of e-waste mainly from the West. The e-waste which provides employment to a substantial proportion of the youth in the area involves the burning of monitors, copper waste, armatures, aluminum, refrigerator cores, and motors (Oteng-Ababio 2012; Fuhriman 2008).

References

  • Afenah A (2012) Engineering a millennium city in Accra, Ghana: the Old Fadama intractable issue. Urban Forum 23(4):527–540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agyei-Mensah S, Owusu G (2010) Segregated by neighbourhoods? A portrait of ethnic diversity in the neighbourhoods of the Accra Metropolitan Area. Popul Space Place 16(6):499–516

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander C, Bynum N, Johnson E, King U, Mustonen T, Neofotis P, Oettlé N, Rosenzweig C, Sakakibara C, Shadrin V, Vicarelli M, Waterhouse J, Weeks B (2011) Linking indigenous and scientific knowledge of climate change. Bioscience 61:477–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) (2005) Arctic climate impact assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Armah KA, Wiafe G, Kpelle DG (2005) Sea-level rise and coastal biodiversity in West Africa: a case study from Ghana. In: Low PS (ed) Climate change and Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Aryeetey EB, Al-Hassan RM, Asuming-Brempong S, Twerefou DK (2007) The organization of land markets and production in Ghana. Technical publication no. 73, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon

  • Bekker S, Therborn G (eds) (2011) Capital cities in Africa. HSRC Press, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Boko et al (2007) Africa. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) Climate Change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Bostrom A, Fischhoff B, Morgan MG (1992) Characterizing mental models of hazardous processes: a methodology and an application to radon. J Soc Issues 48(4):85–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs J (2005) The use of indigenous knowledge in development: problems and challenges. Prog Dev Stud 5(2):99–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang LB, Yanda PZ, Ngana J (2010) Indigenous knowledge in seasonal rainfall prediction in Tanzania: a case of the South-western Highland of Tanzania. J Geogr Reg Plan 3(4):66–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloke P (1998) Country backwater to virtual village? Rural studies and ‘the cultural turn’. J Rural Stud 13(4):367–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2010) Climate change implications for food security and natural resources management in Africa. Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations, 26th regional conference for Africa, FAO ARC 10/8, pp 23

  • Ford JD (2012) Indigenous health and climate change. Am J Public Health 102:1260–1266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhriman DN (2008) Dangerous donations: discarded electronics in Accra, Ghana. M.Sc. Thesis, Geography Department, Pennsylvania State University, USA

  • Ghana Statistical Service (2012) 2010 population and housing census. Summary report of final results. Sakora Press, Accra

  • Green D, Raygorodetsky G (2009) Indigenous knowledge of a changing climate. Clim Change. doi:10.1007/s10584-010-9804-y

  • Green D, Billy J, Tapim A (2010) Indigenous Australians’ knowledge of weather and climate. Clim Change. doi:10.1007/s10584-010-9803-z

  • Haggis J, Schech S (2002) Introduction: pathways to culture and development. In: Schech S, Haggis J (eds) Development: a cultural studies reader. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry R, Fayorsey C (2002) Coping with pregnancy: experiences of adolescents in Ga Mashie, Accra. ORC Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Ifejika Speranza C, Kiteme B, Ambenje P, Wiesmann U, Makali S (2009) Indigenous knowledge related to climate variability and change: Insights from droughts in semi-arid areas of former Makueni District, Kenya. Clim Change. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9713-0

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007a) Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ, Hanson C (eds) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 779–810

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007b) Summary for policymakers. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2008) Climate change and water. In: Bates B, Kundezewicz ZW, Wu S, Palutikof J (eds) Technical paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC Secretariat, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2011) Summary for policymakers. In: Field CB, Barros V, Stocker TF, Qin D, Dokken D, Ebi KL, Mastrandrea MD, Mach KJ, Plattner G-K, Allen SK, Tignor M, Midgley PM (eds) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special report on managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2008) Indigenous and traditional peoples and climate change. IUCN Issues Paper, Gland, Switzerland

  • Kalanda-Joshua M, Ngongondo C, Chipeta L, Mpembeka F (2011) Integrating indigenous knowledge with conventional science: enhancing localised climate and weather forecasts in Nessa, Mulanje, Malawi. Phys Chem Earth 36(14–15):996–1003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasanga RK, Kotey NA (2001) Land management in Ghana: building on tradition and modernity. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefale PF (2009) Ua ‘afa le aso Stormy weather today: traditional ecological knowledge of weather and climate. The Samoa experience. Clim Change. doi:10.007/s10584-009-9722-z

  • Minia Z (2004) Climate change development scenarios. In: Agyeman-Bonsu W et al (eds) Ghana climate change impact vulnerability and adaptation assessment. Ghana Environmental Protection Agency, Accra

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan G, Fischhoff B, Bostrom A, Atman C (2002) Risk communication: a mental models approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Nederveen Pieterse J (2001) Development theory: deconstructions/reconstructions. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyong A, Adesina EF, Elasha O (2007) The value of indigenous knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the African Sahel. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 12:787–797. doi:10.1007/s11027-007-9099-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlove B, Roncoli C, Kabungo M, Majugu A (2009) Indigenous climate knowledge in southern Uganda: the multiple components of a dynamic regional system. Clim Change. doi:10.007/s10584-009-9586-2

  • Oteng-Ababio M (2012) When necessity begets ingenuity: e-waste scavenging as a livelihood strategy in Accra, Ghana. Afr Stud Q 13:1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Owusu G (2008) Indigenes’ and migrants’ access to land in peri-urban areas of Ghana’s largest city of Accra. Int Dev Plan Rev 30(2):77–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Owusu G (2009) Internal boundaries and district administration: a challenge to decentralization and district development in Ghana. Geografiska Annaler Ser B Hum Geogr 91(1):57–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oxfam America (2007) Papua New Guinea: the islands are shrinking. www.oxfamamerica.org/articles/papua-new-guinea-the-islands-are-shrinking. Accessed 22 Mar 2011

  • People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements (2011) Faces of Old Fadama. Accra. Unpublished report of the Ghana Federation of Homeless People

  • Potter RB, Lloyd-Evans S (1998) The city in the developing world. Longman, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn CH, Huby M, Kiwasila H, Lovett JC (2003) Local perceptions of risk to livelihood in semi-arid Tanzania. J Environ Manag 68:111–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid P, Vogel C (2006) Living and responding to multiple stressors in South Africa—glimpses from KwaZulu-Natal. Glob Environ Change 16:195–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salick J, Byg A (2007) Indigenous peoples and climate change. In: A Tyndall Centre Publication. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Oxford

  • Smith HA, Sharp K (2012) Indigenous climate knowledges. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Clim Change 3(5):467–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somorin AO (2010) Climate impacts, forest-dependent rural livelihoods and adaptation strategies in Africa: a review. Afr J Environ Sci Technol 4(13):903–912

    Google Scholar 

  • Songsore J, Nabila JS, Yangyouro Y, Avle S, Bosque-Hamilton EK, Amponsah PE, Alhassan O (2008) Integrated disaster risk and environmental health monitoring. Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

    Google Scholar 

  • Speranza CI, Kiteme B, Ambenje P, Wiesmann U, Mikal S (2010) Indigenous knowledge related to climate variability and change: insights from droughts in semi-arid areas of former Makueni District, Kenya. Clim Change 100:295–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinmetz G (1999) State/culture: state-formation after the cultural turn. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tufuor T (2009) Gender and women housing problems in Accra—the case of Old Fadama. Ghana ministry of water resources Works and housing, Accra. http://www.hdm.lth.se/fileadmin/hdm/alumni/papers/SDD_2009_242a/Theresa_Tufuor_-_Ghana.pdf. Accessed 15 Mar 2013

  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2010) What will it take to achieve the Millennium Development Goals? An international assessment. United Nations Development Programme, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2011) Human development report: 2011. United Nations Development Programme, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2009) Climate change and arctic sustainable development: scientific, social, cultural and educational challenges. UNESCO

  • Wohling M (2009) The problem of scale in indigenous knowledge: a perspective from northern Australia. Ecol Society 14(1):1. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss1/art1/

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaksek M, Arvai JL (2004) Toward improved communication about wildland fire: mental models research to identify information needs for natural resource management. Risk Anal 24(6):1503–1514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziervogel G (2001) Global science, local problems: seasonal forecast use in a Basotho Village’, open meeting of the global environmental change research community, Rio de Janeiro 6–8 October, 2001

  • Ziervogel G, Downing TE (2004) Stakeholder networks: improving seasonal climate forecasts. Clim Change 65:73–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Codjoe, S.N.A., Owusu, G. & Burkett, V. Perception, experience, and indigenous knowledge of climate change and variability: the case of Accra, a sub-Saharan African city. Reg Environ Change 14, 369–383 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0500-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0500-0

Keywords

Navigation