Environmental ethics, religious taboos and the Osun-Osogbo grove, Nigeria
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 30 December 2020
Issue publication date: 20 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) identifies building and development, a major corollary of population growth and urbanization, as the number one primary threat to the conservation of heritage sites worldwide. With efforts at conserving these sites focussing on anthropocentrism and ecocentrism, this study introduces and examines the role of the traditional African religion as a conservation strategy using the Osun-Osogbo grove in Nigeria as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach
Satellite imageries of the grove and surrounding areas were analysed for land-use and land cover change using Geographic Information Systems (GISs). A review of documentary evidence and key-informant interviews were also carried out on the state of the grove and how religious beliefs impact same.
Findings
Results showed that between 1986 and 2017, vegetal covers decreased by 77.1% while built-up areas grew by 342.4%. Despite the phenomenal rate of urbanization in the study area, the grove remained largely intact and even recorded a marginal increase in its vegetal cover and plant species. Qualitative data revealed that the fear of the religious taboos associated with the resident goddess of the grove, rather than a moral responsibility to the environment, was responsible for these outcomes.
Originality/value
The application of remote sensing and GIS in a transdisciplinary study of cultural heritage makes the work novel and contributes to the methodological approaches for such studies. The findings also show the potency of religion in environmental and cultural conservation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Mr. Malachi Eze of the University of Nigeria and Ms. Olanike Abu of the First City Monument Bank, Osogbo for their assistance with the maps and interviews respectively.
Citation
Adewoyin, Y., Mokwenye, E.M. and Ugwu, N.V. (2021), "Environmental ethics, religious taboos and the Osun-Osogbo grove, Nigeria", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 516-527. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-01-2020-0019
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited