When Conservation Displaces Custodians: Restoring Anlo Stewardship on the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site

By Samuel Dotse, PhD (CEO, HATOF Foundation) & Ms. MaryJane Enchill (Deputy CEO, HATOF Foundation)

Published: February 13, 2026

Introduction: A Clash of Conservation Paradigms

The Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS), designated in 1992 under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, is a critical coastal ecosystem in southeastern Ghana. It serves as a vital habitat for migratory waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway, including species like the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) and Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea. Ecologically, the lagoon functions as a nursery for finfish and shellfish, supporting local fisheries, while its mangroves—primarily Rhizophora racemosa, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa—provide shoreline stabilization, carbon sequestration, and juvenile fish habitat.

However, long before its international recognition, the lagoon was managed sustainably by the Anlo people through a sophisticated system of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), customary laws, and spiritual norms. This article examines how modern conservation governance, despite strong national commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Ramsar, has systematically marginalized these indigenous stewardship systems. We analyze the causes of this displacement, the resulting governance gaps, and propose a legally grounded, culturally appropriate framework to restore Anlo custodianship, thereby enhancing the site’s ecological integrity and social equity.

Key Points: The Core Argument

• The KLCRS is a socio-ecological system deeply woven into Anlo cultural identity and spiritual worldview, not merely a natural resource.
• Post-Ramsar designation, management authority shifted almost entirely to state agencies, displacing customary institutions and violating the spirit of CBD Article 8(j) on traditional knowledge.
• This displacement has led to conservation without livelihood security, fragmented institutional mandates, and the erosion of effective, place-based TEK.
• Ghana has missed opportunities to implement co-management models and leverage cultural/spiritual capital for compliance, as encouraged by Ramsar and CBD decisions.
• Restoring Anlo stewardship is a legal obligation under CBD Article 8(j), an ecological necessity for effective management, and a matter of social justice.
• Solutions require statutory recognition of traditional councils, equitable benefit-sharing from blue economy initiatives, and the formal integration of TEK into management plans.

Background: Anlo Traditional Stewardship as a Living System

The Sacred Landscape of the Keta Lagoon

For the Anlo, the KLCRS is a sacred landscape imbued with spiritual significance and governed by a matrix of customary institutions. Stewardship was not a separate “environmental” activity but an integral part of social and political life.

• The Awoamefia (Paramount Chief): Held ultimate custodianship over all land and water bodies in Anloland, including the lagoon.
• Divisional and Clan Chiefs (Dufiawo): Exercised territorial oversight, enforcing norms within their specific domains bordering the lagoon.
• Togbuiwo and Asafo Leaders: These community leaders were responsible for the day-to-day communal enforcement of rules and mobilization for collective actions like cleanup or ritual observances.
• Traditional Priests (Bokɔwo): Held authority over the ritual regulation of sacred sites within the lagoon complex. Their pronouncements on taboo periods (amea) were binding.

Ecological Rules Embedded in Culture and Religion

Conservation outcomes were achieved through a powerful blend of spiritual belief and practical management:

• Sacred and Taboo Zones: Specific mangrove stands, deep pools, or breeding grounds were designated as abodes of deities (e.g., Mami Wata or clan-specific gods). Access, fishing, or mangrove harvesting in these areas was strictly prohibited, creating de facto no-take zones.
• Seasonal Closures: Fishing and harvesting were often prohibited during specific periods, such as during the spawning season or following the death of a chief, as part of purification rites. These closures were aligned with lunar cycles and seasonal patterns, demonstrating sophisticated phenological knowledge.
• Species-Specific Norms: Certain species, particularly those considered sacred or crucial for ecosystem function, had protected status. Methods of capture that were overly destructive were taboo.
• Social Enforcement: Compliance was ensured not by a distant ranger force but by the community itself, through social pressure, shame, and the belief in supernatural sanctions for violators.

This system created a resilient form of community-based conservation that persisted for centuries, balancing human use with ecological renewal.

Analysis: The Fault Lines in Current Governance

Despite Ghana being a party to the Ramsar Convention (since 1988) and the CBD (since 1994), the management of the KLCRS has deviated from the participatory, equitable principles these agreements advocate. The following factors explain the displacement of Anlo custodianship.

(a) Displacement of Customary Authority by the State

Following the Ramsar designation, primary management authority was consolidated under the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, now operating under the Wildlife Resources Management Act, 2023 (Act 1116). While this Act provides a modern legal framework, it does not explicitly create statutory roles for traditional authorities in wetland management committees. This contradicts the participatory ideals of CBD Article 10(c) (regarding traditional participation in decision-making) and Article 8(j) (regarding traditional knowledge). The result is a conservation bureaucracy that operates parallel to, and often in tension with, local governance systems. State enforcement lacks the deep cultural legitimacy and social penetration of traditional systems, leading to low compliance and frequent conflicts.

(b) Conservation Measures Implemented Without Livelihood Safeguards

Key interventions—such as blanket fishing bans, restrictions on mangrove wood harvesting, and physical barriers to access—were often imposed with minimal consultation and no配套的 benefit-sharing mechanism. This violates the CBD’s principle of sustainable use (Article 10(a)) and the access and benefit-sharing (ABS) spirit of the Nagoya Protocol. For communities whose livelihoods are directly tied to the lagoon, conservation became synonymous with deprivation and loss of control, not stewardship. This created an adversarial relationship, where local actors may engage in covert, unsustainable practices to meet immediate needs, undermining long-term conservation goals.

(c) Fragmented and Overlapping Institutional Mandates

The KLCRS falls under the nominal purview of multiple entities:

• Wildlife Division (Forestry Commission): Primary wildlife and habitat management.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Pollution control and environmental impact assessments.
• District Assemblies: Local government planning, revenue collection, and by-law enforcement under the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936).
• Sector Ministries & Donor Projects: Various projects on fisheries, climate adaptation, or tourism often operate with their own priorities and reporting lines.

This institutional fragmentation leads to inconsistent rules, gaps in enforcement, and confusion among local users. It directly contravenes the ecosystem-based management approach championed by Ramsar (e.g., COP Resolution IX.6) and the CBD’s call for integrated, cross-sectoral planning. No single entity has the holistic, landscape-level authority needed, and the traditional system that once provided this coherence is sidelined.

(d) The Erosion and Ignorance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

The rich TEK of the Anlo—including lunar-based fishing calendars, detailed species behavior knowledge, historical records of ecological change, and the ritual calendar that enforced seasonal closures—has not been formally documented, validated, or incorporated into official management plans. This represents a colossal waste of a proven, cost-effective governance resource. It is a direct breach of CBD Article 8(j), which obliges parties to “respect, preserve and maintain” such knowledge and to “promote its wider application” with the holders’ consent. Current management relies almost exclusively on Western scientific models, which, while valuable, are incomplete without the longitudinal, place-based insights that TEK provides.

Missed Opportunities for Effective, Inclusive Governance

1. The Unfulfilled Promise of Co-Management

Ghana’s policy environment acknowledges community participation. However, at the KLCRS, this has remained participatory without power-sharing. Traditional authorities are frequently consulted as “stakeholders” but are not granted decision-making authority, budgetary control, or co-equal representation on the core management committee. This tokenism fails to create the sense of local ownership essential for sustainable compliance, as highlighted in Ramsar COP Resolution VII.8 on community involvement.

2. The Untapped Power of Cultural and Spiritual Capital

The very mechanisms that once ensured compliance—ritual fishing bans after a chief’s passing, annual purification festivals, sacred days dictated by the Afa divination system—have been dismissed as “superstitious” by modern managers. These practices, however, created strong social taboos that were often more effective than state-imposed fines. They have not been creatively adapted or aligned with statutory closure periods. This neglect of cultural ecosystem services and spiritual values squanders a powerful tool for fostering pro-conservation behavior rooted in identity and faith.

3. Underutilization of the Blue Economy and Nature-Based Solutions

The lagoon holds potential for sustainable aquaculture, mangrove carbon projects (blue carbon), and eco-cultural tourism that tells the story of Anlo stewardship. These align perfectly with CBD Decision XIV/3 on biodiversity and climate change, and Ghana’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP II). However, without a secure, community-led revenue-sharing model, these opportunities risk becoming top-down ventures that replicate the same displacement dynamics, or they remain unrealized due to lack of local trust and initiative.

Practical Advice: A Roadmap for Restoring Anlo Stewardship

Reversing the displacement requires concrete, legally sound, and culturally respectful actions. The following framework is grounded in international law and best practice.

1. Legal Recognition of Customary Stewardship Systems

• Amend the Wildlife Resources Management Act, 2023 (Act 1116) to explicitly recognize customary councils (comprising the Awoamefia, Dufiawo, Togbuiwo, and Bokɔwo) as statutory co-managers of the KLCRS. Grant them a mandated, voting seat on the site’s management board.
• Formally recognize sacred sites and taboo areas within the Ramsar boundary as traditional conservation zones, with management rules derived from customary law, to be respected by all state agencies.
• Incorporate the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the Anlo Traditional Council, as per CBD Decision XIII/18, for any new project or regulation affecting the lagoon.

2. Transition from Token Participation to Equitable Power-Sharing

• Establish a co-management agreement between the Forestry Commission (Wildlife Division), the Anlo Traditional Council, and the District Assembly. This agreement must clearly delineate shared decision-making, revenue-sharing, and conflict-resolution mechanisms, in line with Ramsar COP Resolution XI.13.
• Create a transparent conservation trust fund where a percentage of all revenues (from tourism, carbon credits, fishing permits, etc.) is deposited. The fund’s board should have equal representation from state and traditional institutions and be used for community development, conservation incentives, and TEK documentation.

3. Revitalize and Integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge

• Commission a community-led, FPIC-compliant project to document Anlo TEK related to the lagoon. This should be done by Anlo youth trained as researchers under the guidance of elders, creating intergenerational bridges.
• Create a joint scientific-TEK advisory panel to review management plans. For example, align state-enforced seasonal closures with the traditional lunar fishing calendar and ritual periods to enhance cultural acceptance and ecological timing.
• Support the revival of cultural festivals (e.g., the Hogbetsotso festival) as platforms for environmental