Two Sides of the Same Coin: Formal and Informal Institutional Synergy in a Case Study of Wildlife Governance in Ghana

Abstract

There has been the call to forge a synergistic relationship between local ecological knowledge and formal institutions in the governance of natural resources. How do informal institutions complement the efforts of formal state regulation of natural resources? How does this complementation foster a regularized human–wildlife interaction? Adopting an ethnographic design, this study assesses the role of institutional complementation in natural resource governance using the case of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS) in Ghana, West Africa. We purposively selected 33 informants relevant to the BFMS governance process. The study observes that the synergy between formal and informal institutions strengthens wildlife protection in BFMS and the surrounding villages. The usefulness of informal rules is enhanced if appropriately complemented with a formal institutional arrangement. Over time, it becomes necessary for informal rules to grow in dynamism to depict the principles of collaboration, inclusivity, and benefit arrangements.

Keywords:

• Africa
• complementation
• enforcement
• informal institutions
• natural resources
• wildlife governance

Notes

Acknowledgments

This work builds on a doctoral dissertation that is supported by the EU Intra-ACP Program through “Transdisciplinary Training for Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation in Africa” (TRECCAFRICA). The authors are also grateful to Stellenbosch University for assisting in supplementary field work. We appreciate the efforts of the guest editors, all anonymous reviewers and editor-in-chief of this journal who provided insightful comments to earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Notes

1 A traditional priest serves as a mediator between the spirit (lesser gods) and the living. They perform their rites in a shrine.

2 A biophysical element connotes peculiar common pool resource which a community is endowed with and has manifold stakeholders (Yeboah-Assiamah, Muller, and Domfeh 2017). Institutional element entails the interaction of formal regulations and state structures on the one hand, and informal institutions on the other hand (North 1991). Enforcement mechanism involves the strategies used in implementing the institutional provisions (Yeboah-Assiamah, Muller, and Domfeh 2017).

3 The monkeys were initially only in Boabeng and Fiema communities but over time widened their range to the other seven nearby communities.

4 A queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning chief. She occupies a prominent role in chieftaincy and serves as repository of knowledge for the chief.