


































In ternationa l
Scholars
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African Journal of Environmental Economics and Management ISSN 2375-0707 Vol. 6 (1), pp. 367-373, 
January, 2018. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals 

 

Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. 
 
 
 

Full Length Research Paper 
 

A study of the effect of traditional values and 
conservation of natural resources in Nigeria 

 

*Agbofuodoh Ezekiel, Onuoha Elizabeth and Arugbeni Micheal 
 

Department of Environmental Science, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, P. M. B. 1221, Effurun, Nigeria. 
 

Accepted 12 June, 2017 
 

The role of traditional beliefs systems in the conservation of natural resources in some selected 
communities in Delta State, Nigeria, have been studied. Methodology of study involves the use of 
personal interview, literature review, group discussion, and site visitation carried out by the authors 
between April 2011 and March 2012. Findings show that traditional natural resources management in 
the selected communities are classified into the following categories: protection of particular 
ecosystems or habitats (such as sacred groves and sacred rivers/pond); and protection of particular 
animals or plant species (such as totem and tabooed species). The practices concerned relate to trees, 
forests, wildlife and marine organisms. The environmental wisdom and ethics expressed through these 
religious beliefs are very useful tools in natural resource management. Using the classification of the 
International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the plants and animals species in the study 
scared groves and forest can be described as an environment with widespread and abundant taxonomy 
and are not at risk or endangered. 

 
Key words: Forest, sacred groves, traditional beliefs, biodiversity conservation, natural resources 
management, totems. 

 
 
INTRODUCTION  
 
Conservation of natural resources is the wise use of the 
genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity in the natural 
earth's resources by humanity. It is the management of 
abundance in which they occur. Thomas (2003) sees 
valuable natural resources such as timber, fish, topsoil, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*Corresponding Author. E-mail: dr.agboziel@yahoo.com 
 

conservation as the sacrifice of immediate rewards in 
pastureland, and minerals, forests, wildlife, parkland, 
return for delayed ones. Smith and Wishnie (2000) de- 
wilderness and watershed areas. There are several fined 
conservation as actions that prevent or mitigate definitions 
of the concept – conservation, some stressing biodiversity 
loss and are designed to do so. In time past, the structural 
roots of anthropologist interests, others local people have 
developed a variety of resource arguing from the point of 
view of economic reasons. management practices that 
continue to exist in tropical Usher (2000) defined 
conservation as the maintenance of Africa, Asia, South 
America and other parts of the world (Appiah-Opoku, 2007).



Agbofuodoh et al.     368 
 
 

 
One of such approach is the use of traditional methods 
that have helped them to regulate interactions with their 
natural environment. The role of traditional beliefs in the 
conservation of a large number of elements of local 
biodiversity, regardless of their use value, dates back to 
creation (Berkes et al., 2000; Turner et al., 2000; Shastri 
et al., 2002). Traditional conservation ethics are capable 
of protecting biodiversity species in particular and the 
environment in general as long as the local communities 
have a stake in it. In fact, Traditional Ecological 
Knowledge (TEK) systems are infused with practices and 
concepts, and modes of teaching and learning that can 
be related directly and indirectly to resource stewardship 
and conservation at various scales. However, despite 
considerable attention directed towards documentation of 
these systems and approaches to conservation, we still 
have a limited understanding about their development, 
evolution, and transmission over time and space.  

Chacon (2012) and Krech (2005) have pointed out that 
the existence of traditional beliefs/taboos does not 
guarantee sustainable harvest of natural resources. 
Traditional African religion (ATR) and cultural practices as 
done in most part of African communities are environ-
mentally friendly and sustainable, thus contributing so 
much to natural resources sustainability and conservation 
(International Institute for Environment and Development, 
1992). In Africa and indeed Nigeria, the traditional belief 
system holds the ascription of supernatural powers to 
objects called gods and goddesses. The major tenet of 
African traditional religion and belief system lies in the 
belief that the abode of the gods and goddesses is 
located on rock, streams, pond, tress, land or anywhere 
they so desire to live within the community. The gods 
choose their followers through the rites of initiation with a 
core messenger who is the mouth piece of the gods living 
among human beings. The gods or goddess communi-
cate its will to the people through the juju priest or chief 
priest. The belief system is that the gods protect the 
community members from harm, famine, bareness, impo-
tence, drought, epidemics and war among others. The 
gods avenge their anger on whoever omits or commits 
any flaw for which their presence forbids; hence, the 
cultural system holds to a very high esteem all the 
precepts of the laws of the gods (Shastri et al., 2002). 
These beliefs and strategies are passed on to those who 
become initiated into adulthood in the community during 
the rites of initiation. Most often, it is the men that are 
always initiated into these community cults or sects which 
are often enshrined in religious or cultural beliefs and 
superstitions and enforced by taboos. The taboos and 
beliefs have legal backing in the rules and institutions of 
the communities which are strong enough to make 
people obey the religious and cultural regulations 
(Venkataraman, 2000; Cox, 2000). The role of traditional 
beliefs in the protection of natural resources is reflected in 
a variety of practices including sacred groves and 

 

 
 
 

 
sacred landscapes. For example, in India, particular 
patches of forests are designated as sacred groves 
under customary law and are protected from any product 
extraction by the community. Such forests are very rich in 
biological diversity and harbour many endangered plant 
species including rare herbs and medicinal plants. Tiwari 
et al. (1998) identified 79 sacred groves and their floristic 
survey revealed that these sacred groves are home to at 
least 514 species representing 340 genera and 131 
families. About 1.3% of total sacred grove area was 
undisturbed, 42.1% had relatively dense forest, 26.3% 
had sparse canopy cover, and 30.3% had open forest. 
Notably, the species diversity indices were higher for the 
sacred grove than for the disturbed forest.  

Study on two sacred groves, Oorani and Olagapuram, 
situated on the north-west of Pondicherry found a total of 
169 angiosperms from both sites. The Oorani grove (3.2 
ha) had 74 flowering plant species distributed in 71 
genera and 41 families; 30 of them are woody species, 8 
are lianas and 4 are parasites. The Olagapuram grove 
(2.8 ha) was more species-rich with 136 species in 121 
genera of 58 families; woody species were fewer (21) 
while 9 lianas and 3 parasites occurred (Ramanujam and 
Kadamban, 2001). The traditional conservation of non 
human primates by Iban forest farmers in West 
Kalimantan, Indonesia, is an important part of their 
subsistence economy, and as such aided the promotion 
of certain aspects of the traditional Iban agroforestry 
system (Wadley et al., 1997; Wadley and Colfer, 2004). 
In a research on traditional and indigenous methods of 
conserving biodiversity, Ntiamoa-Baidu (1991) identified 
three indigenous methods for conserving biodiversity in 
Ghana and other West African sub region (Nigeria 
inclusive). The tribal communities of Urhobos in Delta 
Central – have a tradition of environmental conservation 
based on various religious beliefs. An essential feature of 
Urhobos in the conservation of natural resources is 
totemism (the belief in a supernatural connection 
between a group of people and a group of objects like 
certain animal species, sometimes plants, or more rarely 
other objects). Usually, it is a taboo to kill or eat an animal 
totem (Tonukari, 2007).  

Social taboos exist in invariably all cultures throughout 
the world, and represent a class of informal institutions, 
where traditional, religiously governed norms or taboo 
system define the human behaviour. These taboos 
remain the prime factor guiding their conduct towards the 
exploitation of the natural resources. However, the 
singular role played by these informal systems of taboo in 
conservation of biodiversity has not been given its due 
importance. The present paper attempts to render forth 
the salient aspect of conservation borne out of the taboo 
system in practice surrounding the sacred natural sites, 
principally the sacred forests, in some communities of 
Delta State, Nigeria. The vital roles of beliefs, rituals and 
taboos in traditional natural resources management are 
emphasized. 



369      Afr. J.  Envir. Econ. Manage. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Figure 1. Map of Delta State showing the local government areas. 
 

 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
 
Study area 
 
Delta Sate is one of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 
comprising mainly Igbo, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic 
nationalities. The whole ethnic-groups that comprise the Delta are 
administratively grouped into three senatorial districts namely Delta 
North, Delta South and Delta Central for administrative purposes. 

The State presently covers a landmass of about 18,050 km
2
 of 

which more than 60% is land. The State lie approximately between 
longitude 5° 00 and 6°45' East and latitude 5° 00 and 6° 30' North. It 
is bounded in the North by Edo State, the East by Anambra State, 
South-East by Bayelsa State, and on the Southern flank is the Bight 
of Benin which covers about 160 km of the State's coastline. Delta 
State is generally low-lying without remarkable hills. The State has 
a wide coastal belt inter-lace with rivulets and streams, which form 
part of the Niger-Delta. The physiographic and ecological zones 
found in Delta State range from the relative high of the Asaba 
Plateau through the low wetlands and swamp forests that occupy 
almost the entire west and southwestern half of the state to the 
Atlantic coastline. While the high northeast is sparsely drained, the 
wetlands are crisscrossed by numerous perennial streams. This 
diversity in ecosystems requires careful management with policies 
that specifically address these systems. In addition, the entire state 
falls within the Niger Delta petroleum province. Petroleum explora-
tion and production is gradually moving northwards from the south 
where the industry has been thriving for more than fifty years. 
Pipelines and flow stations abound.  

In light of the foregoing, it has become necessary to undertake 
the production of guideline with the specific purpose of protecting 
Delta State ecological environment especially the marine ecosys-
tems. Delta State is made up of twenty-five local government areas 
(Figure 1).  

The method of data collection and fact used in this research is 
personal interview, literature review, group discussion, and site 
visitation carried out by the authors between April 2010 and March 
2011. The method of study is consistent with that reported in 
literature (Chambers, 1983, 1994). A total of 9 communities were 
purposefully selected and visited for the study. The choice of the 

 

 
selected communities is based on the fact that these communities 
have established religious and cultural practices already as was 
revealed in the course of literature review. The communities are 
located within the following local government areas: Ukwani, 
Ethiope East, Ughelli South, Ndokwa East and Ughelli North 
(Figure 1). The communities studied were Umuaja, Orogun, 
Useifurun, Ode-Itsekiri, Okorobi, Ase, Ovu Inland, Orohoakpor and 
Ujevwu. Some traditional and cultural practices are similar, with the 
same name in some communities, so there was no need repeating 
the same story, so such traditions were recorded for only one 
community. The findings from the field were documented and their 
implication discussed with our interviewees in the various commu-
nities in Delta State. 
 
 
FINDINGS 
 
At Useifrun and Ujevwu communities in Ughelli South 
and Udu Local Government Areas, respectively, the 
python is regarded as a totem. Ancient legendry has it 
that during inter tribal wars; the python goes after the 
people and erases their footprint so that enemies would 
not identify the pathway of the people. This is similar to 
that reported in the worship of python in West Bengal 
kingdom where there was evidence that the reptile was 
associated with success in war (Deb and Malhotra, 
2001). In gratitude, none of the people of West Bengal 
heritage whose ancestors were thus saved, kills or eats 
the python to this day, the people of Useifurun and 
Ujevwu communities believe that the snake itself is not 
worshiped, but rather its indwelling spirit. In the studied 
communities, there is a dedicated temple where sacri-
fices are offered to the snake god. The python house can 
be described as a rectangular hut of clay painted with 
white colouring substances and covered by a thatched 
roof. The priesthood is hereditary, and the chief priest is 



Agbofuodoh et al.     370 
 
 

 
head of the system. There are snake wives; these are 
beautiful women that the snake consistently appears to 
physically and spiritually. On the day of initiation into the 
temple, the priest, dressed in a ceremonial robe, drinks 
from the bowl of the python, then hands over to the 
woman of concern to also drink from. The spirit of the 
python goes into the medium (the woman) who wriggles 
on the floor like a snake, uttering strange sounds and 
talking in a language which has to be interpreted to the 
worshipers, she is then admitted in the service of the 
snake god.  

The snake is a symbol of their annual festival where 
every member of the community was allowed to take part 
in the revelry, which included dancing, feasting and sin-
ging. The python god is the god of wisdom, earthly bliss 
and benefaction. It is the principal object of ancestral 
adoration. In these communities, the killing of python is 
an abominable act, so they are held sacrosanct. Snakes 
are free to wander, but the priest may retrieve them. A 
native who meets a python says, "You are my father and 
my mother." The native then cries to the god, "My head 
belongs to you, be propitious to me." Very seldom is a 
human being attacked by a python, but, if such an event 
happens, the priest is the only one who may effect a 
rescue. No one dared harm the reptile; on the contrary, it 
must be guarded and fed. The population of the reptile in 
the communities is high and is fast becoming a source of 
concern. The findings of the study are consistent with that 
reported in West Bengal and Ashati (Deb and Malhotra, 
2001; Eneji et al., 2009; International Institute for Environ-
ment and Development, 1992).  

At Orhoakpor in Ethiope – East Local Government 
Area, the mighty Okpagha tree is highly revered. The 
Okpagha and Ogriki trees have had a conspicuous posi-
tion in the cultural landscape of the people. The Okpagha 
tree is said to belong to Aziza spirit. It is believed that the 
Aziza spirit himself found enlightenment under Okpagha 
tree. Aziza is essentially considered by the people as a 
deity of the woods, whose province is to guard the fields, 
crops and herds of the peasantry and to drive away their 
enemies. The location of the tree is regarded as a sacred 
place where trees and plants were allowed to grow undis-
turbed and where reptiles, birds and animals could have 
free living without fear of poaching or interference by 
man. Groves of this tree are sacred and hence no axe 
may be laid to any tree, no branch broken, no firewood 
gathered, no grass burnt; and wild animals which have 
taken refuge there may not be molested. At the bottom 
part of the tree, cocks, sheep and goats are sacrificed 
and prayers are offered for rain or fine weather or on 
behalf of sick children. In addition, a number of the juju 
priests have their powers associated with the Aziza spirit. 
At the time of the study, the location of Okpagha tree 
provided excellent sites for examining the vegetation that 
had existed a century earlier, as several species of plants 
and birds that are rare were sighted. Although, the plant 
is strictly protected in the community; however, religious 

 

 
 
 

 
use of this resource is allowed. Wood from the sacred 
tree is believed to keep its magical powers when fas-
hioned into other objects and was used for making a 
variety of objects like statues of gods, staffs, sceptres, 
etc. The bark of the plant is reported to be very medicinal 
and is efficacy is in the treatment of strange illness.  

At Ovu Inland in Ethiope – East Local Government 
Area is the Ovughere (village deity) that is highly 
regarded as the god of war. The chief priest of the village 
diety is the Osedjo whose office is hereditary. The abode 
of the Ovughere is located within a very thick forest with 
presence of trees such as Iroko tree, Mahogany trees, 
Ogriki etc. According to oral literature, these trees are 
well over seventy years. The forest is the property of the 
god of the village in which they are situated, and the 
trees ought not to be cut. Location of residential 
settlements close to the shrine is not permitted thus 
checking defo-restation and farming and thereby 
protecting the surroun-ding vegetation. This factor 
promotes the conservation of biodiversity in sacred grove 
through selective limits or prohibitions on the use of biotic 
species. Secondly, infor-mation such as about species of 
ritual, medicinal or commercial value are kept secret from 
outsiders. This finding is consistent with that reported in 
traditional Afri-can societies where many people believed 
that trees and forests were the manifestation of the 
power of the Supreme Being (Eneji et al., 2009). While 
the area occu-pied by the forest may be a relatively 
small, the level of biodiversity is high and thus is of some 
environmental significance to the community people.  

At Okorobi village in Ethiope East Local Government 
Area, is the “Obi” pond popularly called Obi Lake. It is the 
main source of water for drinking and domestic purposes 
in the community. It is believed that the Obi spirit inhabits 
the water body. Harvesting of fish here is strictly prohi-
bited, but when fish leaves this lake to the surrounding 
environment, harvesting can be done there. There is also 
the traditional Obi cult in the community with a juju priest 
in charge of offering sacrifices to the Obi god. Usually, 
membership into this group is on strict qualification with 
terms and condition of membership strictly spelt out and 
passed down to community members for onward trans-
mission to their children while growing up. Most often, the 
process of initiation is a transitive one, from adolescent to 
adulthood and done in the night deep inside the shire. 
Felling of trees or fuel wood collection within 30 m radius 
from the pond is strictly prohibited. These principles 
though unknown was meant to preserve the watershed 
and the surrounding vegetation, this consequently checks 
the amount of evapotranspiration and allows some 
amount of tolerable water temperature for both micro and 
aquatic organisms to continue their ecosystem services 
for the enrichment of the soil, continuous supply of water 
and the healthy growth of the forest. The vegetation 
cover also helped to keep the water cool and fresh for 
drinking. Bathing and washing of clothes around, near or 
inside the pond where drinking water is fetched is not 



 
 
 

 
allowed; also fishing or harvesting any aquatic animals 
within the pond is as well prohibited. Reasons abound for 
this law, spanning from the respect for the Obi god who 
protect the pond and the organisms helping to purifying 
the pond and keeping the pond alive and also control the 
spread of diseases. Silence is observed while fetching 
water from the pond because it is believed that while 
speaking, an infected person may spill or splash saliva. 
For instance, an infected person with tuberculosis or 
whooping cough spill infected saliva containing bacteria 
in the water.  

In addition, this rule ensured the gods were not pro-
voked to anger. Their anger could result to streams or 
rivers drying up. Other taboos, such as the disallowing of 
menstruating women to collect water from the pond, 
prevent the defilement of pond deity and god and the 
issue of menstrual blood in traditional beliefs has been 
treated extensively in anthropology as a source of potent 
force (McLeod, 1981).  

In Ase village in Ndokwa East Local Government Area, 
the “Usede” pond is a mysterious pond harvested for fish 
species by the entire Ase kingdom once in ten years. The 
only species of fish harvested, brought together and 
shared together by everybody present is the mudfish; any 
other species of fish caught during this day is owned by 
whoever catches it during the harvesting period. The 
Usede pond is such that nobody goes there to fish alone 
within this period of ten years, if violated the punishment 
begins by having a bloated stomach and later death no 
matter the sacrifice made. However, entrant into the pond 
alone is frightening. Community harvesting of the pond is 
usually carried out in the dry season and two peculiar 
events happens in the course of the harvesting. First, is 
the heavy rainfall that precedes harvesting of fish from 
the Usede pond showing that the spirit of the gods and 
the living are in tandem. Secondly, is the appearance of a 
big fish with a string of cowry that signifies the end of the 
fishing festival, the big fish with a string of cowry will 
come through where the people are harvesting the fish, 
once the mother fish with the cowries is sighted by 
anybody, the harvesting must stop and everybody inside 
the pond must be called out of the pond. Although, 
species diversity in the water body have not been 
documented; it is believed that the pond is rich with 
different species of fish.  

In Ode Itsekiri in Warri – South Local Government 
Area, there is an evil forest within the mangrove swamp 
forest where “dead bad people” are thrown into. The dead 
bad people may include those that have confessed to the 
act of witchcraft (male and female inclusive), dead by 
suicide, dead by cancerous wound, dead resulting from 
falling from a tree or palm tree, and a pregnant dead 
woman. In addition, when a person dies as a result of 
mysterious sickness and did not confess to any act of evil 
doing, the oracles are consulted to inquire into the cause 
of this death. If the deceased was not a "good citizen" 
often the corpse is thrown into this forest. This is done to 

 371     Afr. J.  Envir. Econ. Manage. 
 
 

 
prevent the reincarnation of such spirit. While this is so, 
the number of wild beast that lives within this area is 
awesome. No human activity of any kind is carried out in 
the evil forest as it is belief that the spirit will not take it 
kindly with anybody disturbing the peace of the dead or 
the spirits themselves. So, the area remains a very thick 
forest habiting a number of species of different orga-
nisms. This observation is consistent with that reported in 
the Eastern part of Nigeria (Ogbuagu, 2011). For the 
Urhobos, death can happen because of old age, witch-
craft, accident or illness and abomination. But, generally 
speaking, the Urhobos think that there are only two kind 
of deaths – good death and bad death. Good death is 
associated with people who are of age 70 or more, who 
had a moral life and are not members of some secret 
cult. The Urhobo people believe that burial rites and cere-
monies are needed because without them the spirit of the 
deceased will not be able to join the ancestral spirit. 
Good people are buried in a traditional ritual to the 
ancestors and gods of the land. There are prayers for the 
dead to protect and bless the living. A young person who 
died prematurely, but lived a morally right life is buried, 
but without passing on festivities and rituals. In the coffin 
of the deceased people, some “weapons” such as 
cutlass, knife, broken bottle etc are placed inside. It is 
believed that these objects should help him/her to fight 
and avenge his/her death. The Urhobos believe that 
young people cannot die. For them these deaths are 
caused by someone who killed them. People who died 
without children are buried, but with no festivities and 
other rituals. The reason for this is that they do not have 
children, who will continue to have their name and 
perform the ancestral worship (Onigun, 1998).  

In Orogun kingdom in Ughelli – North Local Govern-ment 

Area, the reptile iguana are found in large popula-tion and 

revered. The Iguana is sacred animal to the Orogun people 

who may not kill or eat it. The myth has it that Orogun 

people were initially settled around the Aboh area where 

they had problems with Benin traders which resulted in the 

killing of the Benin traders, fear of possible reprisal from the 

great ancient Benin kingdom made them to move to their 

present location. In the course of such movement, on getting 

to riverside while escaping, they could not find their boats, 

but instead they saw what appeared as logs across the 

river, on which they crossed the river. Upon successfully 

crossing the river, they discovered that it was Iguanas that 

formed a chain across the river for them to get to safety. 

That was how the Iguana became a god and saviour for the 

Orogun people. Eating Iguana by indigenes brings rashes to 

their body and the only cure to it is to go to Erose shrine 

where you will be giving native chalk and sand from the 

shrine. The affected person will now use the sand and 

native chalk to robe his body for seven different Orogun 

market days before the rashes can be cured. Today, the 

population of Iguanas is very high as the animal is allowed 

into homes where they are well fed. At the death of an 

Iguana, an 



Agbofuodoh et al.     372 
 
 

 
Orogun indigene gives it a befitting burial.  

At Umuaja, in Ukwani Local Government Area, is the 
origin of River Ethiope where water is seen to come out 
from underground through roots of a very big tree. The 
tree is regarded as sacred grove and an abode of gods. 
Spiritual activities at the sacred grove are controlled by 
chief priest who is in charge of the abode of such god and 
who also is the messenger of the god in human form. The 
source of the river, is also revered and protected because 
it is regarded as the source of life and fertility; barren 
women go to bathe in these waters in the hope of being 
fertile. The river and their immediate surroundings, 
especially forest are protected on the basis that the spirit 
of the river resided in the area. The responsibility for 
protecting the grove is vested in the entire community, 
but a selected group of people or family normally takes 
the duty to enforce the rules. The conservation strategy, 
which is one of preservation, is enshrined in taboos, 
totems and sacrileges and other numerous cultural and 
religious rites and is maintained through reverence for the 
gods and ancestral spirits. These traditional guards regu-
larly patrol the periphery of the grove and arrest intruders, 
who are reported to the chief priest for the necessary 
customary sanctions. The sanctions, which are done for 
the purpose of pacifying and purifying the gods and 
spirits, vary depending on the gravity of the offense. 
However, they usually consist of a cash fine, bottles of 
hot drinks, goats, sheep, chicken, kola nuts and alligator 
pepper as sacrifice to the gods.  

Action that attracts the wraths of the god includes: i) 
felling of trees or fuel wood collection within 20 m radius 
from the area is strictly prohibited. This principles though 
unknown was meant to preserve the watershed and the 
surrounding vegetation, this consequently checks the 
amount of evapotranspiration and allows some amount of 
tolerable water temperature for both micro and aquatic 
organisms to continue their ecosystem services for the 
enrichment of the soil, continuous supply of water and the 
healthy growth of the forest. The vegetation cover also 
helped to keep the water cool and fresh for drinking. This 
system protects the watershed from destruction; ii) 
Bathing and washing of clothes around, near or inside the 
source of the river where drinking water is fetched was 
not allowed; iii) fishing or harvesting any aquatic animals 
within the source of the river is not allowed.  

This sacred grove survived all these while purely 
because of the strong religious / cultural beliefs held by 
the local people and the spiritual, religious and cultural 
attachments to the grove. The major virtue of this strong 
culture-based practice is that it encourages community 
participation in natural resource conservation and sus-
tains positive awareness of nature and the linkages 
between man and nature (Tunon and Bruhn, 1994; 
Tupper, 2002). This tradition has been used to protect the 
headwaters of several river bodies, especially those that 
served as potable water sources for a community or 
group of communities (Falconer, 1992). 

 

 
 
 

 
The River Ethiope watershed may be small in size but 

it is of biological significance, and a potential for biodiver-
sity conservation. 
 
 
Conservation status of plants and animals species 
 
As noted previously, traditional natural resources ma-

nagement is shaped around local rules and regulations. 

These rules and regulations are most often enshrined in 

religious or cultural beliefs and superstitions and enforced 

by prohibitions. These have no legal backing, but the beliefs 

have been strong enough in the past to make people obey 

the regulations. In the context of natural resources 

management, they enhance biodiversity con-servation and 

minimize the continuous use of natural resources. The 

conservation status of most of the species of plants and 

animals found in the studied areas was assessed using the 

International Union of Conserva-tion of Nature (IUCN) red 

list of threatened species (also known as the IUCN red list or 

red data list). The IUCN is the world's main authority on the 

conservation status of global conservation status of 

biological species. The IUCN red list is set upon precise 

criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of 

species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all 

species and all regions of the world. The aim is to convey 

the urgency of con-servation issues to the public and policy 

makers, as well as help the international community to try to 

reduce species extinction. According to IUCN (1996), the 

for-mally stated goals of the red list are: 1) to provide 

scientifically based information on the status of species and 

subspecies at a global level, 2) to draw attention to the 

magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity, 3) to 

influence national and international policy and decision-

making, and 4) to provide information to guide actions to 

conserve biological diversity. 
 

Species are classified by the IUCN red list into nine 
groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, popu-
lation size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of 
population and distribution fragmentation. 
 
i) Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.   
ii) Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in 
captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its 
historic range.   
iii) Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of 
extinction in the wild.  
iv) Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.   
v) Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the 
wild.   
vi) Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered 
in the near future.   
vii) Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk; does not qualify for 
a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa 
are included in this category.   
viii) Data  deficient  (DD) – Not  enough  data to make an  



 
 
 

 
assessment of its risk of extinction.  
ix) Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated 
against the criteria. 
 
Using the classification of the International Union of 
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened 
species (also known as the IUCN red list or red data list), 
the plants and animals species in the study scared 
groves can be described as an environment with wide-
spread and abundant taxonomy. Plants and animals 
species are at a very low risk as a result of culture and 
traditional beliefs systems. Plants and animals species 
are not endangered. 
 
 
Conclusion 
 
From the very on-set, the paper aims at looking at the 
roles African traditional religion and socio-cultural prac-
tices can play in the management of natural resources. 
Findings indicate that traditional religion and cultural 
practices have contributed in the conservation of resour-
ces through the ascription of psychic powers to object, 
rock, stream/pond, tree, forest land etc; these ascriptions 
of the supreme powers and the belief and respect for the 
gods of the land holds the string to reverence and respect 
for these objects. This belief in the existence of a 
supreme being responsible for the protection of the 
communities has also enabled the traditional African 
communities to voluntarily take management of natural 
resources very seriously. The traditional beliefs and 
taboos helped in enforcing rules and regulations for 
environmental preservation because people refrained 
from using resources carelessly, especially as it is related 
to sacred places. In particular, the important role of these 
practices in the conservation of biodiversity through 
sacred groves has been highlighted. However, an 
assessment that would provide valuable insights into the 
changing values of local people in relation to the 
protection of forests and other natural resources is highly 
recommended. 
 
 
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