The Nexus of Climate Change, Communal Conflicts and Poverty in Northern Ghana

PhD Project: Mohammed Kamal Jibril 

Context

Researchers have stressed that climate change is sometimes perceived by local communities to be caused by ancestors. As such, people are expected to behave adequately to earn the pleasure of the deities (Ndamani and Watanabe 2015). These perceptions then guide people's actions in the mitigation of the climate. Scholars point out that climate change perceptions and their consequences are strongly gendered and linked to social status (Owusu et al., 2019). My research will delve into those questions by focusing on Northern Ghana's local beliefs (that might be seen as superstitious) within communities relating to climate change, conflict, and poverty. I argue that local ideas are not to be dismissed because they influence people's perceptions and experiences, and ultimately their actions. Thus, they will be duly recorded, and the researcher will respect and record the interviewees' views, even if not believing in them.

Aims and objectives

To contribute to the body of knowledge about local people's experiences and perceptions regarding the dynamics in the linkage between climate change, communal conflicts, and poverty in the northern part of Ghana.