By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, Aug. 25, GNA – Ghana, Chile and Australia have joined an international research project examining how indigenous knowledge can shape governance of critical minerals.
The Political Minerals Governance Transition project will explore how African arts, folklore and indigenous knowledge systems can inform governance frameworks for minerals needed for the global energy transition.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, Dr Clement Sefa-Nyarko, a Project Lead on the initiative, said the project would investigate how cultural expressions and traditional forms of knowledge could contribute to policy discussions on sustainable mining and extractive justice.
The project is spearheaded by researchers from King’s College London, the University of Ghana and partner institutions from the three countries.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko said growing global demand for critical minerals, driven by the transition to cleaner energy technologies, had heightened the need for governance systems that reflected the values and aspirations of communities in resource-rich areas.
“Critical minerals are very important in the transition to net-zero emissions, but justice is another matter altogether. The main challenge is that we do not have a common understanding of what justice is,” he said.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko explained that while governments often emphasised economic management, investment and energy transition goals, local communities tended to focus on issues such as land rights and environmental stewardship.
He said a key feature of the study was its focus on African arts and folklore as repositories of indigenous knowledge that could inform governance frameworks for critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt.
The research will employ hermeneutical ethnography to examine how communities communicate ideas about justice, accountability, environmental responsibility and resource stewardship through storytelling, music, proverbs, visual arts, performances and folklore.
“In many African societies, folktales, proverbs and storytelling traditions have long served as mechanisms for teaching responsible leadership, accountability and collective ownership of resources. We want to understand how these values can contribute to modern governance approaches to mining and sustainability,” Dr Sefa-Nyarko said.
Researchers will document and analyse cultural expressions, including community songs, oral histories, murals, drawings, films and folklore, reflecting local perceptions of mining, development and environmental protection.
“We are interested in existing knowledge systems. Anything around music, movies, folktales, drawings on walls, pictures people have, anything that communicates a sense of justice and how mining should be done in a sustainable way,” Dr Sefa-Nyarko stated.
He said lessons from the cultural narratives could help policymakers design governance frameworks that were more inclusive, participatory and responsive to the concerns of mining communities.
Findings from the study would be discussed through co-creation workshops involving community members, traditional leaders, government institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to ensure shared ownership of outcomes and recommendations.
The project also aims to contribute to international discussions on sustainable development by demonstrating how indigenous knowledge, arts and folklore can strengthen transparency, community participation and social accountability in critical minerals governance.
Prof. Samuel Ntewusu, Director of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), said critical minerals should serve as a catalyst for Ghana’s industrialisation and shared prosperity rather than reinforce dependence on raw material exports.
He said Ghana’s Energy Transition Framework recognised the strategic importance of minerals such as lithium and graphite for developing battery manufacturing and electric vehicle value chains.
“Ghana must therefore pursue a minerals governance framework that balances investment and economic growth with environmental protection, community participation, transparency and intergenerational equity,” he said.
Prof. Ntewusu said integrating local knowledge systems and cultural values into mineral governance could help build public trust and ensure that resource extraction produced lasting benefits for future generations.
He called for policies that placed communities at the centre of decision-making while recognising the role of African arts, folklore and traditional knowledge in shaping perceptions of justice and sustainable resource management.
Prof. Ntewusu expressed optimism that lessons from Ghana, Chile and Australia would contribute to global efforts to establish fair, inclusive and culturally grounded governance systems for critical minerals.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Jibril Abdul Mumuni