Art can give ecological restoration a local voice – World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute (WRI) says art and culture can help make ecological restoration more meaningful to local communities.

This is according to the institute’s Landscape Restoration Manager for the Ghana Cocoa Belt, Eric Lartey, who made this known at the inaugural Climate x Culture Summit in Accra on Thursday, October 22.

“Restoration is more about people,” Mr Lartey said, explaining that music, oral traditions, festivals and customary practices shape how many Ghanaian communities relate to land, forests, water and biodiversity.

He said integrating culture can connect restoration to community identity and make use of traditional ecological knowledge, which “can also inform more effective restoration practices.”

Mr Lartey highlighted the Restoration Artists Network (RAN), a global initiative under the WRI that brings together musicians, visual artists, storytellers and cultural leaders to make ecological restoration more accessible.

“Artists are powerful storytellers and cultural influencers,” he said, describing their ability to translate technical restoration concepts into simple, engaging messages.

He cited a collaboration between Ghanaian and American artists that produced six songs drawing on Ghanaian musical traditions and local languages. The project aims to give landscape restoration “a local and a human voice,” he said.

“Art is an access point. It can invite attention, stimulate conversation,” Mr Lartey said.

He added that art can help people see themselves in a story that might otherwise feel technical or distant, while cautioning that it cannot replace investment, science or policy.

“If we want restoration effort to endure, it must be locally led and culturally grounded,” he said, pointing to Restore Local as a framework for the approach.

The summit, themed “Designing Sustainable Creative Experiences For Africa,” was organised by Culture Joint Media in partnership with Ghana’s Minister of State for Climate Change & Sustainability at the Presidency.

It brought together stakeholders from the climate, creative, business, media and technology sectors to explore how culture and creativity can contribute to climate action and sustainable development.

Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Office of the President, World Resources Institute (WRI) Africa, Centre for CSR, West Africa, Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Ghana Youth Environment Movement (GYEM), 365Mustang, Dobiison, JoyNews and Myjoyonline.com.