TY - JOUR
T1 - Two Sides of the Same Coin
T2 - Formal and Informal Institutional Synergy in a Case Study of Wildlife Governance in Ghana
AU - Yeboah-Assiamah, Emmanuel
AU - Muller, Kobus
AU - Domfeh, Kwame Ameyaw
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2019/12/2
Y1 - 2019/12/2
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Africa
KW - complementation
KW - enforcement
KW - informal institutions
KW - natural resources
KW - wildlife governance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070961008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08941920.2019.1647320
DO - 10.1080/08941920.2019.1647320
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85070961008
SN - 0894-1920
VL - 32
SP - 1364
EP - 1382
JO - Society and Natural Resources
JF - Society and Natural Resources
IS - 12
ER -