The Role of Culture in Managing Biodiversity: The Case of the Karanga Community in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The concept of biodiversity is not new among traditional communities in Zimbabwe. Traditional communities have always ensured biodiversity from time immemorial. They have always co-existed with their environment and have always appreciated the importance of biodiversity in life. As a result, they have employed various measures to ensure this. Much of the measures that have been done are premised on the observations from culture. This paper sought to establish various cultural measures that have been relied upon by the traditional communities in Zimbabwe to promote the concept of biodiversity. The paper tackles the threat to cultural mechanisms in the management of biodiversity. The paper argues that 'totemism', taboos and superstitions have been relied upon as measures employed to safeguard biodiversity among the traditional Karanga ethnic group of Zvishavane. The paper further observes that culture has been a vehicle for promoting co-existence among the different species of the world.