Conservation of the Asante Traditional Buildings as a Local and World Heritage Property in Ghana

Abstract

The importance of involving local communities in heritage conservation has become a major concern. Especially in Africa, there is an increasing focus on prioritising indigenous knowledge and practices in conserving heritage. However, as a continent still influenced by colonial laws and heritage protection guidelines, local communities are often marginalised in heritage management processes. This issue is reinforced by legal and formal conservation systems, through which state institutions assume responsibility for heritage conservation. Consequently, this has led to a disconnect between local communities and their heritage, resulting in the neglect and abandonment of many heritage sites, particularly those recognised as World Heritage. In this context, this research focused on how to effectively conserve heritage with international status, using the Asante Traditional Buildings (ATB) World Heritage Property in Ghana as a case study. The study solicited views from 510 participants through a qualitative approach that incorporated surveys (offline and online), workshops, and interviews. Also, data was collected through desktop research and observation. Guided by the principles of grounded theory (GT) and thematic analysis, the main finding is that for effective conservation of internationally recognised heritage properties, local communities—who are the owners— should be empowered to control their use and conservation. This supports the notion of use conservation, which recognises that authenticity and integrity can be maintained through ongoing use rather than solely through the conservation of form. The study demonstrates that the use-conservation system is appropriate for conserving heritage in the African context and supports decolonising heritage conservation. It concludes by recommending the use conservation system for the conservation of the ATB and similar heritage sites—whether local, regional, national, or international—that are linked to the spirituality and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of their source communities.