Traditional forest conservation culture have had largely synergetic coexistence in developing countries like Africa (Barre 2009, Adom 2016, Araia 2019, Israel and Wynberg 2019). These relationships are reinforced through strong norms and institutions, mainly passed on orally from generation to another. Traditional forest allocation, benefit-sharing, and management practices are highly ingrained in the Sheka people’s culture, structuring the community’s daily interaction with nature (Woldemariam and Fetene 2007). Among the communities of the Sheka people, knowledge and management practices of forest and how to deal with nature are instilled.
The clan leader (Gebi tato) deals with decisions that need to be taken regarding KOBO allocation and administration. The KOBO forest is well protected and is never converted to other land uses and the owner of the KOBO has a birthright to transfer the KOBO holding to the next generation. The vast majority of research participants knew of oral stories and legends told by their ancestors pertaining to the forest. This illustrates a high level of integration of the KOBO forest into traditional Sheka culture. Through oral stories, tells of the KOBO forest, stories of accomplishments or encounters with KOBO forest. Using folk stories, the elders pass the knowledge to the young generation, a key factor in maintaining connection to cultural practices and traditions (Berkes et al., 2000).
There was an overwhelming acknowledgement of traditional forest allocation, benefit-sharing, and management practices, with above 85% of the respondents stating that they used the KOBO forest economic purpose. Despite changes in religious beliefs and the expansion of modern agricultural investment in the study area, the Sheka people maintained strong connections with nature across many aspects of their culture. In traditional societies with strong cultural reference to forests, there is a relatively peaceful coexistence (Parrotta 2007, Parrotta 2008, Berkes et al. 2000, and Soga 2020). While the Sheka people may use forest for different household consumption, unwanted tree cuts in the KOBO forest remain culturally unacceptable. To the contrary, many other people across the world destruct forests for a variety of purposes.
The economic benefits of forest products, such as honey has been observed in Sheka people’s culture. For example, the KOBO forest is the principal source of honey for the Sheka people. The Sheka traditional forest conservation and management practice is not only used for conservation of biodiversity but also serve for the production of quality honey that creates a huge market demand within and outside the Sheka zone. The Sheka people traditional forest conservation and management practice there are forests that are used mainly for the production of honey. The One-KOBO holder may have up to 120 beehives. In addition to the production of honey, the KOBO forest is used for the extraction of trees for house building and another household consumption. The importance of the KOBO forest to the Sheka people is directly related to cultural perception.
Even if the KOBO forest conservation and management culture have a number of economic and ecological significance, they have no legal grounds to protect this culture. The cultural importance of KOBO forest allocation, benefit-sharing, and management practices could be integrated into KOBO forest management and conservation approaches. This study opens avenues for exploring justifications for conserving the KOBO forest within Sheka forests. The people of Sheka could be enlisted in law enforcement activities against KOBO forest destruction. Such integrated conservation efforts with the Sheka people, who are culturally attached to the KOBO forest, are promising tools to effectively manage and conserve KOBO forest in increasingly human-dominated landscapes.
Conclusion
The case study presented on KOBO culture demonstrates that the Sheka people have their own indigenous knowledge, beliefs, and management practices related to forest. This cultural and belief system is inherited from their ancestor since time immemorial and evolving over generation. The culture of KOBO described in this article shows that it still exists in every element of local forest utilization, protection, and management and allocation of forest. As the study clearly shows, the KOBO culture is productive and efficient for forest management, and this useful culture has demonstrated its significance in the protection of various forest types and tree species, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity. Thus, the KOBO forest conservation culture is illustrated in the Sheka people forest utilization, protection, and management provide important insights into the protection of various forest types and tree species, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.