ABSTRACT

This chapter seeks to analyse traditional heritage management systems related to water settlements, particularly in the lacustrine villages of Benin. It also seeks to outline the main components of the management system and the role intangible heritage has played in ensuring the continuity and survival of a community in an otherwise harsh environment. The chapter explores the link between culture and nature, and their inseparability within traditional management systems. The community outlined has tended to evolve at a rapid rate without taking the time to reconcile the promise of modernity/globalization with their intrinsic cultural identity. Recognizing the importance of involving traditional leaders in managing fragile intangible heritage and strengthening respect for customary rules and traditional natural and cultural resource utilization may be the only way of ensuring the continuity of traditional management systems. Traditional management systems are present and continue to exist in spite of years of conflict and clashes with the modern system.