Perennial flooding and indigenous adaptation strategies in Wa Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Flooding has become one of Ghana’s most persistent environmental challenges, particularly in rapidly urbanizing intermediary cities like Wa, where planning deficiencies intersect with local behavioural and cultural dynamics. This study examined how indigenous knowledge, attitudes and practices shape community adaptation to recurrent flooding in Mangu and Kumbiehi, two flood-prone communities in the Wa Metropolis. Guided by the KAP framework, the study adopted a qualitative case study design involving focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field observations. The findings reveal that residents possess extensive indigenous environmental knowledge derived from intergenerational learning, which informs local adaptive measures such as belangkpore (wall support), kponkporee (apron), garaa (ridges), sandbagging, local drainage channels and communal drainage clearing. However, these strategies remain largely reactive and short-term, constrained by religious fatalism, economic limitations and weak institutional support. Despite awareness of flood risks, the persistence of rebuilding on flood-prone land reflects a behavioural gap between knowledge and practice. The study highlights how attitudes of divine determinism and mistrust in government institutions undermine proactive adaptation. It concludes that sustainable flood management in Ghana requires integrating indigenous knowledge with formal governance, fostering behavioural change and strengthening community-institutional collaboration. The research contributes to flood adaptation scholarship by advancing a behavioural and culturally grounded understanding of resilience in Ghana’s intermediary cities. It further underscores the relevance of KAP model in diagnosing the knowledge-practice gap and informing inclusive, community-based flood governance frameworks.