A critical assessment of African communitarianism for environmental well-being

Abstract

It is an undeniable truism that the world at large and Africa in particular is facing serious environmental problems such as deforestation, water pollution, air pollution, wetlands destruction, poaching as well as global warming. These problems are mainly caused by economic pressure for industrialisation, technological advancement, population growth, poverty and ignorance. Efforts to tone down these environmental problems have been largely influenced by the employment and deployment of Western ethical theories like land ethic, deep ecology, ecofeminism and social ecology as well as scientific approaches. Whilst these strategies are credited for forming the foundation of environmental discourse, they have not been a one-size-fits-all approach. As a result, they have registered modicum results in mitigating environmental challenges especially with particular reference to Africa. This is simply because they have proved to be anthropocentric and they are not flavoured with socio-cultural realities which identify the indigenous folk and shape their relationship with the natural environment. It is against this backdrop that the researcher feels that African communitarianism as a theory embedded on Ubuntu, Indigenous knowledge system such as taboos and totems and African traditional religion and morality, can chip-in to supply a home-grown solution to African environmental problems. Conscious of the pejorative effects of colonial hegemony through Christianity and the ever-present modern world of scientific undertakings, the researcher recommends a formulation of an environmental ethic that integrates traditional African religion, Christian ethics and scientific conservation methods to ensure an environmental policy that informs and directs sustainable socio-economic trajectory in contemporary Africa.