Safeguarding our environment: insight from an African environmental ethical approach

Abstract

The care and management of the natural environment constitutes an important aspect of environmental philosophy; an area of study that critically scrutinizes and evaluates human activities in his environment. African environmental ethics approaches problematic fundamental issues in deep ecology with a unique insight, basically holding that the relationship of man and his environment is necessarily mutual and complementary. This paper observes that environmental problem is that of excesses accruing from wrong understanding and definition of need, and functionalistic depredation approach to issues of natural resources. Man must curtail this excessive exploitation of his environment and strive to maintain a positive harmony with it as an ethical obligation since, among other things, the survival of the human species depends on the conducive healthy state of his environment. This researcher recommends mass environmental education using the African indigenous altruistic eco-centric principle of “mmiri atalaa ma azụ anwụlaa” for ecological environment management and eco-social relations of the populace; which is a veritable strategy to help individuals and government of the state in their positive efforts towards conservation and resolving of environmental problems, as well as help them maintain the needed cosmic equilibrium and harmony with the environment always.

Keywords: Environment, African, conservation, existents/entities, harmony