Ethical Evaluation of Environmental Stewardship in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
It is an indisputable fact that the global climate change crisis is equally affecting Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa is inundated with a lot of environmental problems. These problems include pollution, land degradation, deforestation, desertification, extinction of endangered plants and animals’ species, indiscriminate dumping of both domestic and industrial waste, drought, and so forth. Environmental problems cause a great ordeal for humans. They lead to the destruction of human habitation, the destruction of the habitat of plants and animals, the endangerment of water sources, the destruction of farmland and streams, etc. All these impacts the wellbeing of humans and other entities on the planet. Many environmental problems taking place in Africa are anthropogenic, which means that they are caused by human activities. This paper argues that in order for the Sub-Saharan population to overcome these environmental problems, they should believe and practice environmental stewardship or eco-stewardship. Through a hermeneutical and critical analytic method, the concept of eco-stewardship is examined and critiqued. Some of the causes of environmental problems in Sub-Saharan Africa are also presented. The paper finds and concludes that environmental stewardship can help to curb or mitigate the environmental crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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