Towards Curbing Environmental Degradation in Contemporary Africa: Reverting to Traditional Conservation?

Abstract

Environmental conservation is one theme that has gained centre stage over the past few decades. This is because of the dangerous threat posed by the imposing environmental degradation being witnessed by the present century, which signals even worse doom for future generations unless nipped in the bud. No doubt, significant attention has been dedicated to investigating and finding solutions to the problem of environmental degradation, but not much seems to have been achieved, especially in Africa. It has therefore become pertinent and urgent to backpedal down memory lane to how the environment was conserved in traditional African societies with considerable success. This paper, therefore, examines the possibility of conserving the environment in Africa using the traditional environment conservation strategies that were hitherto used by different African societies. The African traditional concept of the environment enjoined the living to manage and conserve the environment for future generations, bearing in mind that they would account for their stewardship of the environment to the ancestors when they depart the earth. The African situation could be made to represent other developing regions of the world. The primary thesis of this paper is that there should be a fusion of traditional strategies of with the modern models of environmental conservation for better results to be achieved in Africa.  It is the contention of this paper that the almost complete replacement of the traditional methods of environmental conservation in Africa with the modern scientific model would only remain a clog in the wheels of the progress in the environmental sustainability paradigm.