BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Choosing between environmental conservation and economic development, the paramount challenge of our time lies in resolving the conflict between prioritizing environmental conservation and the forces driving economic development. African governments and policy makers appear perpetually forced to reconcile the legitimate aspiration of majorities to achieve standards of living taken for granted in the economically developed world (like electricity and running water, good roads and a living wage) with the need to preserve and protect what is left of our irreplaceable flora, fauna, and to protect the vitality of the entire natural ecosystem upon which all our wellbeing depends. Examining this dilemma from an African perspective entails understanding that (i) Africa’s underdevelopment is not a result of prioritizing environmental conservation; and that (ii) environmental degradation in Africa is neither a necessary nor an inevitable consequence of making robust developmental strides. The way to resolve these apparent dilemmas emerges by taking an approach that I label obligatory anthropo-holism. On this view, humans (anthropos) have an obligatory role (given duties, in contrast to given rights) to conserve and tend our environment, in order to sustain the balance of our whole terrestrial ecosystem. Yet this ethic of duty cannot be pursued independently of human capacity building through economic development. African environments will be adequately conserved when human welfare is secured and aspirations are enlightened through the achievement of economic development goals.

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