African Approaches to the Protection and Conservation of the Environment: The Role of African Traditional Religions

Abstract In Africa the environment is sacrosanct and treated with great respect, particularly in communities where traditional beliefs and practices prevail. The sacredness of the environment is based on the African people’s fundamental belief that the spiritual and the secular worlds are two sides of the same coin endowed with divine power and presence. As a result, the line of demarcation between the two worlds is blurred. They complement each other in the sense that each derives its meaning, significance and importance from the other. Since the natural world is imbued with the divine, it is considered an extension of the supernatural world. In the absence of written legal frameworks, the environment, in indigenous communities, is protected through religious beliefs and practices. This article analyses the basic approaches of the African people towards nature and their fundamental belief that the environment is an integral part of God’s creation and must therefore be preserved and conserved for future generations. The article notes that in contemporary Africa the emphasis on material values is leading towards the total destruction of the environment, thus putting humanity at the intersection of self-destruction – something that needs to be avoided at all costs.