Climate Change Eschatology
... not good for agriculture
"Please understand, I need a chair that is why I am cutting you down;" a West African speaks to a tree before cutting it down. "I was hungry, that is why I speared you for a meal;" the San and Khoi Khoi of Southern Africa have to tell an animal carcass after hunting. The above statements though not exactly presented in their original format capture the sensitivity Africans put to environmental conservation. Inbuilt in the indigenous economic systems was stewardship.
Is the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) an indicator that the World is ready to adapt African indigenous style of
managing resources? The climate change debate has mutated from focus on global warming, changes in weather patterns to "earth will melt" away. Poor countries might want to exploit the climate change debate to seek reparations from wealthy nations that have for over four centuries plundered the world's natural resources at will. Wealthy nations on the other hand might exploit this debate to engage in "environmental colonialism;" that is,restrict poor and emerging economies from industrializing at their own pace.
Instead of engaging in an eschatological discussion on the impact of climate change on human activities; it is important to push for stewardship in the quest to feed the world and accumulate wealth. The African approach above was meant to curb wastage; a step to reduce wastage say, in crop production, can go a long way in addressing environmental concerns.
James Shikwati
Please post your response to James in the Community Forum or email getintouch@stewardshipcommunity.com and your response will be posted for you. Your name can be withheld if you prefer.
