Should we save
the wilderness or care for people?
August 2005
Let’s face it – it’s a tricky subject. Conserving Africa, its
wildlife and its untouched wildernesses, is no easy task, in the
face of the need for food, housing and resources by burgeoning, poor
populations.
Africa is unsteadily trying to provide for the basic needs of most
of her people, and to top it all environmentalists are fighting with
all the means at their disposal to keep large areas untouched by
human interference. Large areas of land for grazing, agricultural
endeavors and mining possibilities are eliminated as a result. Is
this defensible? Are there any alternatives? Should the survival of
wildlife and wildernesses be rated above that of people? Or are
there any solutions that can possibly solve both problems? In my
opinion it is very well possible and also very important to consider
the wilderness, wildlife, AND the people of Africa. But in order to
make it work, we have to separate the facts from the fiction and
find practical solutions to benefit all parties.
So, where do we begin? It is true that most of us are awestruck at
the sound of a lion roaring from his ‘soul’ at sunset, or at the
thunderous waters crashing over the Victoria Falls. And anyone who
has felt the shivering tingle down one’s spine when only a few
bushes and a ranger keeps an imposing buffalo bull from goring one,
understands full well our human insignificance… But what is this awe
and astonishment we experience in nature? Is there a description or
value for what Theodore Roosevelt called “the hidden spirit of the
wilderness…”? In his opinion there are no words to describe its
“mystery, its melancholy and its charm…” and who will disagree?
The question now arises – is this awe of the wild reason enough to
justify the suffering of others? Well obviously not. But is there
something in the wilderness that we ought to protect, which is our
duty to preserve? That will in the end benefit all of humanity? For
which we should fight and find ways of preserving while also
providing for our human needs? Is there truth in arguing that we
will not be able to destroy the earth, without destroying ourselves
too?
I want to answer yes. Yes, that we are connected to our earth on a
deeper level than we are probably aware of. And yes, that - in the
words of Chief Seattle - “when all the beasts are gone, man would
die from a great loneliness of spirit”. Even though Theodore
Roosevelt couldn’t find words to describe the magic of the
wilderness, the fact that it influences, heightens and enlightens
our human experience on many levels – physical, emotional and
spiritual – cannot be denied, and therefore (if only from a human
perspective) it seems worthy of and most in need of our protection.
But sadly, we are not doing very well. Des Jardins provides some
interesting facts:
• Largely through human activity, life on earth faces the greatest
mass extinctions since the end of the dinosaur age 65 million years
ago
• More than one hundred species a day are becoming extinct.
• The world population of 6 billion people in 2000 will likely
increase by one billion people by the year 2010.
• With the destruction of the ozone layer and the resulting
greenhouse effect, human activity threatens the atmosphere and
climate of the planet itself.
He is also of the opinion that our society’s ways of coping with
this problem is insufficient to heal the wounds. According to him,
the ecological dilemma is fundamentally about what we as human
beings value, the kind of lives we should live, our place in nature,
and the kind of world in which we might flourish. Thus basically,
this struggle reaches into our framework of ethics and philosophy.
Given my background in philosophy, I was challenged to inquire into
possible philosophical solutions to the problems that are
threatening our world, and how these can be put into practice in our
societies. One of the most important conclusions I have reached
following a masters degree thesis and fieldwork amongst a
traditional African tribe in Kenya, is that we need holistic
solutions. Solutions that find the middle ground between the needs
of wild animals, their natural environment, and the immediate and
long-term needs of the people that share their space. In many
instances in Africa, the dilemma can be addressed by introducing
cultural conservancies and cultural tourism.
In next month’s article we will consider the principles of making
such cultural conservancies work, and look at the success stories
found in Kenya.
By Lizanne du Plessis
Read Lizanne's 2nd article:
Cultural Conservancies and hope for conservation in Kenya.
Bibliography
Des Jardins, J.R. 1993. Environmental Ethics: An introduction to
environmental
philosophy. Wadsworth Publishing Company. Belmont, California.
Gore, A. 1992. Earth in the Balance. Earthscan Publications Ltd.
London.
Kelbessa, W. 2001. Indigenous environmental ethics: A study of the
indigenous
Oromo environmental ethic and Oromo environmental ethic in the light
of
modern issues of environment and development. Ph.D. thesis,
University of
Wales, Cardiff.
Zimmerman, M.E. 1994. Contesting Earth’s Future. Radical Ecology and
Postmodernity. University of California Press. London. |
