A theological view of environmental protection in Africa

Abstract

African theologians, and indeed all humanity, should individually and collectively make a permanent commitment to environmen- tal protection. Using conceptual tools as well as sociological and theological critical analysis, it can be demonstrated how closely such concepts as politics, economics, war, culture, tech- nology, urbanisation, the Internet, globalisation, missiology, and theology are related to ecology and our natural environment. Consequently, African theologians and concerned people need to take into account, and observe ecological norms as part of the fulfilment of their world mission. Mugambi and Mika (2001:4) affirm that “human beings and nature as such are valuable and deserve to survive”. Therefore, global and local role players must assume appropriate responsibility in order to ensure the necessary ecological balance to sustain life on this planet. This article analyses and demonstrates the importance of environ- mental protection of the African continent. The overall objective is to promote environmental awareness and active engagement in assessing the environmental impact on all human activities.