Abstract

Humankind’s activities on the planet earth have evolved to unprecedented levels, thus putting the ecosystem on the verge of the abyss. The exigency of caring for the environment has ushered in an urgent need for philosophies, theories, advocacies and actions to preserve the ecosystem and to ensure environmental sustainability. There is a reawakening awareness that humans need to rethink their use of the environment and to enliven their concerns for its care. In addressing this need, Euro-centric models have been the dominant perspectives advanced; little appeal has been made to indigenous African environmental philosophies and their potential to contribute to the desired change is largely ignored. There is, therefore, a need to explore alternative approaches in indigenous thought systems that may appeal easily and rapidly to the consciences of peoples. African agrarian philosophy of the environment seems to be an area with global implications. The Nsoq’ of the Grass fields of Cameroon subscribe to what some have described as an “eco-bio-communitarian”. Tangwa observes that within the traditional African metaphysical worldview, the dichotomy between plants, animals, and inanimate things; between the sacred and the profane, matter and spirit, the communal and the individual, is a slim and flexible one. He postulates that such an outlook has very significant implications on the way nature is approached and treated by traditional Africans. (Tangwa in Bioethics: An African Perspective, 1996). The “reverence” for mother earth, which is prevalent in the Nsoq approach, can serve as a contributing voice in saving mankind from an impending environmental catastrophe.