Keywords

1 Introduction

According to Schimel, soils define a people’s culture and society more strongly than any other environmental variable.Footnote 1 Healthy soils in a community can achieve much more than food security and environmental harmony. This chapter adopts a desktop review of diverse literature to understand the legal, cultural and religious underpinning of sustainable soil governance in Africa. The chapter also evaluates the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in achieving the goal of sustainable soil governance in Africa. The African Union recognises five geographic regions on the continent namely, North, South, West, East and Central.Footnote 2 A sixth region consisting of people of African descent living outside the continent is also categorized, but is not materially relevant for the purpose of analysing soil governance in this chapter.

The chapter progresses by critically evaluating relevant literature drawn from the five regions of Africa, focusing on the legal, traditional, cultural and religious perspectives of soil governance. The data elicited from the literature is only used representatively of Africa. Africa is a large continent with diverse traditions, cultures and religions upon which the legal systems responsible for natural resources and environmental protection are anchored.Footnote 3 It is therefore impossible to discuss any issue pertaining to the continent with homogeneity.Footnote 4

Africa is no doubt one of the most resource-abundant continents. Natural resources such as gold, diamond, oil, natural gas, copper, uranium, among others are mined in different parts of the continent, with almost every country having a deposit of natural ores.Footnote 5 The continent is endowed with about 97% of the world’s chromium, 90% of the world’s cobalt, 85% of the word’s platinum, 70% of the world’s cocoa, and 60% of the world’s coffee.Footnote 6 Despite this abundance of resources, Africa is also among the poorest continents. One of the factors that have led to the continent’s extreme poverty levels is that the extraction of natural resources, most of which are land or soil based, is hardly utilised to the benefit of the African countries themselves. In the process of natural resources extraction, there has been immense damage primarily to land and soil as well as the general environment. What soil governance mechanisms exist in Africa to ameliorate this gloomy outlook?

This chapter assesses the culture, traditional norms and religious practices that have shaped legal approaches towards soil governance in Africa. There can be no meaningful discussion about sustainable soil governance without a critical analysis of how sustainable development interfaces with African culture, traditional norms and religion. To start with, Sect. 2 provides the rationale for the global sustainable soil governance agenda, while Sect. 3 builds upon the previous section to review how sustainable development and indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) have defined sustainable soil governance in Africa generally. Section 4 appraises the role of culture, traditional norms and religion in ensuring sustainable soil governance in Africa. This will be achieved in a brief review of some soil legislation initiatives in Africa as well as an analysis of African Ubuntu philosophy and Sect. 5 provides a summary of the chapter.

2 Rationale for the Global Sustainable Soil Governance Agenda

As far back as 1976, legal scholars have been unanimous that the world order for the protection of the environment and its associated components would only succeed through concerted global cooperation,Footnote 7 and involvement of local communities. In more recent years, scholars are agreed that “voluntary soil protection measures are not sufficient to achieve sustainable soil management at a global scale”.Footnote 8 There is need to move towards more coercive measures of ensuring global sustainable soil management.

2.1 International Soil Governance Initiatives

There are several international soil governance elements which include treaties, institutions and non-binding instruments. According to Bodle, some of these are Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Maputo Convention) and United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).Footnote 9

It is worth echoing researched views to the effect that none of these instruments and institutions is specifically mandated for protecting soil or providing a comprehensive framework for soil governance. The history and state of existing international soil governance suggests that the case for addressing soil at the international level is not self-evident.Footnote 10

Although the pressure on soil is increasing and the condition of soil is deteriorating worldwide, the community of states is yet to join hands towards international soil-specific initiatives. This is in contrast to many other environmental issues such as air, climate change, biodiversity, water and pollutants. The future of the global soil governance agenda, is however bright given numerous initiatives that have since been undertaken in the recent past. For instance, Bodle et al. have taken stock of global initiatives to improve international soil governance in the short, medium and long term, and provide options, among which is the possibility of a new treaty or institutions.Footnote 11

A detailed assessment of the global legal force of the available instruments, although useful to the resource-potential of the African continent, is beyond the scope of this chapter. This section will only focus on the provisions of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (“the Maputo Convention”).

2.2 The African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (“the Maputo Convention”)

The Maputo Convention was adopted in 2003 as an African regional treaty. The Convention has one article dedicated to land degradation and soil conservation and requires parties to establish long-term integrated strategies for land resources and land-use plans. Although it is not necessarily soil-specific, it addresses the facilitating role of land tenure policies. Besides prevention, the Convention parties have to plan and implement mitigation and rehabilitation measures for areas affected by land degradation. According to Bodle, the Maputo Convention is at a vantage point of being an important regional instrument for soil protection.Footnote 12

3 Sustainable Development, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Soil Governance in Africa

The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), 1992 is viewed as having initiated interest in the contribution of indigenous knowledge aimed at bettering the understanding of improved livelihoods in communities by highlighting the urgent need for developing mechanisms to protect the earth’s biological diversity through local knowledge. This period also marked the stage at which sustainable development “began to influence the conceptualisation of global development and development policy,”Footnote 13 culminating into the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the UNCED. Article 8 (j) of the CBD makes provision for respecting, preserving and maintaining indigenous knowledge that is “relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity” and to “promote” its application. Further, Agenda 21 of the UNCED emphasized the need for governments to work towards incorporating indigenous environmental management knowledge systems into contemporary socio-economic development programmes in order to attain sustainable development.

3.1 Implementation of Soil-Related SDGs in Africa

The SDGs in themselves are not specifically focused on sustainable soil governance. However, scholars have argued that all of the SDGs, especially those relating to poverty and food security and others are interdependent and directly or indirectly depend on the provision of ecosystem services where soils play a foundational role.Footnote 14

The evolution of SDGs to solve global disasters can be explained through the analysis of philosophical thinking in development that originates from a humanistic perspective, not far from Africa’s Ubuntu philosophy which is discussed in greater detail in Sect. 4.2.3 of this chapter. Ubuntu signals leadership by calling for collective participation especially in goal 17 on partnerships in order to achieve the SDGs. This chapter has underscored the fact that soil is the basis of life in Africa and other parts of the world, and therefore all communal activities must be pooled together to realise the ends of sustainability.

In creating a bridge between the environment and culture, it has been argued that the environment, with its air, water and soils is a product of a cultural worldview. Government agencies must implement SDGs within their states using the prevailing culture. Culture is perceived not only as a route towards SDGs, but also an end in itself which must be preserved. According to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development, culture ought to be protected within cultural rights; giving recognition to culture as creative knowledge and expressions and also an indispensable tool for sustainable development.

According to Lal et al., there are at least eleven (11) SDGs that are intricately connected to soil health.Footnote 15 The key SDGs in respect of the resource-wealth and relevance of the African continent are SDGs 1-3 on ending poverty, zero hunger and good health and wellbeing.

3.1.1 Importance of IKS to Sustainable Soil Governance

According to Ayaa, indigenous and local people have formed “a science” by engaging in annual cycles of subsistence activities that have evolved into knowledge systems and technologies useful in maintaining and preserving the bio-physical environment within such a community.Footnote 16 With their local knowledge, values and interests, local communities have studied and intimately known their flora and fauna, and developed their own classification systems as well as variations in their overall environments, and this includes aspects of sustainable soil management. In direct reference to sustainable soil management in Africa, it has been shown that traditional knowledge in the local communities is a “sometimes hidden treasure of information”Footnote 17 that must be tapped in order to understand the intricacies of conserving the important natural resource.

In a research using a case study approach, Hinz found that in many instances, indigenous knowledge is ‘normal’ when it expresses something which any person outside of a particular community would be able to discover by just going the extra-step to unravel it and accept that locals will usually know their environments better than newcomers, and this includes issues of soil health and sustainability. This notwithstanding, indigenous knowledge may still be over and above the lived experiences of local communities.Footnote 18

The appropriate role of indigenous knowledge in environmental protection, particularly soil management, is to use the African experience as a way that the community relates with environment. It is crucial to apply and utilize the IKS, broad and mostly undocumented as it may be. Most indigenous knowledge has been marginalized and even lost in the process of colonization and arguably contributed to poverty, famine, and disease; inefficient and unequal distribution of resources, economic opportunity and erosion of sustainable environment.Footnote 19

Unfortunately, in most cases the involvement of the community and indigenous knowledge systems are only carried out in the project implementation stage and not the planning stage, which is an oversight even under international law environmental law.

SDG 17, which seeks partnerships to achieve the implementation of the SDGs, appears to be the most important goal in relation to the use and preservation of IKS. At the centre of any partnership is the working together of individuals and institutions, with the local community being the most important partner since communities sustain development. Generally, African values seek to work with nature and not against nature. African culture contributes effectively to development and environmental protection.Footnote 20

It is important and desirable that IKS be maintained and promoted by governmental action in Africa. A number of regional and national initiatives for the promotion and maintenance of IKS are presently in place in Africa and some of these are discussed below. The discussion that follows also addresses the question on how these initiatives could be instrumental for sustainable soil governance in Africa and beyond.

3.1.1.1 The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expression of Folklore

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) is mandated by the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expression of Folklore (“the Protocol”) to protect the holders of traditional knowledge against any infringement of their rights and protecting expressions of folklore against misappropriation, misuse and unlawful exploitation.Footnote 21 The Protocol was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference of ARIPO in 2010, in Swakopmund, Namibia and entered into force in 2015. There are presently eight Contracting States to the Protocol namely Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, The Gambia, Liberia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Footnote 22

Despite criticism levelled against its rationale being embedded in Intellectual Property,Footnote 23 the Protocol has created a viable regional commitment for African states to unite in the protection of the much—treasured local traditional knowledge. The Protocol has subsequently inspired the enactment of various national laws and policies which are likely to be important for more specific environmental concerns like soil governance in the sub African region as well as more general environmental well-being.

3.1.1.2 National Legislative Initiatives on IKS

In South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Malawi, the national legal frameworks create the enabling environment for the development and maintenance of IKS. These countries are used only for illustration; several other countries in Africa have implemented effective constitutional and legal frameworks in relation to the protection and preservation of IKS.

The Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Act 6 of 2019 of South Africa is aimed inter alia at providing for the protection, promotion, development and management of indigenous knowledge; management of the rights of indigenous knowledge communities; establishment and functions of the Advisory Panel on indigenous knowledge; and access and conditions of access to knowledge of indigenous communities; and for matters incidental thereto.Footnote 24

In Zambia, the Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Expressions of Folklore Act, 2016 has been in effect since 2016. This piece of legislation provides for a transparent legal framework for the protection of, access to, and use of, traditional knowledge, genetic resources and expressions of folklore in Zambia. Further, in the preambular section, recognition is given to the spiritual, cultural, social, political and economic value of traditional knowledge as well as the importance of promoting the preservation, wider application and development of traditional knowledge and the protection of the inalienable rights of traditional communities, individuals and groups over their traditional knowledge. The legislation also confers rights on traditional communities, individuals and groups and promotes the conservation and sustainable utilisation of the country's biodiversity; to promote fair and equitable distribution of the benefits derived from the exploitation of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and expressions of folklore and undertakes to give effect to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore 2010, any other relevant initiatives and international treaties or conventions to which Zambia is a State Party.Footnote 25

From the Kenyan perspective, the Constitution obligates the state to support, promote and enhance the Intellectual Property (IP) and ‘indigenous knowledge’ associated with biodiversity and ‘genetic resources of the communities.’Footnote 26 The Constitution also recognizes culture as the foundation of the nation and cumulative civilization of the Kenyan people and nation.Footnote 27 Further, the Constitution enjoins Parliament to enact legislation, to ensure that ‘communities receive compensation or royalties for the use of their cultures and cultural heritage’Footnote 28 and to recognize and protect the ownership of genetic resources and associated knowledge by indigenous peoples. With legal strength drawn from these constitutional provisions, the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act, 2016 was enacted in Kenya with the aim of providing a framework for the protection and promotion of traditional knowledge and cultural expressions in Kenya.

In 2020, Kariuki examined the role of traditional governance systems in Kenya in protecting traditional knowledge and facilitating access and benefit sharing. The author utilises data gathered from three (3) communities and concludes that traditional justice systems have been in use by communities to strike a balance between ensuring protection and safeguarding of traditional knowledge and that the successful use of traditional justice systems as appropriate sui generis frameworks requires collaboration with the intellectual property regime.Footnote 29

In a research exploring the extent to which indigenous knowledge-systems can contribute to the achievement of food security, Kamwendo and Kamwendo draw on examples drawn from Malawi to illustrate how indigenous knowledge-systems can assist in food preservation and food storage, thereby leading to food security. The authors conclude that the abandonment of IKS is one of the causes of food insecurity as it is presently being witnessed in Malawi, Africa and globally.Footnote 30

In concluding this discussion on IKS, it is important to return to the question on the possibility of IKS mechanisms contributing to sustainable soil governance in Africa. This chapter rides on the argument advanced by Kariuki that traditional justice systems should continue in use by communities and be adapted towards protection and safeguarding all traditional knowledge. Further, and as shown in the case of Malawi, IKS is important in many ways that are related to sustainable soil governance and must therefore be preserved.

3.2 African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights as a Link to Sustainable Soil Governance

The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (“the Charter) is an innovative and different embodiment of human rights in many ways. It is distinct from existing human rights instruments owing to its focus on Africa’s approaches to freedoms and rights. The Charter incorporates historical traditions and values of African civilisations, and responsiveness to the real needs of Africa, one of which is the achievement of socio-economic development in the region.Footnote 31

In particular, Articles 14 and 21 of the Charter embolden the African peoples’ entitlement to their natural resources and soils. For instance, Article 14 relates to the right to property, which may only be “encroached upon in the interest of public need or in the general interest of the community” and in accordance with the provisions of appropriate laws. These qualifications fall squarely within the communal ownership and use belief system in most of Africa. More often than not, the most revered property in Africa is land and its natural resources while the crops and animals are subordinated to the land and its inherent resources.

Article 21 of the Charter focusses more directly on “wealth and natural resources” and that this right is exercisable in the “exclusive interest of the people,” and that in no case shall a people be deprived of it. Other parts of Article 21 proclaim that in the event of spoliation, the dispossessed people shall have the right to the lawful recovery of its property as well as to an adequate compensation.Footnote 32 Further, State parties are enjoined by the Charter and ought to individually and collectively exercise the right to free disposal of their wealth and natural resources with a view to strengthening African unity and solidarity. The principles of unity and solidarity again speak to the communal cultural beliefs and values that prevail in Africa.

Given the legal force of the Charter and the specific focus it has on human and peoples’ rights, the protection of natural resources, soil inclusive, is placed within the cultural approaches prevalent in Africa. The main African cultural approach according to Makau is that the philosophy of the group-centered individual evolves through a series of carefully taught rights and responsibilities at the root of which are structures of social and political organization, with the ultimate result of solidarity and the continued existence of the community into perpetuity.Footnote 33

4 Sustainable Soil Governance Law, Culture, Traditional Norms and Religion in Africa

According to Oruka, beliefs, values, norms and duties that produce the normative field of ideology are what is good to mankind and forms the ethos, which are principles that guide any belief system.Footnote 34 It is through this ethos that rights, status, obligations and duties of a society are found, culminating into a defined social and cultural structure.

In the cultural structure, ethics, laws, morals and knowledge on the environment are included and this is the most relevant aspect to this section of the chapter. Soils and their management, are so closely connected to the culture and civilization of an ethnic group living in a given place, including their religion, thoughts, livelihood and health. It is important for people to protect the soil, their agriculture and the environment because the collapse of soil leads to the collapse of human culture, civilization, livelihood and health.Footnote 35

According to Oosthuizen, despite the high rate of urbanization in Africa, both modern and traditional worldviews are prevalent, with Christianity and Islam influenced by the African Traditional Religion, and all three influenced by secularisation.Footnote 36 On this basis, it is arguable that conceptions of soil governance and environmental stewardship in Africa in general, are equally infused with Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion and secularism.

4.1 Review of Soil Legislation Initiatives in Africa

It has been shown in Sect. 3.2 of this chapter that the African Charter is an embodiment of the traditions and culture of the African people. Within Article 17 of the African Charter, the African Commission has previously noted that culture is dualistic in nature, individual and collective, national or ethnic, composed of religious and linguistic minorities. Further, the Commission opined that culture manifests itself in diverse ways, including a particular way of life associated with the use of resources, especially by indigenous people.Footnote 37 Indigenous knowledge systems and traditional knowledge are tools for comprehensively understanding the environment and using culture against exploitation to minimize potential misunderstandings of SDGs. I indigenous knowledge is capable of making it a moral duty to live life in a sustainable way and to protect the common interest.

Indigenous knowledge can refer to knowledge that identifies with a specific ethnic group. For example, indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. It is the basis for local-level decision-making in agriculture, healthcare, food preparation (gastronomy), education, natural resource management and a host of other activities in rural communities.

In essence, indigenous knowledge is that knowledge used to run/manage all the sectors and sub-sectors of the traditional or local or rural economies/society. Less specific to indigenous knowledge is locally bound and indigenous to a specific area; culture and context-specific; non-formal knowledge; orally transmitted and generally not documented; dynamic and adaptive; holistic in nature and; closely related to survival and subsistence of many people worldwide.

4.2 African Environmental Ethics, Culture and Traditional Norms

Okoth-Ogendo, one of Kenya’s distinguished professors in property and land use law and policy, environmental governance and natural resources once argued that the ‘African Commons’ represents “ontologically organized land and associated resources available exclusively to specific communities, lineages or families operating as corporate entities.”Footnote 38 The ‘associated resources’ in this definition refer to and include air, soil and water at the very minimum. This conception of the ‘African Commons’ was made decades before the sustainable environmental principles of intergenerational equity and partnership were captioned into the SDGs. Okoth-Ogendo’s African conception of protecting resources for future generations and having the common good goes beyond individualism and the tragedy of the commons. It also resonates with the Ubuntu philosophy and other African traditional norms of community responsibility considered in this chapter and critical in understanding soil governance in Africa. Environmental interests and governance for usage of resources and development in Africa have historically been communal and not individual, naturally incorporating the protection of past, present and future generations’ interests.

4.2.1 African Environmental Ethics

Ethics are discussed in this chapter in relation to their position in the environment and the extent to which they value or devalue the environment and its constituent elements such as soil. It may be asked, are African ethics in a position to promote respect for the environment, reduce greed and enhance human beings’ relationship with the environment for a public good such as soil? Do African ethics recognize that environmental “goods” such as air, water, forests and soils have value in and of themselves apart from human beings; and that environmental goods are related to a certain particular land and therefore not movable? Responses to these questions are useful in understanding what African environmental ethics can achieve.

According to Minami, soil is erroneously thought of as “little more than dirt” despite it being vital for the existence of humans and civilization. It is the soil that, created the earth’s biosphere, and it could very easily become worn out in our lifetimes.Footnote 39 Soil is the basis of life, civilization, culture, livelihood and health. If humanity cannot pass healthy soil to the next generation, human cultures cannot be passed on and will surely perish. Where there is no ethic for the environment, including the soil, the water and the air, as there are ethics for people and society, the world will surely start to retaliate against humanity as it has done through global warming and soil erosion.

Most Africans, even those living in urban areas, have a strong connection to land, which enables them to appreciate land and the environment as important for their wellbeing. African ethics generally offer an interconnection between humans, soils and the environment- fertile soils form an important basis for survival for humans, but also for animals, plants and ecosystems and their services, on which all terrestrial organisms rely. Soil is not only of central importance to the global provision of food and in the fight against hunger; climate, biological diversity and water bodies are also highly dependent on soil quality. However, owing to several factors, among them, population growth and rapid urbanisation, soil degradation continues to pose enormous challenges to the global community.

Within the African context, the environment, like the land and its soils, is priceless. For instance, Africans believe that when some calamity or death that is disruptive is imminent, the weather is gloomy as a natural sign from the environment. According to Mbiti, an African’s life is intertwined with the environment, through religious influence, in sowing seeds or harvesting new crops, or celebrating life seasons; human beings are intertwined with the environment- and the environment and its components including soil range from being sacred to being a living thing that can for example empathize with its people.Footnote 40

The environment is therefore regarded as being able to reward and cooperate on its own will; it is valuable but can also be a destructive or negative moral agent, which makes some communities perceive tragedy in a tree falling. In addition, the traditional practice of making libation, where one pours drink to the ground for the ancestors to drink before partaking of it, demonstrates how much the environment connects the individual with the ancestors who are believed to ultimately own the land.Footnote 41 In this example, the specially brewed drink, usually of an alcoholic variant is usually poured directly on the ground into the soil or water and this must have cultural significance in relation to soil health. In essence, the environment becomes like the umbilical cord between the living and the dead, and the direct interconnector is the land and soil.

Unlike other ethics, African ethics protect the environmental community interest, which might be different at times from an individual interest. Therefore, an action can be judged as bad if it does not promote a shared identity among people.Footnote 42 An act like selling ancestral land with its fertile soils or destroying the environment can be seen as wrong because it impairs a shared identity and destroys the bond of kinship—the African idea of community. According to African ethics, it is possible for a greedy person who is engaged in wanton destruction of the environment to lack in humanity and be a lesser person.Footnote 43 This focuses on an individual and the attitude portrayed towards the environment and society generally. These ethics urge people never to see the environment as an agent by itself but rather encourage the larger question as to what each individual does for their community, including the environment.

4.2.2 African Culture and Traditional Norms

The African idea of a community, people and the environment are interdependent. The environment including the soil is a communal asset. Depending on how one is able to live harmoniously with the community and environment, a person can fail or succeed at being a person; and to be a person, therefore, a person must be able to live with the goal of improving their capacity to be more human; consequently, a person who wantonly destroys the environment is less of a person and needs to apply more personhood. In the African context, a ‘full’ person is one who lives harmoniously with the community, which will include the environment.Footnote 44

Within this context, culture can be defined as a product of the environment as much as it influences it and is the means through which an individual can differentiate between the artificial and the natural and what we do to the environment and what environment does for the human population.Footnote 45 The rationale for this view is that since the environment is culturally constructed then the ethical propriety of African communitarianism can be reviewed as the proper equilibrium for environmental governance. Other authors like Minami argue that culture includes everything in a society- food, clothing and shelter, technology, academia, art, morality, religion, politics, and other livelihood-shaping modes.Footnote 46From this definition, it can be deduced that soil and the ecological services it offers are all part of the culture of a given society.

It is generally accepted that African culture and values on environment can help to humanize the environment, and make sustainable development holistic. This aspect is lacking in other ethics, which have not only undermined the environment but also led to loss of human value as they sometimes turn self from being to having. Additionally, weaknesses in the common good usually threaten the environment and its important constituent elements like soil and water through unsustainable consumption and production patterns.

Arguing from the Ghanaian perspective, Tetteh postulates that the socio-cultural set up of most African countries is such that it presents a challenge for sustainable soil protection and management.Footnote 47 According to Tetteh, sustainable soil management technology transfer initiatives need to operate at the local community level, yet in most African countries, it is not possible to secure effective ‘face to face’ extension; and further some traditional norms, for instance in Northern Ghana and many other parts of African countries do not allow females to be in public meetings in the absence of their spouses.Footnote 48

On the contrary, some socio-cultural set ups, for instance in Ethiopia have been hailed to yield positive results for soil sustainability. In the Tigray region, the commitment of the community to “change and transformation, strength and resilience in the formal and informal leadership structures” led by the head of the village and relying on local cultural knowledge and practices have seen tremendous improvement in natural resources conservation.Footnote 49

4.2.3 African Ubuntu Philosophy

Ubuntu is a philosophy of life that is concerned with the reinforcement of unity, oneness and solidarity among the Bantu people of Africa.Footnote 50 Before analysing soil governance in the context of the Ubuntu philosophy, it is important to first explain who the ‘Bantu’ are.

The word ‘Bantu’ or ‘Bantu people’ mainly refers to the linguistic classification of more than 500 different African languages,Footnote 51 which incorporates approximately 85 million speakers of the myriad languages of the inhabitants of almost the entire southern projection of the African continent.Footnote 52 The classification of the ‘Bantu’ is primarily linguistic, for the cultural patterns of the speakers are extremely diverse and this linguistic connection identifies their possible common area of origin as the region in or about present-day Cameroon-Nigeria.Footnote 53 With this common heritage, the Bantu people, who represent almost 30% of the total African population,Footnote 54 have several common cultural and traditional practices and beliefs. It is therefore on this basis, that some form of homogeneity is assumed in relation to the practice of Ubuntu.

The Ubuntu philosophy is integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life, including environmental stewardship; and is a concept shared by almost all tribes in Southern, Central, West and East Africa amongst the people of Bantu origin.Footnote 55 In a thesis answering three questions – ‘what is Ubuntu; where does Ubuntu come from; and how can Ubuntu be located?’- Ulvestad argues that Ubuntu can best be described in terms of it being reflective of an ‘African homogeneity’ representing a religio-cultural unity and diversity with a “distinctive elasticity and practical nature thus making it applicable to almost all facets of human life.”Footnote 56 It is therefore an African philosophy capable of being utilized to fight the root causes of poverty, hunger and other emerging national and global challenges. Looked at from this perspective, this section argues that the Ubuntu philosophy is a meaningful vehicle for addressing soil governance in Africa.

Although Ubuntu has gained tremendous prominence in recent years, it is difficult to define it. This difficulty in defining Ubuntu is mainly because the concept is “elastic and pragmatic” as it is used in almost all the spheres of Bantu worldviews.Footnote 57 Current definitions of the concept tend to focus on human to human relationships but Ubuntu also includes human to community and human to society and environment relationships. This means that Ubuntu exists not only at individual level but at local community, country and societal levels.

Ubuntu is also defined as an ancient African worldview which is based on the primary values of intense humanness, caring, sharing, respect, compassion and associated values which ensure a happy and qualitative human community life in the spirit of the family.Footnote 58 Ubuntu also means qualities such as warmth, empathy, understanding, communication, interaction, participation, reciprocation, harmony, a shared worldview and co-operation. Ubuntu implies a collective personhood in which an individual becomes a person through other people, and as a philosophy, it is allergic to any form of discrimination.Footnote 59

Museka and Madondo further argue that it is a way of living that contributes positively to the welfare of all members who make up the universe. Ubuntu is also seen as an effort to help people in the spirit of service, to show respect to others and to be honest and trustworthy.

The African concept of Ubuntu is not only about the human being but extends to the environment since humanity is part of nature. However, there has been insignificant attention to the philosophy of Ubuntu in relation to environmental conservation, while areas such as health, education, judicial systems, religion and politics have long been incorporated in the philosophy.

The philosophy of Ubuntu plays a critical role in environmental conservation. This is further buttressed by the fact that according to the Ubuntu philosophy, the community is important and individual needs are secondary to family and community needs. If a person’s behaviour is deemed to benefit the community, then one is deemed to be human. If a person’s behaviour endangered the whole community such behaviour was chastised. For example, among the Shona of Zimbabwe, behaviours what bring about problems to the community are avoided; such behaviours include environmental or land and soil degradation or pollution.Footnote 60 Failure to avoid such behaviours would result in the whole community being punished by God or the guardian spirits, with punishment affecting the whole community in the form of droughts, hailstorms, locusts or worms.Footnote 61 People therefore showed their Ubuntu by being friendly to the environment by ensuring its sustainability as their philosophical responsibility to the community. This shows that Ubuntu values are not limited to fellow human beings, but must be extended to flora and fauna, soil inclusive.

For instance, in Guinea and the forests of West Africa, there is a hidden history of enriching the soil with natural techniques handed down through generations to sustain food crops without artificial fertilizers.Footnote 62 Solomon et. al. analysed 150 sites in northwest Liberia and 27 sites in Ghana and discovered that the enriched soils, dubbed “African Dark Earths,”Footnote 63 contain approximately 200 to 300 percent more organic carbon than any other surrounding soils and can support more intensive farming. Further, the soils also contain 2 to 26 times greater amounts of pyrogenic carbon, which persists longer in soil than other carbons and is important for soil fertility, and that these methods of soil enrichment may offer a model for the future of agricultural carbon sequestration and remain a “neat example of traditional practices transforming soil properties to improve agriculture.”Footnote 64

Ubuntu would abhor drivers of environmental degradation such as inequality of access to natural resources and unsustainable utilization of natural resources. According to Mawere, some parts of Zimbabwe are prone to environmental conservation mismanagement-related phenomena which can also result from climate change; and that while it is arguable that the natural phenomena and secondary causes can be blamed for environmental degradation, causes such as veld fires and deforestation are among the secondary causes. The “subversion and relegation of the philosophy of Ubuntu” in environment conservation projects is the underlying cause.Footnote 65

4.2.4 Religious Attitudes Towards Sustainable Soil Governance

In the face of global soil degradation and other severe ethical and environmental problems in Africa and elsewhere, solutions would require collaboration of scientists and religious leaders around the world. It is usual to find that religion offers the place of congregation for collaborative efforts, after all, over 80% of the global population self-identify with some form of religion.Footnote 66 In this section, the chapter focuses on the predominant religious views towards soil governance in Africa. It starts by understanding the role of African Traditional Religion with country-specific examples, followed by an analysis of Christian and Islamic approaches.

4.2.4.1 Country-specific Examples of African Traditional Religion (ATR)

According to Gathogo, African Traditional Religion is:

… an indigenous system of beliefs and practices that are integrated into culture and the worldviews of the African peoples. Like in other primal religions, one is born into it as a way of life with its cultural manifestations and religious implications. African Traditional Religion is thus an integral part of the African ethos and culture.Footnote 67

This definition advances the view that any system of beliefs and practices that are not indigenous may not be included into what qualifies to be referred to as African Traditional Religion. In order to qualify as indigenous, the system of beliefs and practices must be identified as truly originating among the local inhabitants and includes ways of worship, consultation of priests, rituals, symbols, arts, practices, and the society’s relationship with its environment and general surroundings.

In support of this argument is the view that most Bantu speaking people, such as the indigenous Zambians and the Ila tribe in particular, have “a deep religious and spiritual heritage vouchsafed in myths, rituals, and symbols” and this is what is referred to as the African Traditional Religion.Footnote 68 In their research focusing on whether there is a relationship between African Traditional Religion and Christianity in Zambia, Podolecka and Cheyeka found that Zambian Christianity is generally influenced by the African Traditional Religion belief-system which is practiced by up to 10% of Zambians. Although the research did not generate statistical data to establish how many churches allowed pre-Christian practices grounded in African Traditional Religion, the belief in spirits and witchcraft was found to be so strong that all churches believed and followed it.Footnote 69

The research by Podolecka and Cheyeka shows that there is a somewhat seamless relationship between African Traditional Religion and Christianity in Zambia, with one belief system influencing the other. What is apparent from this research is that any conflicts between the two belief systems are usually resolved at individual level.

A similar example emerges from Cameroon, a secular state with over 250 ethnicities and 250 languages and many religious groups including Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religions.Footnote 70 Cultural diversity even across agricultural practices that are soil dependent is quite obviously inherent in this type of multiethnic society where African Traditional Religious beliefs and cultures are practiced in conjunction with Catholicism. By way of background, foreign religions were resisted in Cameroon in the 18th century in order to maintain the local traditional religious culture. Until lately, the Pentecostal churches found it very difficult to attract adherents because they advocated the destruction of traditional religious symbols.Footnote 71

The Catholics, however devised means for Africans to convert to Christianity without directly attacking their traditional religious values; choosing to tread a fine line by embracing some of the African cultural and religious practices that did not markedly deviate from their Western church’s own canons. For example, Mass service in many parts of Africa is practiced very differently from the way it is practiced in Europe or in North America, owing to the adoption of African religious and cultural practices.

According to Ndemanu, in the Bangwa land region in Cameroon, African Traditional Religion influenced some of the rituals that occurred in church such as harvest thanksgiving, tithing in cash and in kind, choral music, twin-dance procession with a green leafy peace tree whose stems are often cut off and used as a symbol of peace during a church choir.Footnote 72 There is a cultural and religious symbolism of this peace tree and using it in a church choral procession and to decorate the altar. Further, in-kind tithing with kola nuts, fruits, and other edible items instead of money is reminiscent of the African Traditional Religion in which an elder takes the best harvest to the shrine to make sacrifices to God.Footnote 73

It can generally be argued that with rapid urbanization, most African cities have taken on a more cosmopolitan outlook. There has been infusion of African culture with modernity, Islam and Christianity; thereby resulting in a dynamic and possibly tripartite cultural strand.Footnote 74 This however, does not rob African culture of its distinctiveness or vibrancy. There remains, a cultural appropriateness of African values in making other moral considerations on what the environment is, since it balances between individual and community oversights, unlike modern values that have given priority to individual autonomy.Footnote 75

From the Kenyan perspective, the case Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, 276/2003 is relevant. The argument was advanced that the land around Lake Bogoria connected the locals in a special way with their ancestors and religion; that they could not exist as a group without accessing that land. The Africa Human Rights Commission agreed with the locals that because they are a land-based religion; they could only worship in a specific place, and without it their survival as a people was impaired. What is instructive in this case is the recognition of the land-based nature of the religion. By extension, the other resources on this particular land such as forests, water and soils are important and would assume the same revered status of the land.

For most African communities and the Shona people of Zimbabwe in particular, all aspects of nature, plants and wildlife and water bodies are under the mystical tutelage of ancestral spirits and guardian animals.Footnote 76 People are therefore mandated to use natural resources sustainably on behalf of these owners spiritual-beings. It was also seen that there are environmental taboos that are intended for the ethical use of the environment. These taboos help keep people away from further depleting the environment. The Shona people, for example, have a rich indigenous knowledge system which if used wisely may help in environmental conservation. However, it must be noted that this Afrocentric perspective has its own weaknesses just like any other school of thought,Footnote 77 but might prove effective in terms of entrenching sustainable soil governance.

The Shona people also believe that there are spirits that guard water sources and they migrate if the source is polluted and this results in drying up of the water source. On this basis, Mabvurira et al argue that there is an urgent need for Zimbabweans to be reconnected to their traditional beliefs if environmental degradation is to be reversed.Footnote 78 More directly relevant to the discussion on sustainable soil governance, the Shona believed in the sacredness of flora; cutting down trees in certain areas was prohibited because the flora minimized runoff thereby ensuring that the water table did not fall and preventing, soil erosion and sedimentation of water sources ultimately ensuring sustainable environmental wellbeing.Footnote 79

From Nigeria, a different example of conflict and tension between African Traditional Religion and Christianity emerges. In a research investigating the nature, pattern and rationale of the conflicts which exist between the two religions in Igbo land of the country, Okeke et al. found that Igbo religion is traditionally rooted in their culture, received and transmitted by oral authority through generations, with the effect of being widely diffused among its adherents and of deeply coloring their conscience.Footnote 80 The Igbo have three objects of worship - God, nonhuman spirits, and the ancestors—and the Earth, referred to as Ala is held sacred for the sustenance it provides in the form of food, crops, water, forests and the soils for agricultural purposes.Footnote 81

In about 1857, with the advent of Christianity in Igbo land of Nigeria, the Igbos feared that if they became Christians, their gods would bring disaster to them, their culture would be adulterated. This was because the early Christian missionaries wholesomely condemned traditional religion and any symbols of it such as statues, images and artistic works were destroyed.Footnote 82 Conflict between the two religions started arising mainly in relation to totems and sacred animals, healthcare, sorcery, magic charms and witchcraft amongst many others.

In relation to environmental wellbeing and soil governance, the emergence of impunity to violate sanctions of the traditional religion by the first overzealous converts to Christianity resulted into taboos and abominations. In some parts of the Igbo community, there are certain animals deemed sacred under the traditional religion and are, therefore, not hunted or killed for food. Such animals are respected and treated kindly by the adherents of traditional religion and to harm them is a serious taboo and abomination. On the contrary, Christianity professes the cleanliness and purity of everything created by God; that man has dominion over them, and as such, can kill and eat them.

In Anambra state, one of the major Igbo states in Nigeria, eke or the royal python is regarded as a totem and nobody can deliberately kill it without incurring the ostracism of the people.Footnote 83 Most early Christians in the area, however killed the eke and used it as food, in full view of the traditional religionists, who were then forced to offer special sacrifices to cleanse themselves from the abomination. Similarly, it was unfathomable for the Igbo to eat fishes from sacred streams which were dedicated to the god of the stream. The Christian converts, however caught and ate fish just to show that the gods of the traditionalists were subordinate to their supreme being. This brought the first physical conflict between the traditional religionists and the Christians.

4.2.4.2 Christian Teachings

It is important to consider the Christian teachings on soil given that statistically, Christians are in the majority in Africa. In a study examining the numbers and percentages of Christians and Muslims in Africa in 2001, 2009, and 2020 with a view to having a better understanding of the trends, Kaba found that of the 1.82 billion people in Africa in 2020, Christians accounted for 51.3%, while Muslims accounted for 43.1%, people who practiced Traditional African Religion accounted for 2.7%, and those who are “Unaffiliated” accounted for 2.54 percent.Footnote 84 Of the five regions in Africa, Christians accounted for the majority in Eastern and Southern Africa, while Muslims accounted for the majority in Northern and Western Africa. People who practiced African Traditional Religion had their highest proportion in Southern Africa.Footnote 85 This statistical analysis shows that Christian and Muslim perspectives on approaches towards soil governance are likely to influence more Africans than the African Traditional Religious beliefs.

From the Catholic Christian perspective, Pope Francis in the environmental and social encyclical “Laudato si’” underlines that we humans are the “dust of the earth” in line with Biblical teachings.Footnote 86 God created Adam, from the dust of arable soil.Footnote 87 According to Hansjürgens, this is why human beings are closely related to “our Sister, Mother Earth”, as Pope Francis states under reference to his patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, and his “Canticle of the Creatures.”Footnote 88 God loves “each of His creatures” so He also loves the Earth and her important constituent, soil, and He is therefore not indifferent to human beings plundering, mistreating and ravaging the planet. Such behaviour is “a crime against the natural world and a sin against ourselves and a sin against God”.Footnote 89 For this reason, the Biblical Laws on the prescribed rest periods-the Sabbath (rest on the seventh day), during the Sabbath or fallow year (no planting in the seventh year) and during the year of Jubilee (restoration of the original ownership after seven times seven years)-command regular care and relieving of pressure, is not only for human beings and animals, but also for soils, for the salvation of all created by God.Footnote 90

Based on the Christian perspective, Vogt has recently argued for the adoption of “ten priorities, rules or ‘commandments’ of soil protection,” some of which include, stopping soil loss and degradation, reducing land consumption, asserting social responsibility and the polluter pays principle with regard to soil, and making sustainable use of church areas because churches have a “decisive function as role models in soil protection.”Footnote 91

4.2.4.3 The Islamic Approach

In a research aimed at encouraging the consideration of Islamic perspectives in solving environmental problems such as land degradation and soil depletion amongst others; activating the role of religious and scientific institutions in preserving the environment, and providing appropriate solutions, BSoul et al found that the Prophetic traditions and their teachings dealt extensively with many environmental aspects, such as preserving natural resources, reclamation of land, and maintaining the cleanliness of the environment. The authors argue that sustainable behaviour is promoted though criticism of overconsumption, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade extravagance in consumption or any other form of luxury.Footnote 92

According to the teachings of Islam, the essential elements of nature—earth, water, fire, forests, and light—belong to all living things and not only to the human race. Islam emphasises the importance of preserving the environment and protecting natural resources. The Qur’an and the Prophet Sunnah/traditions are considered a guiding light in promoting the concept of sustainable development in Islamic countries, and throughout the world. The Qur’an also refers in many chapters/surahs and verses to the concept of the environment and essential principles for preserving it, as it sets general rules that determine the extent to which humans benefit from various natural resources.Footnote 93 God Almighty commanded human beings to avoid misusing natural resources and abstain from any action that would destroy and degrade the environment and has made the human race the guardian over natural resources.

The first principle that directs Islamic teachings towards environmental sustainability is the concept of guardianship. The fact that a person is considered the caliph or “guardian” implies that he can benefit from what God has created without overindulgence, because it is not for him alone but for society and future generations. Man must take all the necessary steps and measures to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these properties and should pass them on to succeeding generations in the best way possible. According to Afgan, this aligns with the Bruntland Commission’s conceptualization of sustainable development as, development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.Footnote 94

Therefore, environmental sustainability is firmly embedded in Islam, and man is the entrusted guardian of nature and must coexist in harmony with all other creatures and resources such as water, forests and soil. All human beings must therefore respect, care for, and preserve the environment.Footnote 95 The mismanagement of natural resources is often portrayed in the Qur’an and clearly marked as a corruption (fasÉd). Further, human beings who mismanage natural resources, including excessive environmental exploitation, resulting in industrial pollution, damage to the ecosystems, recklessness, and mismanagement of natural resources, are abhorrent to Almighty God. According to Islam, moderation, refraining from being extravagant and excessive is environmental stewardship. Furthermore, according to the Prophet, planting trees, purifying rivers, digging wells, and other beneficial works were considered ongoing charitable acts.Footnote 96

When analysed closely, the Islamic belief system which has been adopted in several African countries emphasises environmental and natural resources sustainability. Soil governance may not necessarily be a focus in Islam, however, the due attention given to overall environmental sustainability is couched in a manner that supports soil sustainability as well.

5 Conclusion

African soils and other natural resources need to be protected in their own right and also in line with global aspirations of food security, amelioration of climate change and other environmental challenges. Several questions have been posed in this chapter, the central one being in relation to the soil governance mechanisms that are in existence in Africa. In addressing this question, this chapter has assessed the culture, traditional norms and religious practices that have shaped legal approaches towards environmental management and sustainable soil governance in Africa. It has been shown that sustainable development is not only a global vehicle for environmental and economic development, but that also a mechanism for interfacing with African culture, traditional norms and religion.

A number of international soil governance initiatives have been identified in this chapter, although the discussion has centered more on the local national and regional ones such as the Maputo Convention. This chapter supports the view that the Maputo Convention is an important regional instrument on whose basis sustainable soil governance efforts can be supported in Africa. Further, the importance of IKS to sustainable soil governance is evident in this chapter. For example, it has been shown in the cases of Kenya and Malawi that traditional knowledge in the local communities needs to be tapped in order to understand the intricacies of conserving the important natural resource. Furthermore, the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expression of Folklore under the auspices of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has also been identified as an important regional resource likely to improve harnessing of IKS in Africa; and has also inspired the development of national legal frameworks. In addition, the quest for sustainability in the management of natural resources provides an avenue through which IKS in Africa could be woven into global efforts towards sustainable soil governance. Closely related to IKS is the African Ubuntu philosophy, which is explained in the chapter as a reinforcement of unity, oneness and solidarity among the Bantu people of Southern, Central, Western and Eastern Africa. It must be reiterated that the Ubuntu African philosophy is capable of being utilized to fight the root causes of poverty, hunger and other emerging national and global challenges such as inadequate mechanisms for soil governance in Africa. The chapter has shown that Ubuntu extends to environmental well-being since humanity is part of nature, however, there has been insignificant attention to the philosophy of Ubuntu. The provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights relating to wealth and natural resources, underscore the strong cultural approach of building communality and solidarity in Africa, which in themselves are an expression of Ubuntu as shown in this chapter.

The examples of the different religious approaches that have been pointed out in this chapter show that the possibility of conflicts arising as a result of diverse belief systems is potentially high and if not addressed in a holistic manner, could disrupt unified efforts towards the common goal of sustainable environmental and soil governance. Consequently, in order to strengthen sustainable soil governance in Africa, there is need to find reconciliation among the more dominant religions African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam. Although statistics show that there is a low rate of Secularism in Africa; and this chapter has not specifically analysed how Secularism can contribute towards the enunciation of a sustainable soil governance approach in Africa, it is important to be inclusive of all existing belief systems. Should legal mechanisms for sustainable soil governance be developed in Africa, and the different countries, there must be dedication towards seamless incorporation of workable aspects of each religion, including Secularism.