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Water Ethics

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African Philosophy in an Intercultural Perspective

Part of the book series: Reihe Interkulturelle Philosophie ((RIPH))

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Abstract

This paper explores different ethical principles that can play an important role in the management of water resources. Although water is essential for all forms of life and the ecological conditions that sustain them, different forms of water injustice including water pollution; lack of access to safe, clean drinking water and adequate sanitation and sewage treatment; inequities in access to safe, affordable water; dumping hazardous wastes into streams, rivers and oceans; unilateral exploitation of international transboundary rivers and other natural resources; and the like are being committed. Commercial fishing, marine tourism, offshore oil and gas exploration and production, and the like have degraded marine communities and ecologies. Furthermore, anthropogenic climate change has led to the problem of rising sea-levels (with flooding of coasts and small islands). This paper, thus, argues that besides social, institutional and scientific considerations, water ethics should have a place in water governance. Water ethics teaches that all components of the natural world should benefit from water resources. Water ethics also shows the importance of not disrupting the natural processes by which the salinity of the oceans is regulated. This paper also suggests that the local people should be involved in the design and implementation of water management, as different communities in the developing world have their own water management systems that are effective and environmentally friendly.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jonathan D. Trigg; the participants in the 23rd annual Conference of the International Society for African Philosophy and Studies that took place in Vienna, Austria, from July 10–11, 2017; and anonymous peer reviewers whose insightful comments helped clarify the central arguments in the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Workineh Kelbessa

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  1. Workineh Kelbessa
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Correspondence to Workineh Kelbessa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Philosophie, Universität Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany

    Anke Graneß

  2. Philosophy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Edwin Etieyibo

  3. Zentrum Theologie Interkulturell und Studium der Religionen, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Franz Gmainer-Pranzl

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Kelbessa, W. (2022). Water Ethics. In: Graneß, A., Etieyibo, E., Gmainer-Pranzl, F. (eds) African Philosophy in an Intercultural Perspective. Reihe Interkulturelle Philosophie. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-05832-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-05832-4_11

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  • Publisher Name: J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-476-05831-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-476-05832-4

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