WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY 2023

THEME: LEVERAGING AFRICAN UBUNTU AND ECO-PHILOSOPHY TOWARDS ATTAINING THE IDEALS OF SDG 13 ON CLIMATE ACTION

CONCEPT NOTE

 VENUE: EGERTON UNIVERSITY

DATE: 23 November 2023

1.0 Background

World Philosophy Day is an international day proclaimed by UNESCO to be celebrated every 3rd Thursday of November. This year the day falls on 23 November, 2023 and the theme isThe Human of the Future. Under the inspiration of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action, the concern for climate changedominates global discourses with the need for improvement of world climate for the sake of the current andfuture generations. Many countries, societies, institutions, companies and individuals are making concerted efforts towards climate action. For once, the world is united through a common activity that is meant to improve the welfare of everyone living in this world and the generations to come.  Humanity seems to acknowledge its flaws in contributing to the harsh climatic conditions that have been experienced in the last few decades and feels obligated to right that wrong. This is however, without some level of skepticism and sadism from agents that have less regard to the survival and sustainability of humanity. Moreover, various regions and countries in the world have established different strategies to address climate change depending on their capacity in terms of availability of resources, national regulations and policies and also the pact that various regional cooperations have ratified. 

At the global level the United Nations has dedicated SDG 13 to specifically address Climate action on protection, restoration and promotion sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. This also links to other SDGs e.g. SDG 14 (Life below water) and 15 (Life on land) etc.Specifically, UNESCO has stepped up the conversation about climate change by leading other UN bodies and mobilizing member states in providing education, public awareness and training for societies around the world to better understand, mitigate and adapt to climate change. Specifically, UNESCO developed its Strategy for Action on Climate Change (2018-2021) towards this end. The aim of the Strategy is to enable UNESCO support Member States in tackling climate change, including through a deeper analysis of concrete activities undertaken in the field through the Harare, Jakarta and Kingston Offices. It is on this backdrop that the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM), the UNESCO Chair on Bioethics based at Egerton University, Bioethics Society of Kenya and the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Egerton University have teamed up to commemorate the 2023 UNESCO World Philosophy Day with the theme of ‘‘Leveraging the indigenous African wisdom for climate action: building on Ubuntu and enhancing cultural beliefs and practices towards environmental conservation.’

With much responsibility being loaded on the global north mainly because it bears disproportionate liability for emitting to the atmospheric commons at 92% of the total excess emissions (Pardikar, 2020), it would be expected that its approach to climate action would definitely be assigned more responsibility. In deed such a stand is emphasized by most global South countries which advance the differentiated responsibilities contrary to the common responsibilities of all nations underpinning the global north preference (Beer, 2014). The popular North-South debate in global environmental politics ride on the observation that the wealthier and highly industrialized global north countries have contributed more to environmental degradation by increased production of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which in turn accelerates climate change. The poor developing global South countries have made little contribution to the environmental degradation yet they bear the greatest brunt of entire environmental phenomenon (Uddin, 2019). This debate notwithstanding, there is a general desire to address climate change reality and success to this end would require a strategy that encourages diffusion of global policies and domestic social contexts (Beer, 2014).

Cognizance of the fact that the impacts of environmental degradation are multidimensional (Uddin, 2019), it is incumbent upon each country and region to devise mechanisms of addressing climate change at their level best. This includes harnessing existing indigenous ideals like the African cultural beliefs and practices that have been applied in the environmental conservation traditionally. This also includes the overarching Ubuntu philosophy which underlies most of the cultural practices.

Scholarly documentation reveals persistent application of the indigenous wisdom in environmental conservation in Africa. Here are a few examples:

The Tonga people of southern Zambia employ selective harvesting, totemism and taboos, organic farming, crop rotation and intercropping, sacredness of water sources and traditional authority sustain their local biophysical environment including conservation of soil, water, animals, medicinal and fruit plants, and rangeland (Kenene, 2016).

The Gedeo community of Southern Ethiopia use the songo indigenous institutions, traditional beliefs, taboos, and local rules (seera) in promoting environmental protections and cultural conservation. The setting aside sacred forest for ritual purposes is an indigenous mechanism of tree biodiversity conservation. Social taboos as indigenous belief systems have been limiting people from cutting down trees from sacred sites, killing birds and injuring nature carelessly (Maruet al., 2020).

The Kipsigis community in Kenya have had long standing cultural practices that enhanced the conservation of the biosphere especially by taking care of the upstream wetlands and the surrounding environment of the Mara river basin. In their cultural beliefs they offered sacrifices to appease the gods to give rain, protect the community from diseases and drought. They also observed some taboos in aid of environmental conservation e.g. cutting trees along the rivers and springs was not allowed. It was also against communal moral order to defecate and wash near rivers. There were also medicinal plants, some of the roots were extracted very carefully. One was required to only remove two roots from these plants and return back the soils to allow it to regrow (Langat, 2021).

These few examples demonstrate how the indigenous cultural beliefs and practices can be considered as prototype in pushing forward the agenda of environmental conservation and thus form a basis for locally sourced inspiration for African climate action.

Underlying the cultural beliefs and practices is the Ubuntu Philosophy. As a mantra that shows the essential need for community and interconnectedness among people, Ubuntu enhances the welfare of humanity by inspiring people to take care of each other for the sake of the present life and future generations. John S. Mbiti summarizes the concept in a statement that, “I am because we are and since we are therefore I am” (Mbiti, 1969). It is in the interest of the community, society and the entire generation that individuals feel obliged to take care of the environment. Through Ubuntu, human beings understand the earth as a commonwealth upon which the survival and sustainability of humanity is anchored.

Understood as such, human beings would feel obligated to take care and conserve the environment and this is the basis for climate action from an African indigenous worldview which can be showcased to the world in a bid to contribute to the global effort of address climate change.

2.0 Justification

Approaching the issue of climate change from a fundamental point of view like the African cultural beliefs and practices has the potential of inculcating authentic commitment to address the global challenge in a contextual manner. Built on the foundational African indigenous Ubuntu philosophy, a climate action that prioritizes overall benefit to humanity is the imperative that can drive real change in addressing the challenges of climate that the world is experiencing. The discourse of the World Philosophy Day of 2023 is resounding of the clarions call to restore and emphasize the African philosophical thoughts on the environment particularly aspects that relate to ontology, cosmology, medicine, healing, and religious practices to support their moral attitudes toward the conservation and preservation of nature.This is a gift that African can provide to the world and aid the UNESCO’s agenda of providing education, public awareness and training for societies around the world to better understand, mitigate and adapt to climate change.

3.0 Objectives

1. Create a forum to advance the discussion about climate change

2. Share ideas on how to leverage African indigenous systems in developing a sustainable climate action.

3.Establish grounds for enhancing African contribution to the global climate solutions

4.0 Expected outcomes

1. Identify practical African indigenous practices that can be promoted in aid of addressing climate change challenges in the 21^st Century
2. Establish a network that will champion African authentic contribution to climate change solutions
3. Develop strategies to ensure inclusion of African indigenous ideas for climate action

Participants

The event will bring together scholars, policy makers, institutions management, UNESCORegional Office for Eastern Africa, KNATCOM, UNESCO Chairs in Kenya, Bioethics Society of Kenya, students and community members to share views on the issue of climate change in Africa and globally.

Methodology

The chief guest in the event will be the Director General UNESCO Regional Office in Nairobi. The invited guests will include the Vice-Chancellor, Egerton University (or University management), KNATCOM, theChairperson Bioethics Society of Kenya,Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Chairperson the Department of Philosophy, History and Religious Studies at Egerton University.  The main Speakers of the day will include an elder from the Ogiek (Ndorobo) community. This is an indigenous community in Kenya which has resided in the Mau Escarpment for over the years and may have devised ways of ensuring that they conserve the forest and water tower as this is considered their native home. The other speaker is a scholar of African cultural studies who will give views on indigenous culture of environmental conservation among the African people from a scholarly point of view.

References

1. https://www.unesco.org/en/climate-change
2. https://eos.org/articles/global-north-is-responsible-for-92-of-excess-emissions
3. Beer, Christopher Todd (2020). Climate Justice, the Global South, and Policy Preferences of Kenyan Environmental NGOs. The Global South Vol. 8, No. 2, The Global South and/in the Global North: Interdisciplinary Investigations (Fall 2014), pp. 84-100 (17 pages) Indiana University Press.
4. Kanene, K.M., 2016, ‘Indigenous practices of environmental sustainability in the Tonga community of southern Zambia’, Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 8(1), a331. http://dx. doi.org/10.4102/jamba. v8i1.331
5. Mbiti, J. S. (1975). Introduction to African Religion (second edition). Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers
6. Pardikar, R. (2020), Global North is responsible for 92% of excess emissions, Eos, 101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EO150969. Published on 28 October 2020.
7. Uddin, Kamal (2019). Climate Change and Global Environmental Politics: North-South Divide. EPL, Vol.47, Iss.3-4, pp.106-114, 2019
8. YosephMaru, Aster Gebrekirstos&Getahun Haile | (2020) Indigenous ways of environmental protection in Gedeo community, Southern Ethiopia: A socio-ecological perspective, Cogent Food & Agriculture, 6:1, 1766732, DOI: 10.1080/23311932.2020.1766732 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2020.1766732Kongasis
9. Langat, Wesley (2021). Losing Indigenous Cultural Practices Has Dire Consequences for Ecosystems in Kenya.Kongasis FM 07 July 2021