A Professor of Religion and Environment at the University of Cape Coast, Professor Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye has suggested that as Ghanaian people, our civilization is questionable if it is not producing in us a desire to preserve the environment.
He laments that although we claim to be living in an era of enlightenment our forest reserves have currently being subjected to illegal mining activities among others that destroy the environment.
Professor Awuah-Nyamekye made these remarks at the University of Cape Coast on Thursday, May 5, 2023, while delivering his Professorial inaugural lecture on the Topic: “The Nexus between Religion and Environment: Matters Arising.”
He said, in order to restore and protect our degrading environment to sustain society, there is the need to revisit the efficient mechanisms traditional rulers in times past introduced to address environmental problems.
To him, such mechanisms were able to sustain society.
“Everybody was a policeman or woman because they were checking on the others. At the end of the month, nobody will pay anything…Because the traditional believe that Nananom were the ethnic representative of the ancestors. So, anything that came from their mouth, they know it is coming from Nana. So, if you go contrary to it… Today we have the forest commission, the police, and the military among others, however, people are entering into the reserves, mining in it, setting traps, and they are hunting in it”
Meanwhile, Professor Awuah-Nyamekye believes Ghana’s many environmental issues could also be addressed with the use of religious principles.
In his lecture, he highlighted some of the efforts the three main religions in Ghana have made at saving nature.
For traditionalists he said the reverence they have for water and trees among others, in that land is considered to be a goddess in a spiritual realm, and with the reverence they give to rivers, they can help save the environment.
For Christians, he said they are already doing their part in allocating time for environmental issues, using soundproof worship centres, planting trees, using energy bulbs, and other things to make sure that they don’t destroy the environment further.
For the Muslims, he advised them saying the Quran speaks against wasting natural resources and the hadith is clear on that. As such he urged them to follow teachings to safeguard the environment.
He further called on religious leaders to admonish their subjects on conserving the environment.
Professor Awuah-Nyamekye indicated that environmental issues are pressing and although religion can have both positive and negative effects on the environment, it can provide solutions to these issues.
He stressed that human actions and inactions cause harm to the environment and through the practice of religion, religious people can help ensure these become a thing of the past.
He added that there should be a collective effort of science and religion to curb this menace.
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Source: Rosemond Asmah & Mercy Amanquanoah/ATLFMNEWS
