African Indigenous Management of Water Catchment Areas: Contemporary Lessons for Sustainable Development in Meru - Kenya
Journal Title: Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 3
Abstract
African indigenous practices had specific religious significance in managing water resources, where everything had a religious aspect. In this sense, water catchment areas were treated sacred. People in Meru held religious events under designated trees. This way harvesting trees and other natural resources was approached with religious reverence, taking care to conserve the ecological environment leading to sustainable development. There are a number of challenges facing the contemporary exploitation, protection and preservation of natural resources, including at the water catchment areas. This endangers sustainable community development. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the contemporary lessons that can be drawn from the African indigenous management of water catchment areas. Literature on African religious environmentalism and the theory of critical institutionalism including concepts of path-dependence which stipulate that people’s behavior depend on past practices passed on through teaching and mentorship were reviewed. The institutional bricolage addresses the way community institutions evolve through creative efforts of mixing the old practices with the new ways of resolving the contemporary challenges in sustainable community development. The study adopted mixed methods with quantitative and qualitative techniques of field data collection and analysis. The population included Members of the Njuri Ncheke group in Meru, religious leaders, professionals, and community stakeholders. Purposeful cluster sampling was used to ensure equal coverage of the population groups in Meru County. The study found that many water catchment areas and rivers were drying up, with increased deforestation, large-scale irrigation water harvesting, and pollution of the water bodies. The study concluded that there were many religious ethical values to be learnt from African indigenous management of water catchment areas, and recommended further study and action on religious ethical stewardship of water and environmental resources toward sustainable development.
Authors and Affiliations
Kennedy Ongaro, Julius Limbitu,
Keywords
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