Author
Ikeke, M.
Abstract
Urhoboland like other areas in Nigeria’s Niger Delta has suffered from environmental pollution and degradation. This degradation is caused essentially by oil exploration and oil pollution activities. Outside oil companies' activities, there are also factors like careless dumping of solid and domestic waste, deforestation, herdsmen’s vandalism of farmlands, sacrifices of African traditional worshippers thrown into the rivers, abandoned political and religious billboards and posters that litter the land, and so forth. No one factor is enough to explain what causes environmental degradation in Urhoboland, rather it comes from multiple factors as listed above. This paper argues that there is a need to foster environmental conservation in Urhoboland through nature writing. Nature writing is generally understood as non-fictional or fictional written discourses with the environment or natural realities as the main subject. Nature writing helps to promote environmental awareness and the need for people to act responsibly towards the environment. The paper uses critical analytic and hermeneutic methods to show that the state of environmental conservation in Urhoboland is deplorable and that there are few nature writings on Urhoboland. It argues for more nature writings on the environment of Urhoboland. Through hermeneutics, the key concepts in the paper are deciphered and interpreted. The paper concludes that if there are many more nature writings on Urhoboland, they will help to conserve Urhoboland environmentally.
Keywords
Nature writing, environmental conservation, Urhobo, Niger Delta, Nigeria,
degradation.
Introduction
The environmental crisis and the harm happening to the natural world have necessitated an interest in natural writing. Nature writing is generally understood as non-fictional or fictional written discourses with the environment or natural realities as the main subject matter. Nature writing can help in the healing of the natural world that is degraded and polluted. Nature writing, as stated by Yadi (2024) includes books like Entangled Life: How Fungi Makes Our World, Changes Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake, The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot by Robert MacFarlane, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmere, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. Nunez (2021) lists the following also as nature writing: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, Smith Blue by Camille T. Dungy, Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
Content
There is a great need to re-focus attention on the natural world. Without the natural world, human life is meaningless. All that human beings need such as food, clothing, wood, bricks, and so on comes from nature. Destruction of nature destroys humans also. The various writings on the environment or nature of the Niger Delta all reveal this. Yadi (2019) reveals that the resurgence of nature writing indicates that people know that they can find comfort in nature as well as healing balm. Nature writing is educative and locates people in the natural world. The concern of this paper is with nature writing regarding Urhoboland. Urhoboland is situated in Delta State in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The ecological plight facing the Niger Delta is also similar to that facing Urhoboland. Consequent to the foregoing, the paper shall make a conceptual clarification, followed by an examination of the situation of environmental conservation in the Niger Delta. This is followed by an examination of some of the features of nature writing. Various nature writing on Urhoboland will be listed also before examining the role that nature writing can play in the environmental conservation of Urhoboland.
Conclusion
The paper has discussed nature writings and noted some ways it can help to promote environmental conservation in Urhoboland. It highlighted the fact that nature writing can play a prominent role as it makes people aware of the beauty and goodness in nature, and the environmental damage that is being done to the beautiful earth. About Urhoboland, it was shown that very little conservation is taking place rather, what is happening is environmental pollution and damage, especially from the activities of oil exploration and gas flaring. Though some individuals and corporate bodies are aware of the beauty of nature, economic gains from oil exploration and gains from harvesting environmental resources hold sway for them. The once beautiful, serene, and peaceful Urhoboland with many rivers filled with fishes, animals, and other organisms is lying in decadence. The paper also showed that from the broader meaning of nature writing, there is some nature writing on Urhoboland, though many of them are writings from the socio-economic and political vantage point. It advocated for many more nature writings on Urhoboland that should include nature writing of the natural history, nature aesthetics genres, and so on. Nature writing can help to stem the tide of environmental degradation in Urhoboland. With many more nature writings environmental conservation in Urhoboland will be sustained.
References
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