ECO-JUSTICE AND STEWARDSHIP: AN URGENT DISCOURSE IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Abstract

Man does not exist in a vacuum, thus sustainability of our dwelling place (our environment) Mbecomes a crucial necessity. Sustaining our environment through intentional callingtherefore becomes a responsibility, a life style and not just a response or a mere task. Thisis very imperative and should sink in our mind because the future generation will definitely live in theworld that we shaped for them through our actions. Man has different roles to play within creationand towards other creatures, since God created the world and on the sixth day of creation, handedeverything he created to man to have dominion. Unfortunately, man has not done enough in carryingout this divine mandate and exercising his authority over creation. Many cases of man's genuinestewardship are found on varying areas of human endeavour. Unrealistically, in environmentalissues, man has really missed out in being good steward in ensuring an environment fit for humanhabitation. As a matter of fact, more than natural disasters, man's activities have to a great extentbecome a clog in the wheel to ecological advancement and sustainability. Ecological crisis havebecome a reality in today's world. There are varying issues of pollution, deforestation, scarcity ofresources, extinction of animals and plants, depletion of ozone layer, global warming/climatechange, etc. All these are grievously affecting human life adversely, thus, there arises a concertedaction to safeguard the environment and human life at large. This looming danger has led to theemergence of eco- theology, eco-justice and stewardship. This concern is the observed state ofaffairs that has warranted the need to explore the meaning of eco-justice and stewardship, itsinterplay, man's duty towards the environment and some biblical injunctions on man's duty to hisenvironment. Finally, man's action that threatens the ecosystem will also be discussed and solutionswill be proffered. It has been observed that most of the ecological crisis that occurs is an upshot ofman's indifferent attitudes towards the preservation and sustainability of the environment. Themethod adopted in this study is the historical and phenomenological approach.