Foundations for Individual Environmental Responsibility in the Niger Delta

Endowed with rich natural resources and biodiversity the Niger Delta region of Nigeria continues to experience the perennial affliction of environmental degradation. The usual culprits of this degradation are the oil companies. This is not the whole story. Human individuals too are also culpable in causing the Niger Delta’s environmental crisis through domestic and occupational practices. How then can environmental awareness and care be improved be improved at the human individual level? Biocentrism, ecocentricism and African tradition. World view provide philosophical foundations that make human individuals aware of their connection to their natural surroundings. These philosophies also provide an impetus and imperative for individuals in the Niger Delta to love, preserve and protect their environment not the sense of obeying a regulation but in the sense of moral relation.