Abstract One 2008

GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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Volume Five Winter 2007-Spring 2008 Numbers 1-2.

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MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES:

THE AFRICAN EXAMPLE

VALENTINE UDOH JAMES

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Clarion University of Pennsylvania

Clarion, Pennsylvania

Published Online: February 10, 2017

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the growing concerns regarding the impact of haphazard development strategies in Africa. Broadly defined development efforts to stem the tide of the problems due to exponential population growth in Africa do not sustain the integrity of the environment. The decline in the quality of the ecological systems has ramifications which negatively affect food production. This article delineates approaches to sustaining the ecological, economic and social systems. It interrogates the current land use practice, and it critically examines the unsustainable agricultural practices in Africa. The consequences of intensive and extensive agricultural productions are discussed with regard to their merits and demerits. It is argued that poorly planned land use activities threaten natural resource assets and disrupt the ecological equilibrium. The article concludes with recommendations for governmental and nongovernmental policies to build local capacities for managing natural resources.