ABSTRACT
The ecological debate for Africa started with the European explorers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Ecological curiosity is that framework of intellectual agitation which seeks to explore and discover new factors about nature. The impulse behind ecological curiosity is, quite simply, the excitement of thirst for knowledge. Ecological curiosity is an aspect of science in its quest for explanation and comprehension. Ecological concern is an aspect of morality in its quest for empathy. Historically, Europe’s ecological curiosity was linked to both science and commerce. Non-alignment emerged quite early as a strategy of diplomacy with an important ecological theme. Culturally Africa’s own orientation was in the direction of ecological concern. On the issue of population in relation to ecological balance, the plea for the time being is merely for more systematic planning in Africa, rather than for a drastic reduction in the rate of growth.
