Three contexts of climate-induced cultural heritage devastation in Africa : implications for climate justice

dc.contributor.authorAfolabi, Abiodun Paul
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-02T04:26:05Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractIn this article, I contend that despite the high-level scholarly interest in the ethical implications of climate change, a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage values, particularly in Africa, has not been sufficiently addressed in climate ethics literature. What has been missing is the nature and significance of climate-induced cultural heritage devastation in Africa and the implications for climate justice. Through the method of philosophical argumentation, I show three important ways in which climate change threatens tangible and intangible cultural heritage values, particularly in Africa. I argue that climate change (a) damages, (b) denies and (c) ultimately contributes to the destruction of cultural heritage in subtle ways that need to be widely known. I further propose ways to address these three dimensions of climate impact on cultural heritage values, aiming to create an inclusive global climate treaty that is sensitive to the devastation of cultural heritage in Africa and beyond. I conclude that if there is reason to be concerned about the loss of cultural heritage values, as there plausibly is, then the negative impact of climate change on cultural heritage values should be taken seriously in climate ethics and policy discourse. Not doing this would amount to cultural injustice.
dc.description.departmentPhilosophy
dc.description.embargo2026-12-04
dc.description.librarianhj2025
dc.description.sdgSDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities
dc.description.sdgSDG-13: Climate action
dc.description.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsph20
dc.identifier.citationAbiodun P. Afolabi (04 Jun 2025): Three contexts of climate-induced cultural heritage devastation in Africa: Implications for climate justice, South African Journal of Philosophy, DOI: 10.1080/02580136.2025.2500193.
dc.identifier.issn0258-0136 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2073-4867 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1080/02580136.2025.2500193
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/103083
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInforma UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group) and NISC (Pty) Ltd
dc.rights© 2025 South African Journal of Philosophy. This is an electronic version of an article published in South African Journal of Philosophy, vol. , no. , pp. , 2025, doi : 10.1080/02580136.2025.2500193. South African Journal of Philosophy is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsph20.
dc.subjectClimate change
dc.subjectCultural heritage values
dc.subjectClimate ethics
dc.subjectClimate justice
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.titleThree contexts of climate-induced cultural heritage devastation in Africa : implications for climate justice
dc.typePostprint Article

Files

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: