Environmental, community responsibility

Responsibility extends beyond our homes to our environment and communities.

Allah says: “It is He who has made you successors upon the earth.” (Qur’an 6:165)

As khalīfah (stewards), we are entrusted to protect and preserve the earth. Unfortunately, activities like illegal mining (galamsey), poor sanitation, and deforestation have become threats to our land and water bodies.

Dr Julian Agyeman and Bob Evans (2004) in Just Sustainability argue that environmental justice is deeply tied to social equity we cannot claim moral uprightness while destroying the environment that sustains others.

Every responsible man must see the environment as an amānah (trust). Picking up litter, planting trees, conserving water, and speaking against galamsey are all acts of faith. As the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

“If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift.” (Bukhari, Hadith 2320)

True responsibility therefore includes ecological consciousness for to destroy the environmentis to destroy the future we claim to build.

5.1 Environmental stewardship under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana establishes environmental stewardship not merely as a governmental obligation but as a moral and civic duty of all citizens. It integrates environmental protection into the nation’s vision for sustainable development, justice, and intergenerational equity. Three key articles Article 36 (9), Article 41(k), and Article 269 outline this framework of responsibility.

1. Article 36 (9): Directive principles of state policy

“The State shall take appropriate measures needed to protect and safeguard the national environment for posterity; and shall seek cooperation with other states and bodies for the purpose of protecting the wider international environment for mankind.”

This article establishes that environmental protection is both a national and global responsibility.

It commits Ghana to sustainable use of natural resources including land, forests, water, and minerals for the benefit of future generations.

In essence, it means that every Ghanaian must act with intergenerational consciousness, ensuring that today’s development does not destroy tomorrow’s heritage. This principle directly condemns harmful practices such as illegal mining (galamsey), deforestation, and pollution.

By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai