Community of Life

A rich, interdisciplinary study of Central African land ethics incorporating conversations with local rainforest inhabitants that yield vibrant new insights into the dilemmas of sustaining Africa's rainforests and its people.. In Conversations in the Rainforest , Richard B. Peterson combines interdisciplinary research and intimate, first-hand conversations with members of various indigenous communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He reveals the startling depth and clarity of local peoples' perspectives on nature, on Western-backed conservation projects, and on the challenges of preserving Africa's rainforests. In doing so, Peterson points toward an environmental ethic applicable to rainforests and to the world at large. }Can any lessons for long-term environmental sustainability come from Africa, a continent long perceived more as a cauldron of environmental disasters than a cradle of environmental solutions? In Conversations in the Rainforest, Richard B. Peterson answers an emphatic yes. Peterson deftly interweaves the ideas of African and Africanist historians, theologians, anthropologists, philosophers, writers, and ecologists with a series of remarkable conversations he shared with inhabitants of the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yet, rather than remain in the background of his analysis, these conversationson subjects ranging from traditional interpretations of nature to contemporary indigenous perspectives on modern environmental challengesconstitute the very core of this book.Through this enlightening and frequently mesmerizing narrative approach, Peterson brings the foundations of Central African land ethics into vivid relief. With uncommon empathy and insight, he shows how ecological and social sustainability projects in the region can be based more firmly on these foundations. This book holds invaluable lessons for environmental practitioners, scholars, and anyone interested in long-term environmental sustainability on a global level. }