Mophane worm is a name given to caterpillars hosted by the Mophane tree. The
mophane worm is harvested as food supplement in most of the Southern African
countries. For the past few years, there have been some reports indicating that the
worm has disappeared in some parts of Botswana. Hence, the aim of this research
study has been to investigate from an ethical perspective the impact of mophane
worm depletion on the environment. A qualitative approach was used in this study
and data was collected from the following target groups of people: villagers, headmen
of the stated two villages and the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism
(MEWT) officers both at local and national level. The theoretical framework involved
traditional theories (i.e., Value Theory and Utilitarianism) and environmental ethical
theories (i.e., Social Ecology, Environmental and Intergenerational Justice).
The research instruments employed were individual interview schedules, focus
group discussions and observation. A fourfold model of analysis was used focusing
on the biological, economical, social and political dimensions. From the findings
of the study, it emerged that both natural and anthropogenic factors contributed to
mophane worm depletion. The natural factors were drought and predation while the
anthropogenic factors included massive usage of the host tree, destructive methods of
harvesting and demand for more land for agricultural and residential purposes. It also
emerged that mophane worm depletion had both negative and positive impacts on
the environment. These included lack of money by the local people to buy their daily
needs, lack of relish and poor livelihoods, loss of wildlife that fed on mophane worm
and tension between government and local people over the regulation of the resource.
Ethical evaluation revealed that the dominant value for the local people was utility
value to the almost total lack of explicit awareness of intrinsic and inherent value,
and that on utilitarian grounds, the overall evil that depletion of the mophane worm
brought about outweighed its overall good effects. With regard to justice issues, the
findings revealed that unjust social structures and injustices resulting from the unequal
distribution of benefits and burdens as well as from the lack of adequate participation
by the local communities in decision-making had a greater negative than positive
impact. Finally, recommendations were made emphasising the utmost importance of
government intervention to mitigate, if not, stop the depletion of the mophane worm.
Modern Confucianism and the concept of sustainable development