Abstract
Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach (CA) offers a framework for conceiving of human development, proposed to be adopted globally. In this paper I interrogate Nussbaum’s approach using African environmental ethics (AEE) to see if it can capture African ways of valuing nature. I look at two ways in which Nussbaum’s approach considers the value of the natural environment: a) she suggests applying her list of capabilities to non-human animals and b) she includes – what I call – an environmental capability in her list of ten central human capabilities that she says every person should have at a minimum level to be considered flourishing. I argue that the second aligns well with how nature is valued in AEE, as I show that both Nussbaum and AEE value nature in a way that – albeit not necessarily intrinsic – goes beyond material instrumentality. I discuss the limits of my claim that the two views are well aligned and suggest avenues for future work on further interrogating the role of the environment in human flourishing.