Post-Coal Environmental Ontology in Enugu Communities

Abstract

This study explores post-coal environmental ontology in Enugu communities, interrogating how abandoned coal mines in areas such as Iva Valley, Onyeama, Okpara, and Akwuke have reshaped local understandings of being, nature, and human–nonhuman relations. Drawing on phenomenological and African eco-philosophical frameworks, it examines how decades of mining-induced land degradation, acidic water pollution, biodiversity loss, and landscape alteration have disrupted indigenous ontologies of interconnected existence between people, land, and spirits. Through qualitative interviews and phenomenological analysis with residents of affected communities, the research reveals emergent post-coal ontologies characterised by fractured relationality, resilient adaptive narratives, and calls for ethical re-engagement with scarred environments. Findings highlight how environmental degradation challenges traditional Igbo conceptions of harmony with nature while fostering hybrid ontologies that blend memory, trauma, and hope for reclamation. The study contributes to environmental philosophy by grounding abstract ontological questions in concrete post-extractive realities of the Global South.