Environmentalism in South Africa, 1972-1992: an historical perspective

[摘要] English: The latter half of the twentieth century has seen an unprecedented growth inhumankind's concern for the natural environment and its finite capability to absorbunchecked industrial and demographic growth. This concern was first and foremost aglobal phenomenon and led directly to the emergence of global environmentalismfrom the late 1960s onwards. A key component in the history of the globalenvironmental movement was the initiatives taken by the United Nations (UN) aimedat getting the governments of the world involved in and committed to strategies toremedy widespread environmental degradation. To achieve this goal the UNconvened what turned out to be the two watershed events in global environmentalism,namely the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) inStockholm in 1972 and the United Nations Conference on Environment andDevelopment (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The purpose of this study is toprovide an account of the history of the environmental movement in South Africa andthe country's participation in the global environmental movement between UNCHE in1972 and UNCED in 1992.South Africa's position in the global environmental movement between 1972 and1992 was dubious at best. Due to the government's domestic policy of apartheid,South Africa was isolated in the international political arena, which impactednegatively on the country's involvement in global environmentalism. With onlylimited participation allowed in global environmentalism, the South Africanenvironmental movement did not stay in touch with the important changes thatoccurred on an international level in that it failed to identify and address the paradigmshift towards sustainable development from 1987 onwards. Although isolated, SouthAfrica did participate in some aspects of the global environmental movement, notablythose that involved the conservation of fauna and flora, while the government provedless willing to participate in global initiatives which could possibly place restrictionson the economic development of the country.South African environmentalism developed differently from its counterparts in othercountries between 1972 and 1992, owing to the limited participation of bothgovernmental and non-governmental role-players in the global environmentalmovement, and because of the political situation within South Africa in the sameperiod. Although the government and the environmental non-governmentalorganisations (ENGOs) responded to some aspects of the new environmental agendathat emerged alongside global environmentalism in the late 1960s, South African.environmentalism between 1972 and 1988 remained largely focused on theconservation of fauna and flora. Important new trends in the official administration ofenvironmental affairs were addressed with the creation of a state department forenvironmental affairs and the adoption of general environmental legislation.However, in contrast to national movements elsewhere in the world, the SouthAfrican environmental movement between 1972 and 1988 was characterised by itsapolitical nature.The environment only became a political issue in South Africa from 1988 onwardswith the founding of Earthlife Africa and like-minded ENGOs which linked thewidespread environmental degradation in South Africa with the government'sdomestic policy of apartheid. Through their activities the new environmentalistENGOs broadened the scope of the environmental agenda of South Africanenvironmentalism and opened the movement up to new role-players such as antiapartheidorganisations, political parties and labour unions. However, despite thesenew developments between 1988 and 1992, by 1992 the South African environmentalmovement was still a long way from reversing the detrimental human impact on thenatural environment. The developments in South African environmentalism between1972 and 1992 were therefore but the first tentative steps towards improving theSouth African environment.

[发布机构] University of the Free State