Mountaineering in Cape Town was first practised as a sport by the colonial elite during the late 19th Century. This historical review of two mountain clubs analyses the linkages between race, class and mountaineering in Cape Town, South Africa. The origins of mountaineering are inextricable from the racial hierarchy of colonial society, which was founded upon discrimination, segregation and unequal power relations between black and white. This is evident in the development of the exclusively white Mountain Club of South Africa – an organisation deeply embedded in the privileged political establishment. Similarly, the racialised power relations of the 20th Century would be reflected in the club's distant, exclusionary and paternalistic relationship with local black mountaineers and the Cape Province Mountain Club. Through an exploration of the developmental trajectories of these two, at one time racially exclusive, mountaineering clubs, their interaction with each other and their navigation of the contemporary socio-political context, this paper tells the history and politics of climbing Table Mountain between 1890 to 1990.
Bibliography: leaves 128-148. ; The impress of history has been particularly profound in the sphere of environmental perception, in that South Africans, both black and white, have had their notions of the environment shaped by the political forces of the past. Accordingly, this study is placed within the context of historical geography, as its open-ended techniques and multi-disciplinary approach is regarded as the most appropriate way of undertaking a study which crosses both historical and environmental boundaries. A contention fundamental to this study, is that South African environmental awareness and knowledge is at a fairly low level and that black environmental interest and concern in particular, ranges from apathy to outright hostility. It is further contended that the attainment of mass environmental literacy is essential for the success of the environmental movement in this country and that this in turn, is dependent on the adoption of a strategy incorporating an integrated historical, social and political perspective. Historico-political factors such as: the impact of the colonizing process; the dispossession of the indigenous peoples; the effect of racial attitudes; discriminatory land legislation and, in particular, the imposition of the apartheid system in 1948, are evaluated in terms of their effect on the development of black environmental attitudes. The culmination of these factors has led to a distortion of environmental perceptions and attitudes, as well as to the alienation of blacks from the environment. Conversely, the initially exploitative white response to the environment gradually incorporated a preservationist element, subsequently evolving into a conservation ideology which generally ignored black interests and perspectives. The policies and activities of the first black environmental organizations are detailed, in an attempt to place their achievements in historical perspective. Research in this area was conducted using primary sources. Interviews with selected environmental and mass democratic organizations in the Greater Cape Town Region were conducted. Using the techniques of the focused interview, their stance on environmental issues was established and their proposals for a future environmental strategy elicited. It was found that, while only one of the nine mass democratic organizations evaluated had an environmental policy, they were all committed to the establishment of a democratic society as well as to the concept of mass participation in environmental politics. Based on the insights gained from the historical aspects of the study, as well as an assessment of the proposals put forward during interviews, it is concluded that certain preconditions .are necessary for the successful implementation of future environmental strategies, if blacks are to become involved in environmental issues. These are: the destruction of apartheid; the establishment of a democratic state and the enhancement of individual quality of life.
In elf Beiträgen beschäftigen sich die Autoren des Sammelbandes mit den Ergebnissen der Umweltpolitik in Südafrika unter dem Blickwinkel der Umweltgerechtigkeit in Theorie und Praxis. McDonald unternimmt eine Begriffsklärung, Khan geht den Ursachen des "Umweltrassismus" nach, Dodson untersucht die gemeinsamen Schnittmengen von Ökofeminismus und der Umweltgerechtigkeitsbewegung. Ruiters unternimmt eine Ideologiekritik des Umweltgerechtigkeitsdiskurses; Cock/Fig untersuchen die Politik in den Nationalparks unter dem Aspekt der Umweltgerechtigkeit. Moloi berichtet über die Wirkung des Bergbaus auf die Umwelt, Glazewski diskutiert die rechtliche Verankerung des Umweltgerechtigkeitsgedankens in der neuen demokratischen Ordnung. Bei Peek geht es um die Abfallentsorgung in Durban, bei Bond um die politische Ökonomie von Dammbauten und die Wasserversorgung von Haushalten. Lukey diskutiert die ökologische Plattform der Gewerkschaften und McDonald die Privatisierung städtischer Dienstleistungen. (DÜI-Sbd)
This book is the result of a collaborative effort in which environmental historians from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa came together to offer new perspectives on the new and somehow intriguing entity. These scholars forged a dialogue from their own historical traditions to find common threads and common challenges. The contributors focus on three basic themes that can serve as building blocks for future research: the state, the civil society, and the academia, that is, what has been written in each country on the relations between nature and society over time. The historical perspective is crucial for understanding the environmental and social challenges which might be faced by the BRICS nations in the years to come
