Although the significance of scientific expertise is often proposed and empirically illustrated in academic literature, it is still unclear how environmental expertise becomes authoritative, and how its legitimacy can be challenged. In order to understand the interplay between scientific expertise and civil society engagement, this paper examines how industrial scientific expertise has worked with surrounding communities and civil society to inform scientific decisions, and for the co-creation of scientific knowledge formations. A particular case is analysed, that of the South Durban Industrial Basin in KwaZulu-Natal. This area comprises a mixed use of residential areas juxtaposed with heavy industries. Scientific expertise, especially within the industrial sectors, is therefore important in the prevention, alleviation and management of risks to residents, society and the environment. The study finds that there is poor engagement between scientific expertise with communities and civil society, not least when it comes to environmental issues. A reason for this is poor governance, enforcement and leadership with an overriding objective of industrial expansion for economic development by both government and industry. Another reason is that, with a few exceptions, the communities have mainly been concerned about socio-economic issues. This has resulted in a double bind, where scientific expertise and government have not shared environmental information with civil society at the same as the civil society, has not on the whole requested it.
Tag: civil society
Mining and/or tourism development for job creation and sustainability
Although the tourism sector has greater potential for job creation than the mining sector, the debate on which sector may be more sustainable for employment and local social development, has not been extensively researched, especially in the global South. The popular tourist destination of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga has come under threat from an increase in the number of mining applications for coal (and diamonds). Despite opposition to mining from civil society due to the potential destruction of the natural environment and hence tourism job losses, mining applications are being approved by the ruling party in the country. Government and mining companies state that mining will contribute to much needed job creation and social development. Disparity thus exists between mining and tourism development frameworks for sustainable job creation. This research thus presents perspectives from key participants surrounding the sustainability of mining and/or tourism jobs in Dullstroom, including the benefits and challenges for job creation and sustainability offered by both sectors. Investigations reveal that mining should not be allowed in pristine areas such as Dullstroom’s wetlands, biodiversity and conservation and agricultural lands. Besides the short-term jobs offered by mining, the precautionary principle, as suggested in South African regulations, should apply against mining development since there are added threats of serious or irreversible environmental degradation which does not support sustainable tourism development and long-term jobs. However tourism in Dullstroom is also beset with challenges which need to be addressed if tourism is to contribute to sustainable employment for the majority of people.
Link to full article: – 2016
Book Review: The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa
The ‘Handbook of Civil Society in Africa’ is a timely contribution to the discussion on civil society on the continent. It presents a unique conceptualization of civil society within contemporary Africa. The aim of the book as noted by Obadare is to reflect on the diversity of African discourses on civil society and map the contours of thematic and regional analyses. The volume pays attention to the evolution of civil society in Africa and its applications across a variety of contexts and historical moments. Obadare notes that much of the angle of civil society analysis trends to be national as opposed to continental, with cross-national studies and comparisons remaining few. The chapters (with the exception of seven chapters in section two: Regional Perspectives) are said take the entire continent as their primary unit of analysis. The editor highlights that the civil society field has been largely dominated by non-government organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CSOs) and sundry formal organizations. In this volume there is a deliberate attempt to expand the range of issues and problems typically analysed using the language of civil society. The volume uniquely does this by incorporating contributions from a diversity of scholars (although not all writers come from African backgrounds but work extensively on Africa civil society issues). A distinct contribution of the book is that it moves away from the commonly understood conceptions of civil society within the Europe-American context to present civil society and its diversity within the African context.
Notwithstanding pertinent contributions on African civil society (and taking into account the volumes dedication to the core principle of difference and variety) it nevertheless would have been useful to have had some sort of analytical integration or confluence across most of the volume to map the more or less common elements that emerge amongst the diversity of texts themselves. The reader is simply left to make sense of what is presented. However, a unique contribution arising within the volume (besides the commonly understood notion of Western civil society acting against authoritarian regimes) is the self-reflection surrounding the limitations of African civil society itself for advancing democracy in Africa – from transparency and accountability of CSOs in Ghana, to co-option by CSOs into government in Uganda, divisions between secular and Islamic actors during the Arab spring, the cautiousness about over-romanticizing the positive contributions of African civil society, conflicts within Zimbabwean civil society and urban civics, civil society and conflict in West Africa, and CSO deficiencies in responding to HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa to name a few. Thus, the volume does a great job in describing the ‘forms and features of actually existing civil society’ on the continent. Excluding section two on regional perspectives, not all contributions are continental or cross national in focus such as for popular organisations in South Africa. Although there are key contributions to civil society emerging from the non-formal civil society level such as from civil societies in Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria; religious groupings across Africa; CSOs and the state in East Africa; unorganized civil society in Southern Africa, and sexual struggles in Africa amongst others, literature is at times dominated by organized civil society such as NGOs in Africa – surrounding well-known themes such as NGO accountability or NGOs in partnership for development. Despite some of these minor points, the book is fairly well organised and rich in its contribution towards understanding African civil society. It will no doubt be a valuable resource to academics, students, think-tank organisations and anyone wanting to understand contemporary debates on African civil society.
(2015) The Journal of Modern African Studies, 53, pp 131-132. doi:10.1017/S0022278X15000051