Cape Town Ecology Group
Encyclopedia
The Cape Town Ecology Group is a South Africa
n based radical environmental group, founded in 1987, as a "child of Koeberg Alert", and active until the early 1990s. It espoused a more political-orientated green
ideology as opposed to the apartheid-based conservation groups of the time. According to founder Mike Cope: "We felt the need to view ecological issues on a broader level and recognised the connection between politics and ecology. Ecology is definitely a political issue because environmental issues are about where we live."
It co-hosted South Africa's first conference on the environment
, in conjunction with the Western Cape Branch of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and the Call of Islam in 1991. The National Conference on Environment and Development was held at the University of the Western Cape and some 231 representatives from a wide range of organisations discussed the links between environmental degradation and the political situation in Southern Africa. The three day conference aimed to "Ecologise Politics, Politicise Ecology" and was considered a breakthrough for its time.
According to conference organiser, Phakamile Tshazibane: "For the first time groups such as the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(Cosatu), the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and the African National Congress
(ANC), found common ground around the issue of the environment."
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n based radical environmental group, founded in 1987, as a "child of Koeberg Alert", and active until the early 1990s. It espoused a more political-orientated green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
ideology as opposed to the apartheid-based conservation groups of the time. According to founder Mike Cope: "We felt the need to view ecological issues on a broader level and recognised the connection between politics and ecology. Ecology is definitely a political issue because environmental issues are about where we live."
South African National Conference on Environment and Development
The first National Conference on Environment and Development in South Africa was held at the University of the Western Cape during June/July 1991 . It saw at least 231 representatives from a wide range of organisations discussing the links between environmental degradation and the political...
, in conjunction with the Western Cape Branch of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and the Call of Islam in 1991. The National Conference on Environment and Development was held at the University of the Western Cape and some 231 representatives from a wide range of organisations discussed the links between environmental degradation and the political situation in Southern Africa. The three day conference aimed to "Ecologise Politics, Politicise Ecology" and was considered a breakthrough for its time.
According to conference organiser, Phakamile Tshazibane: "For the first time groups such as the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.-Establishment:COSATU was established in...
(Cosatu), the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC), found common ground around the issue of the environment."
Founders
- Michael Cope (author, anarchist and son of Jack CopeJack CopeJack Cope was a South African novelist, short story writer, poet, and editor.Jack Cope was born in Natal, South Africa and attended boarding school in Durban, afterwards becoming a journalist on the Natal Mercury and then a political correspondent in London for South African newspapers...
) - Julia Martin (author, academic, active member of the Steering Committee for seven years)
- Karen Rolfes (tobacco heiress)
- Henri Laurie (mathematician)
- Donna Metzlar (activist)
- George Petros (activist)
See also
- Earthlife AfricaEarthlife AfricaEarthlife Africa is a South African environmental and anti-nuclear organization founded in August 1988, in Johannesburg. Initially conceived of as a South African version of Greenpeace, the group began by playing a radical, anti-apartheid, activist role. ELA is arguably now more of a reformist...
- Earth Summit 2002Earth Summit 2002The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or Earth Summit 2002 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a number of leaders from business and non-governmental...
- Green movement in South AfricaGreen movement in South AfricaThe environmental movement in South Africa traces its history from the early beginnings of conservation, to the rise of radicalism and activism amongst local ecologists. Before the Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the Berlin Wall, there were very few green activist groups in the country...
- Koeberg AlertKoeberg AlertKoeberg Alert formed in 1983 and started out as a local campaign against South Africa's nuclear programme, in particular the construction of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. Koeberg Alert is possibly the country's first activist green movement, apart from Nan Rice's Dolphin Action and Protection...