From colonial to community based conservation: Environmental justice and the national parks of South Africa

Abstract

In this article the authors hope to re-animate Environmental Sociology, a crucial and neglected area within our discipline. It examines the transformation of the South African National Parks from an institution of colonial conservation which served white minority interests to a community based model of conservation which attempts to link the protection of biodiversity to human needs. It raises questions about whether this transformation involves fundamental change or a shallow restructuring.