Background

The late 80s and early 90s was a turbulent time. The apartheid government was under pressure especially after the unbanning of the African National Congress and the political writing was clearly on the wall. There would be a change in government, and whatever form it took, the new regime would inherit a raft of laws and policies which would have to be entirely rewritten. It was in this context that a small group of academics, professionals and activists began meeting to discuss the environmental policy needed for a ‘new’ South Africa. They saw a need to counter the powerful business and industry lobby, and the need to support and empower citizens to engage with policy formation and act on environmental issues that concerned them. By June 1991, the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) was established.

Prior to 1994, concepts like ‘environmental justice’ and ‘sustainable development’ were rarely used in public discourse and completely absent from policy. One of our first projects was the publication of a small booklet in 1992 titled ‘Towards Sustainable Development in South Africa: A Discussion Paper.’ It was the result of wide consultation with key thinkers, activists and political leaders; and it aimed to provide an alternative, public-interest view on environmentally sustainable economic development and to stimulate debate on these issues. While the context in which we work in has changed markedly over the last 20 years, this objective remains at the core of our work. We believe that the society's relationship with the natural world mirrors our relationships with each other and that no development is ‘sustainable’ without economic and social justice. Our focus is thus on helping to build democratic and fair decision-making processes in the management of natural resources.

EMG currently consists of 10 full-time staff located in offices in Observatory, Cape Town and in Nieuwoudtville, Northern Cape. Our current work can be roughly classified under four inter-connected themes, namely; water, climate change, fair trade and rural livelihoods. Under these themes we work to:

• Produce accessible resources that help people better understand key environmental and social issues, and their relevance to their own lives
• Disseminate information, analysis and alternative viewpoints into the public domain, and to specific target audiences;
• Facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and effective action;
• Demonstrate and share best-practice through building partnerships, facilitating action-research and promoting dialogue.

Water

Access to sufficient, affordable and quality water remains a challenge for many citizens. Local authorities in turn are challenged to provide access while ensuring that the water resource is sustainably managed. Climate change will exacerbate these challenges, and meeting them requires a healthy relationship between citizens and government, and resilient, informed and confident communities.

EMG contributes to this through researching the science, institutions and governance of water and climate change, initiating local-level action research initiatives, highlighting the experiences of ordinary water users, building network and solidarity to strengthen civil society’s capacity to engage with government, and advocacy through policy interventions and dialogue.

Rural Livelihoods

EMG’s work with rural communities aims to illustrate the value of community-based participatory approaches built on the value of inherent resources and increased problem-solving capacity. At the same time we argue for effective policies that promote agricultural productivity for small-scale farmers but also foster soil, water and biodiversity conservation.

Essential elements of this programme area include:

• Engaging with United Nations environmental conventions, particularly the Conventions on Desertification Biodiversity and Climate Change, through local-level experience of people living in the rural dry lands of South Africa;
• Action-research programmes with small-scale farmers exploring soil, water and biodiversity conservation techniques;
• Contributing to the knowledge-base of agricultural ecology and sustainable commercial utilisation;
• Training, capacity-building and other forms of support for small-scale farmers.

Fairtrade

Alternative markets such as fair trade have the potential to directly benefit small-scale farmers and farm workers. They are also working examples of values-based trading systems, and highlight the unsustainability of a production-consumption system in which price is the only consideration. One of those values is environmental sustainability.

EMG’s work in this field includes training and capacity-building, building solidarity among fair trade stakeholders, and lobbying and advocating for a strong voice for small-scale farmers and farm-workers in the system.

Climate Change

Climate change is a cross-cutting issue that affects every aspect of our lives – as much as our way of life contributes to climate change, it is also a cross-cutting theme within EMG’s work.

Our community-based climate change adaptation work demonstrates the power of participatory methodologies in exploring the ability of marginalized communities to adapt to the impacts climate change, routes towards greater resilience. We are committed to working with our peers in the development sector, raising awareness of climate change and what it means for their work and priorities. We are committed to ‘practicing what we preach’ through a regular internal carbon audit and reduction plan.

Organisational Development

An ongoing process of assessment, reflection and learning is at the centre of EMG’s organisational development. Regular home-days, reflective writing and facilitated evaluations help to keep us alive and conscious to our practice, intentions and impacts.

For more about the Environmental Monitoring Group, refer to www.emg.org.za.

Background

The late 80s and early 90s was a turbulent time. The apartheid government was under pressure especially after the unbanning of the African National Congress and the political writing was clearly on the wall. There would be a change in government, and whatever form it took, the new regime would inherit a raft of laws and policies which would have to be entirely rewritten. It was in this context that a small group of academics, professionals and activists began meeting to discuss the environmental policy needed for a ‘new’ South Africa. They saw a need to counter the powerful business and industry lobby, and the need to support and empower citizens to engage with policy formation and act on environmental issues that concerned them. By June 1991, the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) was established.

Prior to 1994, concepts like ‘environmental justice’ and ‘sustainable development’ were rarely used in public discourse and completely absent from policy. One of our first projects was the publication of a small booklet in 1992 titled ‘Towards Sustainable Development in South Africa: A Discussion Paper.’ It was the result of wide consultation with key thinkers, activists and political leaders; and it aimed to provide an alternative, public-interest view on environmentally sustainable economic development and to stimulate debate on these issues. While the context in which we work in has changed markedly over the last 20 years, this objective remains at the core of our work. We believe that the society's relationship with the natural world mirrors our relationships with each other and that no development is ‘sustainable’ without economic and social justice. Our focus is thus on helping to build democratic and fair decision-making processes in the management of natural resources.

EMG currently consists of 10 full-time staff located in offices in Observatory, Cape Town and in Nieuwoudtville, Northern Cape. Our current work can be roughly classified under four inter-connected themes, namely; water, climate change, fair trade and rural livelihoods. Under these themes we work to:

• Produce accessible resources that help people better understand key environmental and social issues, and their relevance to their own lives
• Disseminate information, analysis and alternative viewpoints into the public domain, and to specific target audiences;
• Facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and effective action;
• Demonstrate and share best-practice through building partnerships, facilitating action-research and promoting dialogue.

Water

Access to sufficient, affordable and quality water remains a challenge for many citizens. Local authorities in turn are challenged to provide access while ensuring that the water resource is sustainably managed. Climate change will exacerbate these challenges, and meeting them requires a healthy relationship between citizens and government, and resilient, informed and confident communities.

EMG contributes to this through researching the science, institutions and governance of water and climate change, initiating local-level action research initiatives, highlighting the experiences of ordinary water users, building network and solidarity to strengthen civil society’s capacity to engage with government, and advocacy through policy interventions and dialogue.

Rural Livelihoods

EMG’s work with rural communities aims to illustrate the value of community-based participatory approaches built on the value of inherent resources and increased problem-solving capacity. At the same time we argue for effective policies that promote agricultural productivity for small-scale farmers but also foster soil, water and biodiversity conservation.

Essential elements of this programme area include:

• Engaging with United Nations environmental conventions, particularly the Conventions on Desertification Biodiversity and Climate Change, through local-level experience of people living in the rural dry lands of South Africa;
• Action-research programmes with small-scale farmers exploring soil, water and biodiversity conservation techniques;
• Contributing to the knowledge-base of agricultural ecology and sustainable commercial utilisation;
• Training, capacity-building and other forms of support for small-scale farmers.

Fairtrade

Alternative markets such as fair trade have the potential to directly benefit small-scale farmers and farm workers. They are also working examples of values-based trading systems, and highlight the unsustainability of a production-consumption system in which price is the only consideration. One of those values is environmental sustainability.

EMG’s work in this field includes training and capacity-building, building solidarity among fair trade stakeholders, and lobbying and advocating for a strong voice for small-scale farmers and farm-workers in the system.

Climate Change

Climate change is a cross-cutting issue that affects every aspect of our lives – as much as our way of life contributes to climate change, it is also a cross-cutting theme within EMG’s work.

Our community-based climate change adaptation work demonstrates the power of participatory methodologies in exploring the ability of marginalized communities to adapt to the impacts climate change, routes towards greater resilience. We are committed to working with our peers in the development sector, raising awareness of climate change and what it means for their work and priorities. We are committed to ‘practicing what we preach’ through a regular internal carbon audit and reduction plan.

Organisational Development

An ongoing process of assessment, reflection and learning is at the centre of EMG’s organisational development. Regular home-days, reflective writing and facilitated evaluations help to keep us alive and conscious to our practice, intentions and impacts.

For more about the Environmental Monitoring Group, refer to www.emg.org.za.