----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Murray" Subject: [PEN-L:35339] the political ecology of megaprojects > Megaprojects and Risk > An Anatomy of Ambition > Bent Flyvbjerg, Nils Bruzelius, Werner Rothengatter
Hey I can do free chapters too, on the worst megaprojects in Africa: Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the Coega port/IDZ/megasmelter. For abuse of water and energy, these really can't be beat... (available by writing me offlist at [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Cheers, Patrick *** Book Announcement: http://www.unpress.co.za http://www.merlinbooks.co.uk August 2002 UNSUSTAINABLE SOUTH AFRICA: Environment, Development and Social Protest by Patrick Bond with George Dor, Michael Dorsey, Maj Fiil-Flynn, Stephen Greenberg, Thulani Guliwe, David Hallowes, Becky Himlin, Stephen Hosking, Greg Ruiters and Robyn Stein 'The nations of the world elected to come to our country', explained president Thabo Mbeki of the UN's choice of Johannesburg as host city for the August-September 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, 'because they are convinced that we have something of value to contribute to the building of a new and more equitable world order that must surely emerge'. This book offers a critical reflection on the post-apartheid 'sustainable development' experience. What is of greatest value from South Africa is the warning not to pursue neoliberal, market-oriented strategies--as did Pretoria and most SA municipalities since democracy dawned in 1994. Working with local activists, Bond and his colleagues have researched and campaigned on behalf of social and environmental justice for years: offering alternatives to a minerals smelter in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, opposing Lesotho mega-dams, helping township residents end disconnections of electricity and water, and advocating for free lifeline services. Of lasting importance, they insist, are the rising grassroots protest movements against globalisation, privatisation, unemployment, poverty, denial of healthcare, decaying social services, and ecological degradation. Both globally and locally, the human condition and the environment have worsened not improved, for reasons explained here with remarkably detailed evidence and compelling vignettes, but with an eye to hopeful alternatives on the horizon. *** Contents: Preface - Introduction: 'A World in One Country' PART ONE : AN UNSUSTAINABLE LEGACY - Chapter One - The Environment of Apartheid-Capitalism: Discourses and Issues PART TWO : UNSUSTAINABLE PROJECTS - Chapter Two - The Development of Underdevelopment in Nelson Mandela Metropole: Coega's Economic, Social and Environmental Subsidies - Chapter Three - Lesotho's Water, Johannesburg's Thirst: Communities, Consumers and Mega-Dams PART THREE : UNSUSTAINABLE POLICIES - Chapter Four - Eco-Social Injustice for Working-Class Communities: The Making and Unmaking of Neoliberal Infrastructure Policy - Chapter Five - Droughts and Floods: Water Prices and Values in the Time of Cholera - Chapter Six - Power to the Powerful: Energy, Electricity, Equity and Environment - PART FOUR: ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL PROTEST - Chapter Seven - Conclusion: Environmentalism, the WSSD and Uneven Political Development - References - Index Patrick Bond is Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand Graduate School of Public and Development Management. His co-authors are academics and researchers. KEYWORDS: POLITICS, NEO-LIBERALISM, ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, WATER, SOUTH AFRICA 9x 6 inches 480pp, Maps, Figures, Tables Published in Africa by University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg Published in Europe by Merlin Press, London Published in N.America by Africa World Press, Trenton *** 'A monumental work. The information is political dynamite, crucial for those of us who believe the way forward leads from exhausted nationalist politics to a post-capitalist society where environment is taken seriously'. --Soweto activist Trevor Ngwane 'Unsustainable South Africa is an eye-opener. It provides a vivid account of the tragedy of contemporary South Africa, which got rid of apartheid only to succumb to the forces of global neoliberalism. The ecological, social and economic consequences have been devastating and are presented here in raw detail. But Bond also offers us reason for hope.' --John Bellamy Foster, Coeditor, Monthly Review; author, Ecology Against Capitalism 'A poorly prepared polemic.' --Trade and industry minister Alec Erwin, on the book's analysis of Coega *** Patrick Bond [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone (27)83-633-5548 fax (27)11-484-2729
