National Park Science: A Century of Research in South Africa

Description

South Africa is renowned for its wildlife and environmental conservation in iconic national parks such as the Kruger, one of the world's first formal protected areas. However, this is the first book to thoroughly analyse and explain the interesting and changing scientific research that has been accomplished in South Africa's national parks during the twentieth century. Providing a fascinating and thorough historical narrative based on an extensive range of sources, this text details the evolution of traditional natural history pursuits to modern conservation science in South Africa, covering all research areas of conservation biology and all the national parks around the country. It reveals the interaction between the international context, government, learning institutions and the public that has shaped the present conservation arena. A complex story that will interest and inform not only those involved in conservation science of South Africa, but worldwide.

Jane Carruthers is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria. A pioneer of environmental history in South Africa, her book, The Kruger National Park: A Social and Political History (1995) has become a standard reference work. She has published widely on the history of conservation and science as well as on land reform in both South Africa and Australia. She has been the recipient of numerous academic prizes, including runner-up lifetime achiever for the South African National Science and Technology Forum (2015), the only historian to have received this award. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge and Honorary Fellow of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich. She is past Chair of the Academic Advisory Board of the Rachel Carson Center, past President of the International Consortium of Environmental History Organizations and past President of the Southern African Historical Society. She has authored six books, co-authored a further one, contributed chapters to 29 edited books and published 58 journal articles.

'This book certainly overturns oversimplified accounts of the country's conservation history, provides rich resources for local and overseas scholars interested in the history of conservation science in the country, and encourages South African researchers and practitioners to see their history and efforts in international and historical context.' Simon Pooley, African Journal of Range and Forage Science 'Emeritus Professor Jane Carruthers ... has added to her impressive record of environmental history with a detailed scholarly analysis of the development of scientific study and the application of science to management within the national park and conservation sector in South Africa. ... Both scientists and managers can learn much from this book.' Marc Hockings, Parks: The International Journal of Protected Areas and Conservation