Abstract This article examines why mining-affected communities in the Gauteng City-Region appear to prioritize livelihoods over environmental wellbeing, and why this framing is itself a product of the exercise of power. While pollution is about land relations, generating evidence for its existence is political, and exposure to pollution is unevenly distributed. The article draws on contamination […]

Abstract Toxic forms of resource extraction produce far-reaching environmental transformations, which shape the everyday lives of marginalized communities across Africa’s natural resource enclaves. While the root causes of ‘toxic extractivism’ have been traced to colonial histories of capitalist expansion in Africa, this article examines how these historical legacies have endured in contemporary times and reproduced […]

Abstract This article explores “Township Environmentalism” to understand environmentalism’s history and development in South African townships, focusing on Black residents’ experiences in Johannesburg’s mine dump communities. Using oral history interviews and photographs, the research uncovers diverse environmental practices developed by Diepkloof residents to combat mine dump dust and other environmental challenges. Informed by deep historical […]

Abstract This article takes to heart the special issue’s call to decentering the conversation around multiple African AnthropoScenes. It proposes collaborative theorization of African environmental knowledge encounters in climate change and disaster adaptation. With the 2023 mid‐term review of the Sendai Framework, knowledge practices have been re‐confirmed as a priority area of Disaster Risk Reduction […]

Abstract This article explores the complex interconnections between tantalum extraction, global violence, and environmental degradation, focusing on Congolese mining communities. Tantalum, a conflict mineral integral to modern technologies and aerospace industries, epitomizes the intricate link between resource extraction and geopolitical tensions. We trace the tantalum supply chain from artisanal mines in the Democratic Republic of […]