Abstract
M.A.
Geography as a discipline has undergone many different metamorphoses, and has experienced a turbulent and interesting past in its search for identity. Claims are made that geographers put great emphasis on humans and their interaction with their
environment. It is therefore widely accepted that Geography is greatly dominated in
its teachings by an emphasis on Environmental Management. It is therefore also accepted that South African geographers will participate actively in this practice, and that it will be reflected, distinctively, in their scientific publications.
This thesis seeks to examine the validity of the above assumptions. Thus the problem of whether or not the publications by South African geographers are environmentally orientated was surveyed and reviewed for the period between 1996 and 2001.
In order to do this it was necessary to undertake an extensive review of all databases,
which contained publications, as well as to obtain web-site information on the
lecturers at the individual selected universities. Questionnaires were also sent out to the different departments and some personal interviews were conducted. The researcher had to refine the search to an in-depth analyses of only eight of the twenty one Geography departments at South African universities, based on the availability of information.
The review reveals the current diverse nature of Environmental Geography in South Africa. In some instances papers have been written that remain within the boun-daries of its sub-discipline, such as the Geomorpological papers. They did however prove to incorporate an application to the field of Environmental Management which could not be ignored, and hence they had to be of environmental relevance.
On further inspection it was found that there is an increasing awareness amongst all South African geographers for greater integration to solve problems holistically. More environmentally orientated papers were published towards the end of the study period under review. The survey conducted of the various environmentally orientated
papers also revealed the broad and diverse sub-discipline that Geography can cover from an environmental perspective.
It can be said that there is a growing trend amongst South African geographers to publish papers that are environmentally orientated.
Whether the number (and emphasis that is placed on environmental issues) of publications is large enough, still remains to be seen. It was established that geographers are still focussing more on their specialised areas of interest, in their research. They are still not doing enough to promote an understanding of the environment. The researcher had to conclude that it is disheartening and disappointing to realise what amount of growth is still needed in the emphasis of the area of Environmental Management. Some serious work still lays ahead for geographers and the content of their publications in this respect.