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"Acknowledgements" [2019] ELECD 2511; in Field, Tracy-Lynn (ed), "State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) vi

Book Title: State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability

Editor(s): Field, Tracy-Lynn

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section Title: Acknowledgements

Number of pages: 2

Extract:

Acknowledgements
The seed for this book was planted in a confrontation between the `suits' and
the activists on a street outside the Cape Town Convention Centre, South
Africa in February 2014. The international Mining Indaba was taking place
at this venue, while the attendees of the `Alternative Mining Indaba' had con-
vened a short distance away. Taking part in the street march to the Convention
Centre, I observed the reactions of both sets of protagonists: Fury, outrage,
anger and frustration on the side of the activists, shouting and dancing in the
street; indifference, irritation and bemused concern on the part of the mining
executives and their supporters, as they watched impassively. The rift between
the two sides seemed intractable. `How unproductive,' I thought, `and how sad
that we can't find a common language.' And so began a five-year journey into
the languages we speak around mining, development and sustainability, and
their translation into legal and economic concepts.
I am indebted to a wide range of people and institutions who have con-
tributed to my intellectual growth and exposure to the contradictions of
the mining industry over more than a decade. In particular, I must thank:
Melissa Fourie and Catherine Horsfield of the Centre for Environmental
Rights; Mariette Liefferink and (formerly) Koos Pretorius of the Federation
for a Sustainable Environment; Lisa Chamberlain, Louis Snyman and Robert
Krause of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies; Dr Caroline Digby and Ingrid
Watson of the Centre for Sustainability of Mining and Industry; ...