Resource Africa and the San and Khoi South African Community:
the fight for justice, recognition, and sustainability
By: Lianna Tosetti
Post Date: April 2022
The San and Khoi community, also known as the Khoisan, ˈkɔɪsɑːn, or Khoe-Sān, are an Indigenous group located in African countries such as Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and other South-Western Cape regions. An ancient hunter gather and herder society, the Khoisan peoples are of Nomadic heritage and composed of a variety of splinter groups of various dialects and vibrant values. Despite their settler status in the first century, the Khoisan have faced numerous and threatening pressures to their autonomy and identity. Colonised by Dutch forces in the 19th Century, the San and Khoi peoples were further oppressed during the Apartheid Era. Despite dwindling numbers, the Indigenous community is still active and fighting today for recognition of their culture.
Resource Africa is an organisation that works with Indigenous African communities to amplify their historically side-lined voices and to champion local conservation strategy. Leslé Jansen is the South African CEO of the organisation and has been an intrinsic player in aiding and centralising the struggles faced by the San and Khoi local communities onto the national and global agenda. She kindly conducted an interview with Incomindios UK to allow for a greater insight into Resource Africa’s work and the challenges that face the San and Khoi peoples. A continuously marginalised and negatively stereotyped group, the San and Khoi societies have faced considerable barriers in their efforts for recognition and acquisition of official rights in South Africa. Exploited and enslaved by European forces in the colonial era and further excluded in the Apartheid period, the San and Khoi still feel the legacy of their oppressive past today. Jansen discusses the limited institutional and cultural progress to empower this group. Although the 2020 Traditional Khoi-San Leadership Bill recognised some communal land rights, she notes how human rights standards are yet to be met. San and Khoi languages are still denied official status and land monopolisation by white elites endures and dominates. Furthermore, the group remains to be defined in broad racialised categories and lacks constitutional national recognition. Despite the 1994 Land Restitution Act, in which the opportunity for reclaiming lost Indigenous land arose, Jansen contends that the policy has been ineffective and minimal. Only a small number of people were aware of the policy and have received some form of restitution. She sadly denotes that resolving the land claim will take ‘well over a hundred years.’ Evidently, legislation has failed to create impactful, powerful change and unequal, discriminatory systems and structures continue in South Africa.
Figure 1 - Khoisan hunter gatherers in Namibia - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/12/22/371672272/the-khoisan-once-were-kings-of-the-planet-what-happened?t=1648651374878
In unstable, contemporary times, San and Khoi communities are meeting further challenges. South Africa is already one of the most economically unequal countries globally. Jansen contends that the onset of COVID-19 has exacerbated these existing structural and economic issues. The geographical remoteness of the San and Khoi, as well as their lack of official recognition as a formal community, has resulted in difficulty accessing medical relief. Despite growing trust regarding vaccination rollouts, rural communities remain disproportionately affected. Additionally, with pandemic related food shortages and loss of tourist and local business income during lockdown, these groups have turned to localised hunting as a form of survival. Traditionally hunting is a strong part of Khoisan identity, particularly of the San, and many rely on the industry for their livelihoods. It provides jobs, nutrition, and wealth. Nevertheless, western politicians and celebrities have naively condemned San and Khoi groups for this “criminal” practise without considering its necessity. This has led to state disciplinary hearings and court cases. Resource Africa have been active in combatting these accusations and promoting sustainable hunting strategies. Viewing conservation as a development strategy, Resource Africa utilise community based natural resource management to ensure that local Indigenous groups sensitively monitor resources. Jansen discusses the need to move beyond eurocentric ideas of land and to consider cultural relativity. African’s traditional perceive of land as collective in nature and nomadic rather than western rigid ideas which focus on individualising property and establishing areas of control. Jansen calls for the need to start sharing resources and land more effectively. To secure South Africa’s environmental future, there must be joint management across social, economic and political lines. Local groups must be empowered as the frontline conservationists and their reliance on hunting must be culturally respected and understood as a way to avoid poverty rather than criticised.
Figure 2 - Traditional Khoi hunters in South Africa - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-36516241
Resource Africa has employed other bottom-up and rights-based approaches to enact sustainable development, improve rural livelihood and combat resource scarcity. The Bio Cultural Community Protocol has been a vital tool which allows San and Khoi communities to advocate who they are and how they are uniquely governed and organised. This importantly allows an articulation of cultural complexity and provides protocol for external actors seeking consent for land use. Resource Africa also aid communities in building regional monitoring systems to collect data and make informed decisions about resource management. Therefore, the organisation employs a variety of strategies to protect local ways of life. According to Jansen, these initiatives have been considerably effective, creating a footprint in a considerably short space of time. Moreover, most reports from international bodies, such as the UN, provide a clear consensus that where communities are managing land and resources, there has been a 19% increase in biodiversity. Evidently, local and culturally sensitive policy is pivotal.
Figure 3 - The importance of family and community to the San and Khoi - Martin Harvey/www.kimballstock.com,
Furthermore, it is important to note how there is a wide array of differing and distinct San and Khoi cultures in South Africa, as well as multiple local councils championing their causes. Rather than this vast network creating difficulties in coordinating, Jansen argues it has been ‘inspirational’ to see groups coming together. Cooperation, collaboration, and communication are essential tools in the universal struggle to protect livelihoods and the environment. Jansen notes there is an ‘unspoken recognition’ across communities to determinately stand together and provide a service to the world. Resource Africa, for instance, recently signed a memorandum with the Community Leader Network of Southern Africa, allowing for more active local participation. In terms of the future, groups must remain optimistic and strong. With unprecedented times ahead with climate change, Jansen contends that there is no choice but to support Indigenous groups who are the front-line conservationists and pillars of biodiversity. She eloquently discusses how Indigenous groups are conserving the last of what’s left of the natural world. They therefore hold the knowledge that will help us globally navigate future challenges. Resource Africa is committed to amplifying this struggle and in supporting their movement for recognition and rights. No doubt, there is still an ongoing fight ahead.
Please visit and support the work of Resource Africa here: https://resourceafrica.net/
Resource Africa’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theresourceafricanetwork/
Resource Africa’s Twitter page: https://twitter.com/africa_resource
Resource Africa’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/resource_africa/
Bibliography:
Resource Africa, (2020), https://resourceafrica.net/ accessed 30th March 2022.
Interview with Leslé Jansen, 15th March 2022.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/12/22/371672272/the-khoisan-once-were-kings-of-the-planet-what-happened?t=1648651374878 accessed 30th March 2022.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36516241 accessed 30th March 2022.
https://www.facebook.com/thekhoisanpeople/photos/2232419110125569 accessed 30th March 2022.