David Fig is a South African environmental sociologist,

political economist Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour mar ...

, and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. He holds a PhD from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, with his thesis titled
The political economy of South-South relations: The case of South Africa and Latin America
and specialises in questions of energy, trade, biodiversity, and corporate responsibility. His recent books include ''Staking their Claims: Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in South Africa'' (UKZN Press, 2007) and ''Uranium Road: Questioning South Africa's Nuclear Direction'' (Jacana, 2005), which was turned into a 53-minute documentary film in 2007.Lutz Mez,

Mycle Schneider Mycle Schneider (pronounced ''Michael'', /ˈmaɪkəl/) (born 1959 in Cologne) is a Paris-based nuclear energy consultant and anti-nuclear activist. He is the lead author of '' The World Nuclear Industry Status Reports''. He has advised members o ...

and Steve Thomas (Eds.) (2009). ''International Perspectives of Energy Policy and the Role of Nuclear Power'', Multi-Science Publishing Co. Ltd, p. 590. Fig chairs the board of Biowatch South Africa, which is concerned with

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

, and works closely with various

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justic ...

non-government organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

. He has previously been executive director of the Group for Environmental Monitoring in Johannesburg, a senior lecturer in sociology at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

, and a board member of

South African National Parks South African National Parks (SANParks) is the body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks. SANParks was formed in 1926, and currently manages 19 parks consisting of , over 3% of the total area of South Africa. Many parks offer ...

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people South African sociologists Environmental sociologists South African anti–nuclear power activists South African environmentalists Sustainability advocates {{environmentalist-stub

See also

References