Including the Khoisan for a more inclusive Blue Economy in South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article proposes that including the Khoisan will produce a more inclusive Blue Economy in South Africa. Presently, economistic perspectives of the ocean, low regard for knowledge pluralism and historical stereotyping of Khoisan peoples, risk their further exclusion from ocean management in South Africa. Drawing on secondary data on Khoisan history and ethnography in South Africa, the article indicates the potential contribution of the Khoisan to South Africa’s Blue Economy, specifically, their contribution to a holistic and integrated environmental ethos. The authors also argue that South Africa is headed in the right direction by being a signatory to key UN conventions on heritage and the rights of indigenous peoples. However, government has yet to realize its commitments to the inclusion of the Khoisan in its ocean management efforts. The discussion has implications beyond South Africa, as it seeks to interrogate the place of First Peoples in global ocean management regimes.