Environmentalism of the North and Environmentalism of the South

Abstract

What causes the political identity “environmentalist” to be turned on in some people but not others? A standard answer relies on the concept of post-materialism. Once people meet basic human needs, ambitions turn to non-material pursuits. By this logic, there should be few environmentalists in the Global South, but anyone who has spent time there knows this is not the case. This study focuses on four environmental groups spread throughout Ghana’s northern regions. These groups focus on electronic waste, ecotourism, afforestation, and alternative livelihoods to galamsey. We interviewed 79 activists to ask what environmental issue turned them into environmental activists. For comparison, an identical question is asked of 52 activists from Accra-based organizations with more robust international connections and funding. We find significant correlations. The higher their level of formal education and the more well-off financially, the more inclined activists are to identify larger, more abstract answers, such as climate change. At the other end of the spectrum, respondents without as many resources cite local socio-economic issues such as farming, irrigation, and education. These findings point to diverse conceptualizations of environmentalism. Though patterns show up within regions, they also overlap with them. Environmentalists residing in northern Ghana reflect the region’s relative poverty and socio-economic vulnerability to environmental conditions. Though we find lower levels of post-materialist environmentalism there, we find ample levels of environmentalism of a different nature with its own priorities and motivations.