Hydraulic Fracturing in the Karoo: Critical Legal and Environmental Perspectives explores a broad-ranging set of questions related to proposed hydraulic fracturing or `fracking' in the Karoo. The book is multidisciplinary, with contributors including natural scientists, social scientists, and academics from the humanities, all concerned with the ways in which scientific facts and debates about fracking have been framed and given meaning. The work comprises four parts: Part 1 provides an international, legal, energy, economic, and revenue overview of the topic. Part 2 has a physio-geographic theme, with chapters on the inter-related aspects of water, geology, geo-hydrology, seismicity and biodiversity, as well as archaeological and palaeontological considerations. Part 3 focuses on public health, and sociological and humanities-related aspects, and Part 4 addresses the relevant laws, emphasising their implementation and the role of governance. The underlying theme of Hydraulic Fracturing in the Karoo: Critical Legal and Environmental Perspectives is one of caution. The book emphasises the need for collaboration between the natural and social sciences and the responsibilities of those charged with the implementation and governance of the fracking enterprise if South Africa hopes to effectively manage fracking at all.

The impact of mining is too big to ignore in a world of oversubscribed water. This is true of conventional mining as much as - or even more than - hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The legacy issues of such mining on water have not been fully appreciated, especially the irretrievable effects mining has had on communities and ecosystems around the world through its impact on water. Yet this is not an 'us-or-them' problem: the wealth, influence and technical knowledge of mining interests can and must be part of the solution. All of the contributions to this volume either consider the deficiencies of existing governance structures and the need for better ones, or explore the use of new techniques to identify and evaluate social and environmental impacts. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Water International.

The impact of mining is too big to ignore in a world of oversubscribed water. This is true of conventional mining as much as - or even more than - hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The legacy issues of such mining on water have not been fully appreciated, especially the irretrievable effects mining has had on communities and ecosystems around the world through its impact on water. Yet this is not an 'us-or-them' problem: the wealth, influence and technical knowledge of mining interests can and must be part of the solution. All of the contributions to this volume either consider the deficiencies of existing governance structures and the need for better ones, or explore the use of new techniques to identify and evaluate social and environmental impacts. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Water International.