In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by state nations across
the globe to eradicate poverty in all its forms, combat inequality, preserve the planet, create
sustainable economic growth and foster social inclusion (United Nations, 2015:5). Social work
is committed to contributing to sustainable development through the Global Agenda for Social
Work and Social Development (2012). When social workers promote sustainable development,
both social and environmental justice are equally important and also interrelated.
The goal of the study was to explore and describe the role of social workers in promoting
environmental justice to achieve sustainable communities from Non-governmental
organisations’ perspective in Tshwane.
The researcher used the qualitative research approach. The study was both explorative and
descriptive. The study used an instrumental case study design and the type of research was both
basic and applied. The research sample of 10 social workers from the Tshwane area was
purposively selected, and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The findings derived from the study showed that social workers in practice are aware of the
interrelatedness between communities and the physical environment, but that the environment
is not always consciously integrated in their interventions. Furthermore, social workers can
identify the need for green social work. However, although they are unsure of how to practise
green social work, some social workers are already promoting sustainability in their
communities, albeit without always realising their involvement with environmental justice. The
study concluded that there is a growing awareness amongst social workers of the
interrelatedness between social justice and environmental justice and that, in promoting social
justice, they should incorporate environmental justice. Furthermore, traditional social work
roles could be employed to promote environmental justice and sustainable communities by
adopting green social work as theoretical framework (Dominelli, 2012).
The study recommends a raised awareness of green social work amongst social workers,
interventions with a view to do community-building and present training opportunities for
social workers to equip them with the skills to practice green social work through focused
interventions. Further research on social work practice is required to shift existing social work
practice to integrated social, economic and environmental development that promote
sustainable communities. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/76743 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Nel, Sonnika |
| Contributors | Lombard, A. (Antoinette), u17220034@tuks.co.za |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Mini Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2020 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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