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Ellis also stressed, that "the identities of the 1,001 members of the 1001 Club reflect quite closely Bernhard's own circle of acquaintances". According to Ellis they also revealed "the influence of
Ellis also stressed, that "the identities of the 1,001 members of the 1001 Club reflect quite closely Bernhard's own circle of acquaintances". According to Ellis they also revealed "the influence of
leading South African personalities". The available 1987 membership list included at least 60 South Africans including prominent members of the [[Afrikaner Broederbond]], who were at the top of companies which had depended on the patronage of the Broederbond, such as Johannes Hurter (chairman of [[Volkskas]]), Etienne Rousseau (chairman of the Federale mining and industrial group), and Pepler Scholtz (former managing director of the [[Sanlam|Sanlam financial group]]).<ref name="Ellis1994" />
leading South African personalities". The available 1987 membership list included at least 60 South Africans including prominent members of the [[Afrikaner Broederbond]], who were at the top of companies which had depended on the patronage of the Broederbond, such as Johannes Hurter (chairman of [[Volkskas]]), Etienne Rousseau (chairman of the Federale mining and industrial group), and Pepler Scholtz (former managing director of the [[Sanlam|Sanlam financial group]]).<ref name="Ellis1994" /> The 1001 Club was particularly popular with South African business executives during [[apartheid]], allowing them to network and do business internationally while bypassing international sanctions.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/76972/|author=George Holmes |title=Conservation's Friends in High Places: Neoliberalism, Networks, and the Transnational Conservation Elite |journal=Global Environmental Politics |volume=11 |issue=4 |year=1984 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1162/GLEP_a_00081 }}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 18:49, 15 November 2014

The 1001: A Nature Trust
Formation1970
FounderPrince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld

The 1001: A Nature Trust, whose contributors are sometimes referred to as The 1001 Club, is a financial endowment that helps fund the World Wide Fund for Nature. It was established in 1970 by the then head of the WWF, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, with help from Anton Rupert, a South African entrepreneur.[1] In the early 1970s, Charles de Haes took charge of the operation for reaching $10 million goal,[2] becoming Director General of WWF-International from 1975.[3] According to the WWF, 1001 individuals contributed to the trust which helps fund the organizations basic administration costs.[4]

The 1001 Club has given rise to various conspiracy theories in books and internet forums.[5] Reviewing allegations put forth by Raymond Bonner about the WWF in his 1993 book At the Hand of Man: Peril and Hope for Africa's Wildlife, Ann O'Hanlon of the Washington Monthly wrote: "The secret list of members includes a disproportionate percentage of South Africans, all too happy in an era of social banishment to be welcomed into a socially elite society. Other contributors include businessmen with suspect connections, including organized crime, environmentally destructive development, and corrupt African politics. Even an internal report called WWF's approach egocentric and neocolonialist."[6]

Membership of the 1001 Club is confidential. In a series of detailed and apparently well-informed articles in the British magazine Private eye details of some of the members were anonymous published in 1980 and 1981. Although the magazine is known for publications of inaccurate articles a copy of the membership list of the 1001 Club for 1987 in the possession of the historian Stephen Ellis confirmed many of the published allegations.[1]

Stephen Ellis and Gerrie ter Haar described the WWF's 1001 Club as "an association where European royalty rubs shoulders with leading industrials but also with some distinctly dubious figures from the worlds of grand corruption and secret intelligence". According to them the ostensibly non-political body WWWF gave access to elite connections of a type, that means that "membership of elite international networks and societies" enabled African leaders "to link global elites in a discretion they find congenial" as witnessed by President Mobutu’s 1001 Club membership. In this context Ellis and ter Haar regard as key attraction of secret societies that "membership provides opportunities for doing political deals unobserved by the mass of the population and for forming bonds of solidarity that go beyond the ordinary" and state that "secrecy binds people together".[7]

Ellis also stressed, that "the identities of the 1,001 members of the 1001 Club reflect quite closely Bernhard's own circle of acquaintances". According to Ellis they also revealed "the influence of leading South African personalities". The available 1987 membership list included at least 60 South Africans including prominent members of the Afrikaner Broederbond, who were at the top of companies which had depended on the patronage of the Broederbond, such as Johannes Hurter (chairman of Volkskas), Etienne Rousseau (chairman of the Federale mining and industrial group), and Pepler Scholtz (former managing director of the Sanlam financial group).[1] The 1001 Club was particularly popular with South African business executives during apartheid, allowing them to network and do business internationally while bypassing international sanctions.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Stephen Ellis (1994). "Of elephants and men: politics and nature conservation in South Africa" (PDF). Journal of Southern African Studies. 20 (1): 53–69. doi:10.1080/03057079408708386.
  2. ^ David Hughes-Evans (1984). "Dedication to Charles De Haes" (PDF). The Environmentalist. 4 (1): 2–4. doi:10.1007/BF02337107.
  3. ^ "WWF International Director Generals 1962-present". WWF International. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  4. ^ "WWF int the 70's". WWF International. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  5. ^ Ramutsindela, Maano; Spierenburg, Marja; Wels, Harry (2013). "The South—North Connections". Sponsoring Nature: Environmental Philanthropy for Conservation. Routledge. pp. 47, 49. ISBN 9781134040346. Retrieved August 24, 2014. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Ann O'Hanlon (1993), "At the Hand of Man: Peril and Hope for Africa's Wildlife", book reviews, Washington Monthly, 25 (5): 60(subscription required)
  7. ^ Ellis, Stephen; ter Haar, Gerrie (2004). Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-19-522017-X.
  8. ^ George Holmes (1984). "Conservation's Friends in High Places: Neoliberalism, Networks, and the Transnational Conservation Elite". Global Environmental Politics. 11 (4): 1–21. doi:10.1162/GLEP_a_00081.

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