Download Raitt Some Key Environmental Issues in South Africa

Some Key Environmental Issues in South Africa
By Gwen Raitt
Student Number: 2774299
This essay identifies some key environmental issues in South Africa. It is unlikely to
be comprehensive because the importance of various issues depends on the
individual’s perspective e.g. Zackie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign is
likely to consider AIDS more important than biodiversity loss. In my opinion, many
of the environmental issues in this essay are at least partially the result of bad
governance and lack of political will.
Many of these issues are interrelated with each other e.g. mining causing water
pollution (Naicker et al. 2003). I have grouped the selected environmental issues into
biophysical and socioeconomic categories though many of the issues overlap.
Biophysical Issues
In many cases, the reason for biophysical environmental issues is that the resources
are public goods and thus undervalued in the economy (Goodstein 2002).
Water
South Africa is water stressed (i.e. there are 1 000—1 699 m3 of water per person per
year) and is predicted to be short of water by 2050 (Clarke and King 2004). In the
report, South Africa: Initial National Communication under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, it is predicted that South Africa will use
most of its freshwater resources in the next few decades without considering the
impacts of climate change (Government of South Africa 2000). This means that
water resources need to be carefully managed. The excessive use (at rates greater
than the recharge rate) of groundwater could reduce the availability of surface water
(CNdV africa 2005).
Water use by agriculture, households and industry results in pollution which increases
the costs of ensuring clean and disease-free water (Clarke and King 2004). Pollution
reaches the oceans through pipes (e.g. sewage outfalls and storm water outlets) and
waterways and contributes to biodiversity loss and other coastal problems (CNdV
africa 2005).
Biodiversity
Habitat destruction and fragmentation are the biggest threat to South Africa’s
biodiversity. Invasive alien species are the second biggest threat to South Africa’s
biodiversity (CNdV africa 2005).
My experience of municipal workers in Penhill, Eersterivier is that if it is natural, it
must be destroyed. During my secondary education, I prevented the brush cutting of a
small patch of indigenous vegetation on the public open space next to my home. The
municipal worker pointed to a Protea scolymocephala (planted) and more-or-less said
“What about that?” A more recent example is arriving home from Stellenbosch to
find the entire open space diagonally across from my home had been mowed on the
excuse that it was a fire hazard. A fire break would have been quite adequate
especially since roads provide fire breaks on three sides and on the side without a road
there is a drainage ditch a few metres from the household boundaries. The public
open space has not yet fully recovered from that mowing.
Declining Fisheries
There are two aspects to the issue of declining fisheries: firstly, the decline in fish
stocks and hence fishing quotas and secondly the allocation of fishing quotas
(Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism 1996, Marine Resources Service
2005, Visser 2006).
Non-renewable resources
Mining is not sustainable as the resources are depleted by the process Goodstein
(2002) contends that this is not the case if we somehow use created capital to offset
reductions in natural capital. The evidence of Eskom’s budget for renewable
electricity generation (Gosling 2007) suggests that such an offset is unlikely in South
Africa.
Mining causes acidification in nearby water sources (Naicker et al. 2003).
Mining also prevents agriculture or urban development and in turn, urban
development may prevent mining (CNdV africa 2005).
Air pollution
South Africa generates 50% of the air pollution on the African continent. Vehicular
transport and electricity generation are two major contributors to air pollution in
South Africa (CNdV africa 2005).
Global Warming
The potential impacts of global warming are likely to exacerbate existing issues (e.g.
water and biodiversity) and need to be considered in planning for the future (Erasmus
et al. 2002, Bomhard et al. 2005, CNdV africa 2005). The Stern Report indicates that,
without action, global warming will eventually harm the economy (Stern 2006).
Socioeconomic Issues
Education
South Africa claims to follow an outcomes-based education system at the level of
primary and secondary education but this is not visible in the schools – even those
with adequate resources (Raitt 2005 and pers. comm. R.R. Raitt). In the poorer areas,
schools may lack: infrastructure and/or the infrastructure may be in poor repair;
resources and competent teachers. For such schools, overcrowding in the classroom
(i.e. too large classes) is frequent and teacher absenteeism may be a problem (De
Jager and Ferreira 2004, Pretorius and Machet 2004). The fact that these problems
exist indicates unequal allocation of resources by the government.
At the tertiary education level, there are problems with increasing numbers of students
admitted to university that are inadequately prepared for tertiary education –
indicating deficiencies in secondary education (Linkonyane and Sanders 2000). In
South Africa, English is a frequent medium for tertiary instruction. Many students are
not first language English speakers and do not have sufficient skill in English to be
able to understand the content they are taught. A final problem in tertiary education is
that many lecturers lack teaching experience and/or knowledge of learning theories.
This means that they are unable to effectively convey knowledge and skills to the
students (Jacobs 2005).
AIDS and Population Growth
AIDS (Acquired Imunodeficiency Syndrome) occurrence was estimated at 13% in
2001 and projected to grow. AIDS affects the economically active 25—45 years-old
age bracket most which results in the number of orphans and aged people requiring
government assistance increasing. Population growth will be drastically reduced
(Arndt and Lewis 2001). The U.S. Census Bureau (2007) estimates South Africa’s
population at July 2007 as 43.998 billion but their projection for 2050 is only 33.003
billion.
The unskilled have the highest incidence of AIDS (Arndt and Lewis 2000). The
impacts of AIDS include a decline in savings, increased medical expenditure,
decreased productivity and changes in the structure e.g. a movement away from
sectors requiring unskilled labour. On a macroeconomic level, AIDS has a negative
impact on GDP and does not reduce unemployment in the unskilled/semi-skilled
sector (Arndt and Lewis 2001).
Electricity
There are two aspects regarding the electricity supply in South Africa at present. The
first is generation capacity and the second is the type of electricity generation.
Personal experience of some of the unplanned power outages of the last two years (at
least) suggests that electricity supply in South Africa is inadequate. My personal
experience is that the quality of Eskom’s service has declined in the last few years.
Eskom plans to bring three coal-fired power stations back into service to increase its
capacity (Eskom Undated b.). It is also in the process of building more power
stations: one new coal-fired station has been approved, another is awaiting approval,
a pebble bed nuclear reactor is planned near Koeberg, two peak time gas turbines and
a peak time pump storage station are planned (CNdV africa 2005, The Sunday Times
2007).
The principle form of electricity generation used by Eskom is coal (ten working
power stations) (Eskom Undated b.). This form of electricity generation contributes
to the air pollution issues in this country. Eskom also has Koeberg Nuclear Power
Station, six hydroelectric power stations, two gas turbines and two pumped storage
stations (Eskom Undated b.). Koeberg generates nuclear waste to add to the country’s
waste management problems and the gas turbines contribute to air pollution. The
Palmiet Pumped Storage Station is situated in the Koegelberg Mountains and
destroyed a relatively pristine natural environment. In my opinion, it should never
have been allowed to be built.
It is noticeable that none of Eskom’s base load power stations are using renewable
energy sources (Eskom Undated b.). Eskom does have an experimental wind
generation scheme (Eskom Undated a.) but it has not budgeted for much expansion of
its renewable electricity generation capacity (R4.5 million vs R6 million for nuclear
energy) (Gosling 2007).
Transport
There are two aspects to the issue of transport: firstly, the form of it takes and
secondly, the placement and state of the infrastructure required for transport (e.g.
roads and railways).
The number of private vehicles in South Africa is growing. This is causing
congestion problems and contributing a large portion of the country’s carbon
emissions (CNdV africa 2005). Widening the roads will not improve the congestion
in the medium or long term (Brown 2001, CNdV africa 2005). The country’s public
transport is inefficient, subsidised and unsafe. The capacity of all forms of public
transport during off-peak hours is too great (CNdV africa 2005) and during peak
hours (at least for rail transport), too small (pers. obs. 2006)
The road network is deteriorating. Bypass roads with accompanying service stations
lead to a decrease in the economic activity of small towns (CNdV africa 2005).
Waste management
The main factors involved in generating increasing amounts of waste are more
production of goods, economic growth and increasing population (CNdV africa
2005).
Inadequate waste management contributes to pollution (Clarke and King 2004, CNdV
africa 2005). Sewage systems in various provinces are failing resulting in water
pollution and potentially causing health problems. The money allocated for repairs is
inadequate (CNdV africa 2005).
Handling wastes from informal settlements is a particular problem owing to the lack
of infrastructure and possibly the location of the settlement (e.g. avoiding river
pollution with an informal settlement on its banks is difficult). Weekly (at least)
rubbish collection is available to 55% of South Africans (CNdV africa 2005).
Solid waste may be incinerated or sent to landfill sites. Landfills are classified
according to the type of waste (general or hazardous), their size and the chance that
significant amounts of leaching will occur. The location of new landfill sites is
difficult (CNdV africa 2005).
Tourism
Tourism affects the environment both culturally and physically. The negative impacts
are the result of accommodation and infrastructure development and the tourists
themselves (Blangy and Mehta 2006). Tourism may be negatively affected by the
appearance and/or location of development (CNdV africa 2005).
The International Ecotourism Society has defined ecotourism as travel to natural areas
that is responsible and contributes to the conservation of the area and the well-being
of the local communities (Blangy and Mehta 2006). Miller (2002) provides useful
guidelines for assessing the sustainability of offered nature-based tourism packages.
Blangy and Mehta (2006) indicate that the Phinda Private Game Reserve near St.
Lucia in South Africa fulfils the requirements for classification as an ecotourism
operation.
Unemployment
Unemployment was estimated at 25.5% in 2006 (Wikipedia Contributors 2007a). The
highest unemployment is in the unskilled/semi-skilled sector (more than 50% in 1999)
while the skilled sector had more than 20% unemployment in 1999. Total available
employment (formal and informal sectors) in the unskilled and semi-skilled sector had
declined to 92% of the 1970 level in 1999 (Arndt and Lewis 2001). Arndt and Lewis
(2001) show real income increases in 1999 relative to 1970. Highly skilled people
were receiving about 90% of the 1970 level of income, skilled workers’ income was
at 110% of the 1970 level and unskilled/semiskilled workers’ income had increased
250% relative to the 1970 level. They concluded that unskilled and semi-skilled
workers have priced themselves out of the market (Arndt and Lewis 2001).
Unemployment due to the wages being above the market value may be caused by
government (by instituting laws pertaining to minimum wages and/or firing of
employees) and/or union action (Wikipedia Contributors 2007b). I think that in South
Africa both of these factors play a role (as partially demonstrated by the strikes this
year).
Unemployment leads to poverty and increases crime and suicide. It allows employers
to pay low wages and minimal benefits (hence the need for minimum wage laws).
The cost of losing employment increases because the chances of finding other
employment are low (Wikipedia Contributors 2007b).
Poverty
Poverty for the purposes of this essay refers to a combination of material need and
endless lack of wealth (Wikipedia Contributors 2007c). The two variations are not
automatically synonymous.
Poverty measures may be absolute, e.g. those living on under $1 per day (purchasing
power parity) or relative, e.g. measuring income inequality (Wikipedia Contributors
2007d). South Africa is estimated to have 34.1% of its population living less than $2
per day (purchasing power parity) and 10.7% of the population living on less than $1
per day (Wikipedia Contributors 2007e). The rate of income inequality in South
Africa is among the highest in the world (Wikipedia Contributors 2007f). In 2000, it
was estimated that 50% of South Africa’s population lived below the national poverty
line (Wikipedia Contributors 2007e). In contrast, there are three billionaires in South
Africa (Wikipedia Contributors 2007g).
The poor consider the following, amongst other factors, as characteristic of poverty:
uncertain employment, restricted skills, physical restrictions, no security and abuse
from the officialdom (Wikipedia Contributors 2007c).
Crime
Crime in South Africa is comparable to developing countries rather than developed
countries. Carjacking, rape, assault and murder (especially the murder of farmers) are
among the forms of crime known to be a problem in South Africa (Wikipedia
Contributors 2007h).
A good summary of why crime is increasing in South Africa is Charles Nqakula’s (the
Minister of Safety and Security) notorious comment that those who grumble about
crime in South Africa should stop whinging and emigrate (gist of comment found in
Wikipedia Contributors (2007h) but also personally remembered from news
broadcasts at the time).
Visible signs of the crime in South Africa are the proliferation of gated communities
and private security companies (Wikipedia Contributors 2007h).
Conclusions
The impact of many of these issues could be drastically reduced by appropriate
government action. Such action is, in many cases, unlikely for the foreseeable future.
This is in part due to the anthropocentric and amoral nature of economics (Goodstein
2002).
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