Social Impacts on the Environment: # 1
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| Overgrazing impacting negatively on the environment |
Environmentally sustainable development is challenged
by population growth and migration and consumption patterns. The pressures created by the
dynamics of South Africa's population exacerbate
and mutually reinforce the effects of poverty and
environmental change. Natural resources are depleted by
population pressure and the need for residential land
and services. Problems also include overgrazing,
depletion of woodlands, deterioration of irrigation
systems and overfishing. Specific impacts listed here
are in response to the pressures listed in the previous
sections.
Rapid population growth is
very often viewed to be the most important threat to the
environment see for exampleEhrlich and Ehrlich, 1990;
and Smail, 1997;) as more people means an intensification of
the demands made on the finite resources of the earth. However, it is not just the numbers of people, but their consumption patterns,
that have an impact on the environment.
It has been
argued that a baby born in a developed country will use
up to 30 times more resources and produce 30 times more
waste during its lifetime than a baby in a developing country (McLaren
1993). In South Africa,
with its wide gap between rich and poor, extremes of consumption patterns exist which impact on the environment.
Three main areas for concern can be identified as a
result of this:
- Can the limited natural
resources of the earth sustain food production for a
growing population, given current technological
constraints?
- Can the environment absorb
the pollution, and waste produced by modern
technology and consumer society?
- Will the nations of the
world be able to collaborate in combatting
environmental changes occurring on a global scale,
such as global warming, ozone depletion and
desertification?
(Pebley 1998)
Water usage in South Agrica provides an
illustration of these concerns. Although an estimated 4.3
million households still do not have water services, the
increase in demand for domestic and industrial water
provision over the last four decades has been four times
greater than that of the agricultural sector, which is
currently still the largest consumer of water. The
demand for domestic water is projected to increase from
11% of the total in 1996, to 23% of the total by the
year 2030, an increase of more than 200% (Republic of
South Africa, 1998). Current projections estimate that
serious shortfalls in water provision will occur within
the next ten to twenty years. An urgent need for
empirical research on the nature and extent of the
impact of population growth on specific resources still
exists, however. (See Freshwater Systems and Resources)
The significance of migration
for the environment is in the changes brought about in
the spatial distribution of people. Urban migration may
help reduce pressure on the rural environment although
it brings a new set of pressures on the urban
environment associated with the demand for land and
services (Pebley 1998). It has been found, for instance,
that urbanisation and particularly unplanned informal
settlement negatively impacts runoff from stormwater,
concentrating flows and causing land degradation and
erosion (Department of Environmental Affairs 1992).
Assessing the impact of urbanisation on the environment
is complicated, however, as the "ecological footprints" of
urban areas may cross even international boundaries.
(See Terrestrial Ecosystems).
Uncontrolled settlement places
severe stress on service provision. The poor are often
forced to settle in areas not suitable for human
habitation where they are exposed to industrial hazards
and pollution. In environmentally sensitive areas such
as coastal zones, uncontrolled settlement may damage
environmental integrity (e.g. through overgrazing and
pollution), as well as pose severe human health threats
(e.g. through contamination of air and water). For
example, if no provision for sanitation infrastructure
is made in areas with a high water table (typically in
coastal areas), surface and groundwater pollution takes
place and may lead to the spreading of waterborne
diseases such as typhoid fever, diphtheria and cholera.
The drought of the early 1990s caused a shortage of
surface water, increased dependency on groundwater, and
numerous outbreaks of such waterborne diseases. (See Freshwater Systems and Resources).
Poor people are both agents and victims of
environmental change. Most of South Africa’s poor
live in rural areas where they lack resources and
technology and do not have access to the infrastructure
that provides economic opportunities and safeguards
health. The urgent short-term needs of the poor prompt
them to cultivate erosion-prone hillsides, clear natural
vegetation and trees to make space for houses and crops,
exploiting the soil without replacing nutrients. In
rural areas, the direct impact of poverty on the
environment includes the cultivation of marginal lands,
the depletion of water resources, the overexploitation
of trees and other plants for firewood, medicinal herbs
and food (United Nations 1993).
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| Collecting firewood |
Fourteen million of the total South African
population of 40.58 million people live in the former
homelands on soil that is to a large extent unsuitable
for farming. According to Huntley, Siegfried &
Sunter (1984)both the high population density in the
former homelands and the unbalanced distribution of
land, rather than farming methods, have contributed to
massive soil erosion. An estimated 1.2 million hectares
of pasture in marginal areas are viewed to be lost to
production because of overgrazing (Department of
Environment Affairs 1992). (See also Terrestrial Ecosystems).
Poor households are dependent on fuel burning for
energy (Figure 5.16). This has implications for their health and has
an impact on the natural environment. Even in urban
Gauteng electrified households make extensive use of
coal for cooking and heating (Van Horen et al,
1998).
Wood and paraffin are most commonly used in rural
areas. About 3 million rural households use fuelwood as
primary source of energy, consuming an estimated 7.2
million cubic metres of fuelwood per year (Huntley,
Siegfried & Sunter, 1989: 69).
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| Figure 5.12 Percentage of households using different fuels in rural areas. |
In addition, many
urban households are also dependent on fuelwood. Only an
estimated 6 million tons of wood fuel from natural
woodlands in communal areas is available annually, in
addition to another 4.2 million tons of residues from
commercial forestry. It is therefore likely that current
biomass extraction rates for energy provision are not
sustainable. The removal of trees from the landscape for
fuel has implications for the landscape, soil and food
production.
The use of coal as the primary
energy source by about 950 000 households, particularly
on the Highveld and the urban areas of Gauteng, results in specific environmental problems. Indoor burning of
coal exposes people to air pollution with serious health
impacts and is an important contributing factor to the
prevalence of respiratory diseases. Research conducted
on air pollution in the Vaal Triangle and the East Rand
show that the levels of respirable particulates exceed
the 24-hour health standard several times during winter.
However, the worst exposures to total suspended
particulates occur in coal-burning households in
unelectrified and partly electrified urban areas, and
wood-burning households in rural areas. These levels of
indoor-pollution make total suspended particulates a
mortality risk (see
Terblanche, 1995).
Providing rural households with electricity would to
some extent diminish the direct impact on the
environment. The national electrification programme aims
at raising the current 60% of households supplied with
electricity to 72% by the year 2000, in order to supply
an estimated 1.75 million households with electricity
(Republic of South Africa, 1998). As 92% of South
Africa's electricity is generated from coal, however,
the environmental effect will simply be shifted to the
electricity power stations in the Mpumalanga Highveld.
Together with the Sasol oil from coal production plants,
these power stations are major contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions that, apart from the
contribution to global warming, have very negative
effects on human health.
A rise in income and standard of living of the poor
may lead to increased pressure on the environment in
other ways, as it may lead to increased demand for
consumer goods. The production of consumer goods not
only utilises material directly or indirectly taken from
the environment, but the production process itself
generates waste and pollutants. Certain consumer goods,
such as motor cars and electrical appliances, utilise
energy sources that contribute to greenhouse gases.
Illustrative of this point is the increase in the number
of motor cars on South African roads. Although the
overall sales of new cars have dropped in recent years,
the number of cars on South Africa's roads has increased
(because older cars are not being taken off the roads).
More cars on the roads means an increase in fuel emissions into the
atmosphere. As the average age of South African motor
vehicles is estimated to be around 12 years, the country
does not share in the benefits of greater fuel
efficiency of new motor vehicles. Table 5.6
shows the steady increase in the sale of fuel over the
past five years.
|
FUEL TYPE
|
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
|
Petrol |
9 629 |
10 153 |
10 560 |
10 785 |
10 883 |
|
Diesel |
5 110 |
5 432 |
5 759 |
5 869 |
5
959 |
The fact that 80% of all freight in the country is
transported by road is an indication that the road
network plays a major role in South Africa. The
transport of people also mainly occurs by road. The
national rail company, Spoornet, has 20 319 km of rail
lines available, 16 946 km of which is electrified, as
well as an extensive infrastructure. However, although
Mainline Passenger Services of Spoornet encourages
people to make use of railway transport (such as
semi-luxurious trains), the country generally utilizes road transport.
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| The taxi industry - providing transport for thousands of commuters |
The taxi
industry, one of the largest providers of informal
employment in the country, presents problems such as
pollution, inadequate driving skills contributing to the
high number of road accidents and deaths, and
competition, which leads to violence and gangsterism.
Nevertheless, many township residents continue to prefer
taxi transport as taxis are perceived to be faster and
more user-friendly than public transport.
The building of new roads and
the maintenance of existing roads naturally place great
pressure on the environment and can lead to the
disturbance of sensitive ecosystems. Emphasis on road
transport also depends heavily on petrol, diesel, and
oil, and contributes to pollution. Countries in the
northern hemisphere have launched initiatives to
encourage the use of rail transport. The introduction of
compulsory environmental impact studies for new road
developments, however, is regarded as an important
contribution towards sustainable development.
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There is also information about the Social Environment in the following reports:
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Metropolitan reports:
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Copyright © 1999 Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism. All Rights Reserved.
Site maintained by the Directorate Environmental Information and Reporting
Last update: October 1999
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