The water challenge in South Africa is where water is seen to be a scarce resource. South Africa is seen as a dry country as water than falls evaporates soon after. The majority of the country is made up of ground aquifers which means that the water that falls does not seep deep into the ground but rather runs of it or evaporates. Poor water management also leads to water wastage and there are not enough policies set in place to make sure people use water efficiently. Economic activity is seen to use a very large amount of water adding to the water scarcity problem. In addition, water needs to be recycled so that it is not lost and the growing population makes access to water extremely difficult. Electricity forma are very vital role in the development of society and ensuring that needs are met. With the political system and inequality, electricity has become difficult to obtain. Many live in poverty and poor infrastructure causes inequality as well as corruption playing a role in this. With economic development comes more usage in electricity. Lack of the access in modern energy services due to poverty makes energy access a large social issue. Lack of access to clean energy also has health risks as things such as indoor air pollution causes health problems such as pneumonia. Social justice is justice that deals with fairness and equality in society. There is equal distribution of things such as wealth. On the other hand environmental social justice is a type of social justice that deals with equality in the environment and focuses on creating equity regarding the environment. Wetlands can alleviate poverty by providing the poor with essential water supply that has been filtered by the wetlands. South Africa is a country that has a scarce water supply. Water is not always used sustainably and inequality causes people to not have equal access to clean water. The capitalist system and growing economy also play a part in water wastage and measures need to be implemented to ensure the sustainable use of water. It needs to be recycled instead of wasting it. This because of the very high positioned ground aquifers cause the water to evaporate instead of seeping into the ground, in turn causing a loss in ground water which is already scarce.

The first environmental narrative is the conservation narrative view. This narrative originated in the Apartheid era and has an authoritarian approach where the people within a certain area are removed from it. This is to protect the land and conserve it because of communities that destroy the environment. This leads to things such as national parks being created to ensure the survival of animals in the wild especially endangered species. These areas also bring in money in the form of tourism helping to maintain the conservation. The second narrative is the economic narrative where the environment is seen as a commodity and capitalist use it to make profits. The untapped resources can be used to make profit. The third narrative is the non-state actor view where outside interest plays a part in looking after the environment and making sure that it is preserved. Although it does welcome economic growth it does so in a way that economic growth can take place without harming the environment. The last narrative is the local community view where the relationship between people and the environment are shaped by social and political factors. In the time of apartheid communities were removed from their sometimes so that it could be used as farmland. Some individuals living under poverty rely on the environment to survive such as rivers and dams. The local people look after the environment because they need it to survive and hence, the environment is in no way endangered of being destroyed. With regards to these narratives we can see the relationship between people and the environment. Now we use the environment for profit and mostly people are excluded from the environment in South Africa. The environment is cherished and looked after but also used in some aspects for its resources to better to better lives. The two main discourses in South Africa are namely the Sustainable development and the Environmental and social justice discourses. The Sustainable development discourse focuses on development without harming the environment so that the generations to come will have their needs met as well so that. It forges a healthy relationship between the environment and society so that there is no exploitation. It links to policies in South Africa to ensure that our wildlife and environment is preserved and protected from exploitation and destruction. The Environmental and social justice discourse focuses on groups and individuals being treated fairly and that everyone has equal access to the resources the environment has to offer. The environment needs to be looked after so that the people who rely on it for survival are protected and that inequality does not occur.

Buckle shows in his theory that the environment is essential for humans to flourish. However, with good climate comes a lot of food and also more reproduction. This growing population puts strain on resources and the land becomes over cultivated. Famine sets in people struggle to survive. Other countries flourish because they learn to use their environment and be innovative with technological advances. Some areas of the world are not as fertile, but ways are made to make sure there is enough food. The only issue is that with overpopulation, the land is stripped of its nutrients and there is simply not enough land to feed a whole population the size of America. There is simply not enough land to feed all Americans so commercial farming takes place in tight spaces for animals to breed and be slaughtered for food. In South Africa the population is growing, and we find that resources such as water is becoming scarce especially in dry land areas with large population sizes. With regards to Huntington, the environment affects human civilizations in a way that climate change can cause the fall of civilizations for example Ancient Rome. He focused on the correlation between climate and intelligence where colder climates result in more of a demand for forward thinking and innovation to produce enough food. Certain areas in a country have different climates just as in South Africa. The Western cape is ideal for wineries while Kwazulu-Natal is suitable to growing foods such a sugar cane that is used to make sugar. Hence, this theory is useful in South African context because the warmer climate makes it easier to grow food with a great fertile land. Moving onto Herbert Spencer, he focuses on the notion of natural selection and that humans are in conflict with other species for survival. An example of this could be killing predators so that there is more animals available for humans to eat. This leads to the extinction of species and also people overuse the environment and kills species like elephants thinking they have special properties. His affects the food chain and eventually affect people and this can be stopped by finding sustainable ways to get food. With Emile Durkheim, structural functionalism is focused on where we function in a way to adapt to environmental changes. Max Weber speaks on the struggle of finding natural resources and the conflict that arises when the rich take control of the resources such as control over irrigation. These people have the money to invest for maximum efficiency. He also focuses on the fact that expanse of technology causes more resource use such as power stations using nuclear power and that this can lead to nuclear waste. This can get into water systems and cause harm to many. In South Africa the scarce resources can be preserved by moving towards alternative methods of getting power and also irrigating. Two forms of rationalization is looked at namely, substantive and formal rationality. Substantive rationality focuses on beliefs and values that revolve around people’s choices in making ends meet, and formal rationality focuses on rationalizing based on numbers and calculations. Substantive rationalism has the notion of not taking the impact on the natural environment into account. It is all about profits and in South Africa many rationalize what they are doing and do it all for profit not thinking about the impact it can have on the environment, and in turn the impact on people. This can be fixed by overthrowing the capitalist system. Moving to Marx, capitalism causes individuals and the environment not to be taken care of and workers get forced to move to the cities in search for work and this causes overpopulations and heavy pollution from city areas. The ground gets stripped of its natural nutrients in the name of profit. In South Africa it has been seen that many poor individuals move into cities in search of work and that is one of the reasons squatter camps are set up. They get taken advantage.

There are multiple reasons for human related environmental problems namely ozone depletion leading to climate change, destruction in natural habitats, adverse effects von marine life, and decline in freshwater. With The depletion of the ozone layer leading to climate change, human activities cause a very large amount of harmful gases to be emitted into the atmosphere breaking down the ozone layer. These gases can be carbon dioxide, burning of fossil fuels, emitting of chlorofluorocarbons, and also even methane gas from the large cattle farming occurring globally. With a growing pollution more demand is set on food and transportation hence, more fossil fuels need to be burnt and more cattle need to be farmed. These cause a rise in temperature because the ozone is unable to absorb harmful UV radiation and protect the earth. With the destruction of natural habitats, forests, wetlands, coral reefs, the ocean bottom, are destroyed and reasoning for this is to make space for the growing human populations, to free up land for agriculture and cattle farming, and also human activities cause climate change. With farming constantly, artificial fertilizers are used, and this leads to it being washed into dams and rivers which then case overgrowth of plants starving the fish. Chemicals and toxins find their way into rivers which lead to the ocean and cause ocean dead zones. Overfishing cause fish populations to drop and therefore, natural predators starve and the food chain is affected. Coral reefs get damaged in the process as well. With the rise in temperatures the ice caps in the poles melt causing loss of habitats for animals such as polar bears. Adverse effects on marine life are caused by overfishing and not only that but in the process of fishing, fish that are not the targeted species for fishing get caught in the nets. This affects the fish population which affects the food chain and essentially, the ocean environment. Fish populations are not given the chance to recover. With regards to decline in fresh water, people overuse water with growing populations and the land cannot sustain so many inhabitants. Pollution causes fresh water to become contaminated, flood cause water to be lost because natural sources of water are destroyed by storms, and rising temperatures cause drought. In South Africa the growing population, coal mines, and industrialisation lead to air pollution which contributes to the ozone layer depleting. Natural habitats are destroyed by the growing population and need for more space for cities and urban areas in South Africa. Misuse of the land with overgrazing causes erosion in areas. Industrialisation causes places such as Alexandra in Johannesburg to be heavily polluted and overpopulated. Affects on marine life occurs with overfishing in the oceans of South Africa. Fresh water is declining because pollution from industrial areas causes water to be contaminated. The poor service delivery in South Africa causes pipes to leak constantly and cause water loss. Droughts experienced in places such as the Western Cape causes water shortages and call for water to be transported to the area from places with plentiful water.

Participatory development is where organisations create projects for the people in the community to take part in and make changes within their own community. In this way the organization will know what is needed because there will be communication between the people actually living within the community and the organisation. Thos community members know best what is needed for their community and what can best help them. Thye are given the power to bring change into their own community and help where there is help needed and they actively play a part in making decisions as opposed to instances where the government makes decisions on behalf of the people. Most of the time when the community pushes towards creating development it gets taken over by local organisations who come with their own ideas, hence, the community members end up not participating in the projects created. With participatory development poverty is an issue because not everyone is educated to deal with something such as finance especially within a poor community. An example of the Participatory Development Approach in South Africa is the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) which encourages people in communities to start their own small businesses and build entrepreneurial skills and service the community. Organisations help give people the tools  to start their own business, and then members of the community take it upon themselves to take that knowledge they have learned, and open up a business to support them and their families.

Women have been undermined for a very long time and men tend to be seen as superior to woman due to biological determinism. They are more strongly build and hence, are seen as more fit for the work environment. Women for the most part in the past have played their roles as housewives and looking after the children, while the man brings the income needed. Gender is socially constructed and there are norms around how woman should act and what their roles are. Ester Boserup spoke on two systems of subsistence agriculture. One involves males being the sole providers for food and the other deals with woman being involved in the agricultural business. The world we live in today is very much different from the world in the 1800s. Most often with the rising costs of living both husband and wife work to provide a good life for their families. Woman working is also good for the economy because jobs such as cleaning jobs are mostly done by woman and that can leave the more physical demanding jobs to men. This view is mostly due to biological determinism and socially constructed gender roles. Woman can, however, do some of the same jobs that men can. In Africa there is less technological development since it mostly has third world countries. Hence, there are less agricultural machines to do the work and both men and women take part in cultivating and agriculture. Agriculture is important in a countries development because it is part of the primary sector and also later forms parts of exports in the secondary sector. Land reform has led to woman losing the rights they had. Woman lost the jobs they had and thus, they were seen as inferior to men. There are also different feminist development approaches which include Women in Development (WID), Women and Development (WAD), Gender and Development (GAD), lastly Postmodernism and Development (PAD). WID was created in critique against modernisation. Modernisation was contributing to the diminishing of the status of women. This theory highlighted the important role woman play in agriculture. Welfare which includes economic and social development was thought to be able to better their development. However, policies were made with woman as passive participants and social and economic development gave way to inequality. In the approach of WAD, it goes against the WID approach and focuses on equality for woman and that this will help fix the position of women in society bringing up their status. This approach also takes from the dependency theory. Integrating woman into development made the inequality worse. This approach could work in South Africa because inequality itself is focused on. GAD focuses on how men and women are affected by development. It is not just gender that plays a part in inequality but also race and religion. It focuses on all the forces that influence inequality and makes sure both men and women. Women are involved in development but do not benefit from it as they should. This approach can work in South Africa because it takes both inequality and the fact that women do not always benefit from development into consideration. If all factors that affect development are looked at, not only for woman as a gender but factors such as race as well. Lastly PAD looks at woman regaining power and having equality.

Modernisation according to Reyes (cited by Shareia 2015:79), is a theory that uses a systematic process to move underdeveloped countries to a more sophisticated level of development. The country evolves to be more like Western countries which are More Developed Countries. Dependency Theory was created to address and fix the issue regarding lack of development, which the Modernisation Theory was unable to address. The Modernisation Theory formed in response to the prescriptions of development economists that failed according to Rapley (cited by Shareia, 2015:79). The Dependency Theory formed because of the failing Modernisation Theory. Modernisation Theory focuses on the importance of political development in the economic growth of a country, and it also focuses on social and cultural reforms. The old cultures are changed in order to allow for development in Lower Developed Countries. This theory is applicable to political development and differs from development economics which is based on a basic first world country model. Dependency theory focuses on the entirety of society and system periphery. This can help to visualise the differences in the underdeveloped and developed countries. The world economic system of capitalism is used, and this decreases economic growth causing inequality with regards to income. Modernisation Theory explains inequality by looking at different values and beliefs held by different countries. It also explains that some countries are poor because they lack economic development. Some countries are poor because they are exploited by developed countries. Both the Modernisation Theory and the Dependency Theory focus on the development of underdeveloped countries into developed countries. Both theories also look at the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries. Developed nation ways of doing things are followed in both theories. Both theories deal with inequality.

Shareia, B.F. 2015. Theories of Development. International Journal of Language and Linguistics. 2(1):78-90.

Development is where there is progress in numerous areas such as economic, political and social progress. There are four factors that can contribute to development which is growth and structural change, demographic transitions, improvements in education and health and lastly rural to urban migration. With growth structural change in order for a country to develop successfully they have to have all three sectors present such as the primary, secondary and tertiary sector. In South Africa we have ac primary sector that deals with mining and agriculture. In the secondary sector we have manufacturing of products such as clothes and wineries. In the tertiary sector we have services such as tourism which brings in a substantial amount of money into the economy constituting development. With demographic transitions the health systems of South Africa play a role in living a healthy life and having good access to health care and sanitizers during COVID-19, decreasing the death rate and birth rate. The education also influences this because people will know how to prevent diseases and keep healthy. Improvements in education and health care more people have access to tertiary education making it easier to find a job and it increases economic growth. More hospitals and schools are being built by the government. In South Africa those who cannot afford tertiary education can get NSFAS. Lastly with rural to urban migration in South Africa many are moving to the cities in search of jobs and this is helping boost the economy since cities are the hubs for development in countries. Many people from poor settlements come to the cities in search of better jobs. There is more work force available even if it is just to clean or to mine. Many men go into the mining sector to find a better job and send money back home.

There are many different views of poverty based on expert views as well as ordinary people. By experts poverty is seen in relation to the standards of living of other individuals in society. Ordinary individuals see poverty as the amount of money that an individuals receives as income and how much they consume. According to Townsend (cited by Shaw, 1988:27), poverty can be defined objectively and applied consistently only in terms of the concept of relative deprivation. Townsend provides a gloss on the concept of relative deprivation, for he informs us that:  Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Usually poverty can be determined through a poverty line. Once the minimum amount of money needed to provide the basics has been determined then if any individual falls below the amount needed they can be seen as living under the poverty line. Those who live under poverty do not have access the the basics needed to survive such as food, water, shelter and access to basic healthcare. This definition of poverty looks at poverty directly rather than using something such as income level to describe poverty. Anyone who is deprived of the basic needs to survive live under poverty. It is not only material deprivation but also deprivation socially that show poverty. Once individuals cannot fulfil a social role in their society such as attending functions and social activities, they can be seen as living under poverty.

Reference list:

Shaw, B. 1988. Poverty: Absolute or Relative? Journal of Applied Philosophy . 1(5): 27.