According to Kohler South Africa is facing a challenge of fresh water. This challenge is caused by the mixture of drought, water and feed shortages, poor breeding management practices, and limited animal welfare and health skills. Other factors that pose a challenge of fresh water are poor governance at departmental and municipal levels directly affects the functioning and management of these organisations. In South Africa managing water services one has to follow complicated processes that involves different organisations at national, provincial and municipal levels working together in a coordinated way.

According to Sarkodie and Adams there income inequality has a negative effect on access to electricity whereas income level and human development have a positive impact on access to electricity. The negative effect of political system on income inequality means that good governance environment reduces income inequality. Income inequality is found to reduce human development, as such, social protection policies that reduce poverty are essential to minimize the vulnerability to poverty. The study highlights that the effective promotion of labour markets and the improvement of socio-economic capacity to manage unemployment, infirmity, and disability will decrease income inequality, hence, promote human development.

Name the four environmental narratives identified in SA.

the conservation,

the economic,

non-state actors and

local views.

What is the objective and motive for each narrative?

The conservation

The purpose of the conservation environmental narrative is to preserve the nature and maintain its ecosystem. 

The economic

The environment is primarily viewed as the raw material that can be bought and sold, where the colonises exploit the environment and the local people for their benefit. This view was presented as the socio-economic development and the transformation in the country. The motive is to sell the untapped resources for profit and the development of the poor communities.

Non-state actors

These views derived from external parties that operate independently from any form of government namely NGO. Emphases on the worth of the environment, control how communities and the government manage the environment. The motive is to preserve the integrity of the natural environment while supportive of the economic growth for the benefit of the locals.

Local community views 

The socio-political context shapes the relationship with the environment. These views reveal that colonisation or apartheid policies distorted the relationship between people and environment. 

• Do these narratives contribute to an understanding of the SA environment (look at the critique of each narrative and reflect on it to come to your own conclusion).

• What are the two main environmental discourses in SA, according to Stewart and Zaaiman? Briefly describe each one. 

Sustainable development

• It is defined as the development that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. It incorporate integration of economic growth, social development and environmental protection into national, regional and international planning and decision making. It requires co-operation commitment and co-ordination of all efforts with the development partnerships. Its desired outcome is to sustain development. It emphasis on the participation of the citizen and organisation in all locality.

Environmental and social justice.

This discourse focus on the rights of the people who are treated insignificant, voiceless, powerless. It also focus on the rights of the deprived communities according to their class, gender, race, ethnicity and geographical locations.

• How does the Sustainable Development discourse link to the SA policies? Use the class readings as references from which to motivate your answer.

• The post-apartheid environmental policy frameworks incorporate principles of sustainable development and social and environmental justice. Government use sustainable development to rectify the historical inequality that was created by the apartheid regime. The link SA environmental policies to sustainability and social justice. 

Buckle Single factor theory mentioned that Eastern nations flourished because of the warm climates, fertile soil, rain-abundance.  South Africa use Mpumalanga province to plant most of vegetables and fruits to survive and also for the economy of the country. Mpumalanga province is known for a great warm climate, the fertile soil  and the abundant of rain. 

Emile Durkheim’s theory attempt to devise a solution to what is essentially an ecological crisis of rising population paired with scarce resources.

Karl Marx

Marx and Angels believed that the conflict between capitalists and  workers not only isolated ordinary people from their jobs but also bring a rise to their  alienation from the nature. Capitalist agriculture prioritize to make quick profit from the land than the welfare of both human and soil. This theory also put emphasis on the state in fostering ecological destruction.

Max Weber believed that materials of the nature as a force of nature. He gave ecological crisis analysis of the problem of soil fertility within capitalist agriculture. He mentioned that the major ecological crisis caused by the loss of natural resources and environmental degradation. For example Cape Town suffered a severe drought that is believed to be caused by both natural and human drivers of climate change.

Environment can be defined as surroundings conditions that has a direct influence on human beings and animals. Environment and human beings influence each other through environmental problems.

The leading environmental problems are: Ozone depletion leading to climate change, Destruction of natural habitats, Adverse Effects on Marine Life, The Decline in Freshwater. Pollution is the most common factor that affect both environment and society. The society pollutes air, water and soil that influence the environment. The  polluted air,  water, and soil contaminate food that lead to human health problem such as cancer. Human influence environment indirectly through pollution and result in global warming, that lead to climate change and cause severe climatic conditions such as severe drought, storms, heat and cold. Almost every year Cape Town experience wildfires that cause air pollution. In 2017 and 2018 Cape town experienced a severe drought. The tropical storm Eloise hit South Africa and it caused a great disaster in Mpumalanga. 

Participatory Development is the process to engage the  communities in development projects. It emerged in the 1970's when it was introduced as an important element of the basic needs approach to development. It is aimed at achieving a localised capital accumulation process based on the skills development and local resources generation. It gives communities ability to engage in more ambitious projects involving collective action and management.

Active participation where participants are taking initiative independently by getting help from external institutions to change systems.

Passive participation here people are told what to do what has been decided.

Quasi participation allows communities are involved in certain participation by involving them in the partnership which makes them to see projects as their own and make sure that goals are reached and sustained.

Criticism of Participatory approach

Critics suggests that the developing Countries such as South Africa can disconnect from capitalism and take their own way is possible in our globalised economy.

Women in Development (WID) is an approach that is based on the recognition of the significance role and status of women in development process. The main aim is to integrate women fully into the development process. this approach strive to achieve equality of opportunities through education and training.

Women and development (WAD)  focus on the interaction between women and development process. This approach argue that neither women nor men benefit from the global economic structures because of the unequal distribution of resources. Unlike WID this approach is critically pay more attention on position of women in development process. it also focus on addressing patriarchy and global inequality. WAD approach argue that the integration of women into development worsen the situation of inequality.

Women and Development approach is the most useful in South Africa because it insisted on affirmative action.

Comparison between modernisation and dependency

Modernisation theory is an approach of how social, economic and cultural transformation in which a country develop from pre-industrial or the underdeveloped society transform to modern society. On the other hand dependancy theory is an approach that some capital economy develop and expand at the expense of other economy through colonisation.

Modernisation theories argue that traditional-oriented cultures must be removed for the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) to be developed.  While dependency theory highlight that the association between the developed and the developing countries is not based on mutual assistance but rather upon reliance of developing countries on the Western countries.

The modernisation theory focus on rich and developed countries.  While dependancy focuses on poor and underdeveloped countries

Modernisation theory believes that richer countries are a solution  to the problem of poverty.  On the other hand dependence theory believes that rich countries are the reason of global poverty.

The contrast between Modernisation and Dependency

Modernised and dependency are discussing the huge gap between the developed and the developing countries.  Both modernised and dependency theories state that there is a strong connection between the developing and developed countries. They also mentioned that the the developing and underdeveloped are following the experiences of the Western countries.

What is development

Distribution of income

Distribution of income is the way in which the wealth and income of a nation are equally divided among its population. The development of the nation requires equal distribution of wealth. South African history of apartheid brought inequality in the society. Inequality increases with growth, for example new tax and survey data suggest that 10% of the South African population owns at least 90-95% of all assets.

Political Transformation

Economic and socio- cultural growth must be part of for political to grow. Political transformation is referred as development democracy. In 1994 South African received their democracy and it is been growing ever since. Political freedom is increasing but economically there is no equality.

Rural to urban migration

Human life is evolving and people do not only depend on planting crops or any form of agricultural produce for their sustenace . People are now migrating from rural to urban areas because they want to better their lives by getting education and better jobs. Most black South Africans are now leaving to urban areas and are owing properties there. 

Improvement in education and health

The development in these areas is crucial as education and health are part of the human basic needs. Education is a basic principle of development and growth. These factors promotes long life and increase economic growth. There is no equality in both health and in education. In South Africa these two departments are divided as public and private. The poor people can afford the public and the rich afford the private system. South African students protest yearly asking for free education because education is expensive. The government only provide a student loan that is called National Student Financial aid Scheme (NSFAS) that a student can pay when they are working, if they do not get a job they remain owing the government. 

Poverty definition

There is no one agreed universal definition of poverty. In recent decades poverty has been defined as a relative rather than absolute notion. Some scholars such as Wisely Shaw argue that poverty has been perceived as poor relative to a level of income, social condition, accepted as average or normal for the community. This is further emphasised by other scholars such as May who defined poverty relative to the expenditure distribution line.  In his definition people living 20% to 40% below the expenditure distribution line are poor.  

In year 2000 organisations such as World Bank came up with another definition of poverty. In their definition  people with a relative income of one dollar or two dollars per day are poor.  Whereas scholars such as Townsend defined poverty as a lack of basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. In his deprivation index people are in poverty if, amongst other things they lack is not having a one cooked meal three times a week.  A researcher by the name of Potgieter developed the Household Subsistence Level. In his definition of  poverty he included the lacking of medical expenses, education, savings, holidays/ recreation, insurance, buying household equipment and any transport beyond that of the breadwinner going to and from work.

Researchers such as Rose and Charlton did some work  to develop a food poverty line which sought to cost a nutritionally balanced minimalist diet for a household. This work used the very low cost food ration scale for food items used by the Household Subsistence Level (HSL). This approach is also referred to as a “calorific” approach to setting a poverty line. Certain poverty lines are drawn based on a calorific base for food consumption, to which other non-food items are then added.

The benefit poverty for the individuals in South Africa

When a person is poor qualifies to apply for the children social grant. For universities and colleges a student may apply for the financial assistance NSFAS that is payable when a person is working. Students who are studying engineering through TVET colleges have an opportunity for free employment train with a stipend. South African government provide houses for poor people. they receive free health care from the clinics and public hospitals. A poor individual do not file for tax returns and if they are earning below the threshold they can file and they might receive money from SARS. they have more time to spend with their families.

Benefits of poverty for the community

There is a program in schools to feed children that came from poor families and even when schools are closed/ on reccess those kids receive food still and share with their family. Some community members adopted a recycling program to feed their families. Social development department open an opportunity for the community to group themselves to form SMes and the corporates, train them so that they are able to to create their own businesses like farming and sewing etc. Poor communities do not pay for municipality services. Neighbours take care of one another by sharing food and other things that might be a need to survive. Poor community becomes families, they raise children together ( your child is my child). All the low wage employment such as sweeping streets, domestic and hard labour is done by poor people. There is more employment for the poor people because there is no or less competition.