There are 4 narratives that are used to explain the relationship between the society and its environment. Each narrative is created from a different perspective with a different agenda and each support a different base of power therefore each narrative has a different objective. Namely they are: conservation, economic, non-state actors and local views.

• Conservation

This narrative originates from the Apartheid era and did not consider the rights of people when acquiring land and natural resources which lead to the removal of people from certain areas. The environment is seen as a victim that needs to saved from people that overuse its resources. 

• Economic

In this narrative the environment is seen as something that can be sold for financial benefit. The environment is exploited for its natural resources.

• Non-state actors 

The narrative originates from entities that are not part of the local community. The aim of this narrative is to let the educate the community about the state of their environment and how it may be at danger. 

• Local views

This narrative is complex due to the fact it is determined by time and which entity is in power locally, therefore it changes drastically due to the circumstances. 

There are main discourses of the environment in South Africa, and they are, the sustainable development and, environmental and social justice. 

• Sustainable development discourse works towards development without harming the environment. It also makes profits from the environment and let the community know what is happening to their environment.

The sustainable development discourse is included to the South African environment policy because its principles are incorporated in the constitution, it draws on world systems and ecological modernization theory. It provides a model for real change and development by addressing social injustices.

There are various theories of development. These theories focus on the environment as the major factor in the development of the country. The theories are geographical determinism, biological determinism, and modernization theory.

• Geographical determinism 

This approach proposes that the development of a society or country is directly influenced by the geographical location of it, characteristics such as the climate can determine its success economically.

• Biological determinism 

In this approach, the development of a society is dependent on the successful species. The continuous development of a society is theorized to take place as the process of Darwinian evolution.  Meaning the success of people in a society is directly linked to their predecessors. 

• Modernization theory

This theory states that underdeveloped countries exist because they need to catch up to developed countries. It says that underdeveloped countries need to let go of their traditional ways and follow a westernized way to succeed. Developed countries are seen as models of success due to the technological advances they have. 

• Application of the theories to South African context

South Africa is in Southern Africa meaning the climate would be perfect for agricultural activities producing a variety of crops. And according to geographical determinism, this would lead to the country being highly favorable to be highly developed. To keep the agricultural activities running there would be a need for skilled people to run the farms favoring biological determinism.  

Participatory development is one of the alternative theories of development and became widely known around the late 1970s. This approach allows people to build their own societies to their own capacities and self-reliance. It allows for information to be shared between community members and all stakeholders involved in the process of development. Although it may seem to be positive especially for community members to be involved in their own development, it has been criticized. Community members may be overtaken by people of higher social status, resulting in them and their ideas not being acknowledged. 

In the South African context, participatory development is widely used especially by community members such as people volunteering in local public clinics and some cleaning their own streets. But as soon as elections are about to come up, political parties take over the ideas and make them ow just so they can receive votes. 

Before women were not involved in any development process and this did not allow a them to benefit from the development around them. Feminists identified this as a problem due to the the way women were disadvantaged and not considered adequate to men in the development of their world or country. In order to include women in development and help them benefit from development four approaches where formed by feminists and they are; women in development (WID), women and development (WAD), gender and development (GAD) and postmodernism and development (PAD). 

WID gave women a platform to be included in development  it was able to identify a problem whereby women were treated as a group that was inadequate to receive opportunities and and participate in development. And use that problem to improve the position of women in society. 

WAD had a perspective of equality being essential for the improvement of women's positions in society. This approach argued that both women and men were benefiting from economic structures because of the unequal distribution of resources around the world. And that the integration of women into development made the inequalities worse and more damaging.

GAD focuses on the impact of development on both genders. It has identified that women may be included in development but may not be benefiting from it. It argues that both genders are essential for decision making in development.

PAD is a new form of feminism that fights for equality for women amongst women. It considers the differences amongst women such as race and social status. The approach argued that women around the world have different needs that are directly linked to their differences. 

In context of South Africa the most useful approach would be the postmodernism and development (PAD). I believe this because although South Africa is one country, it has multiple classes and races therefore there are different needs amongst women that need to be fulfilled. In order for the country to be better developed all these different needs should be dealt with different and individually to avoid some needs being neglected. 

Modernization theory

Rostow's Modernization theory says that all countries begin at the traditional underdevelopment state and that less developed countries (LDCs) are poor because they are in the process of becoming more developed countries (MDCs). In order to do this, they need to let go of their traditional values and adopt western values from MDCs. According to the theory, modernization takes place in five stages which are; the traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and high mass consumption. The development of a country is measured using economic growth using indices such as Growth Development Product and Human Development Index.

Dependency theory

Frank's Dependency theory says that the development and expansion of MDCs are at the expense of LCDs.The development of MDCs can impact the development of LDCs either negatively and positively. The underdevelopment of countries is seen as a product of colonialism and imperialism in the global capitalist framework. The dependency theory occurs in two levels, which are; the national and international levels. 

• At the national level, it occurs in rural and urban areas. Resources are extracted from the rural and sent to urban areas, which leaves rural areas with a shortage of resources.  
• At the international level, it occurs between MDCs and LDCs, where trade rules are unequal. Hard labour and resources are provided by LCDs then they are exploited by MDCs. Leading to more growth and development towards  MDCs.

Development is constituted by multiple factors. And four of these factors are rural to urban migrations, distribution of income, growth and structural change, and political transformation. 

Political growth is generally accompanied by economic and socio-cultural growth.  This growth has an impact on the economic growth and the impact may be good or bad. In terms of South Africa, the political freedom that came with democracy increased the economic gain of the country there further leading to the country becoming more developed.

Rural to urban migrations occur when people leave rural areas and move to urban areas in search of better opportunities in terms of work or even education. These migrations usually benefit the migrants and also the economy. In South Africa, rural-urban migration trends are increasing at a fast rate, from 15 per 1000 in 2001 to about 28 per 1000 in 2011, with people aged 0-14 years joining the migration.

Distribution of income is the way in which the wealth and income of a nation are divided fairly among its population.  This results in improved incomes of all and a sense of equality among the citizens of a country.  However, income distribution has some issues, for instance, income inequality in South Africa has deepened. According to the latest figures from the World Inequality Database, the top 1% of South African earners take home almost 20% of all income in the country, while the top 10% take home 65%. The remaining 90% of South African earners get only 35% of total income. 

Growth and structural change focus on the economy's activity shifts from the primary sector through the secondary sector and to the tertiary sector. Different countries in different stages of development depend on different sectors of the economy.  At the early stage of development, countries depend on the primary sector, countries that are developing depend on the secondary sector, and finally developed countries depend on the tertiary and possibly in the quaternary sector. South Africa depends on different types of sectors to drive the economy such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, transport, mining, agriculture, and tourism. The country makes use of all three sectors. 

A thorough explanation of poverty is a condition in which an individual or community lacks the financial resources that are essential for a minimum standard of living. Poverty entails that the employment rates are so low that basic human needs can't be met with what is available. And that affects the wellbeing of the community and individuals.

What are the benefits of poverty for the individual and the community?

As much as poverty is a social problem, it can also have its own benefits for different individuals and communities suffering from it. In communities where poverty is a problem,  there is always the benefit of that particular community possibly getting more attention from the government. Therefore resulting in getting improved service delivery and improving the lives of many citizens. There is also the possibility of more tenders, job creation projects, and other procurements being given to local people so that they can provide more jobs and services for their own communities. This then lessens poverty in communities even if it is on a smaller scale. 

In terms of individuals, poverty puts people in a situation where they have to brainstorm and be creative in order to survive. And that results in many new entrepreneurs that may have many and different ideas that will benefit them, their communities, and sometimes they may get as big as benefiting the country as a whole.  Individuals get the platform and get plenty of opportunities to use their ideas because of the needs that are around them. These new entrepreneurs create jobs and become the new source of sustenance in the communities. Therefore also giving the government some relief.

1. Conflict theory

Social problems according to the conflict theory may be seen as a result of the inequalities that are found in society. The inequalities being social class, race, and gender. The social problems being may be blamed on the scarcity of resouces and services especially for the poor.  To solve or eliminate the social problems the theory would suggest that drastic measures that may disrupt society be made. It may be imposible to eliminate the problems permanently using this theory because of how it may change the society abd create new problems. 

2. Symbolic interactionist theory 

In this persepective it suggested that social problems are caused by what people learn or interact with. This theory suggests that social problems start from our homes and branches out into our societies with those we interact with. Social problems heavily depend on symbols shared such as words and actions by the people we interact with. And to elimanate or stop social problems around it would mean to change who we interact with or rather who the youth interacts with to end the cycle of social problems being created and being continued.