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While literature extensively examines waste management issues in urban areas, limited attention has been given to rural developing waste contexts. This paper aims to understand the policy/implementation nexus between national and local government within the rural waste management context in two rural municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research utilizes a directed deductive content analysis applying a framework proposed by Pollans. Originally designed for urban contexts, this framework has proven valuable for comprehending solid waste management policy implementation challenges in rural settings. This paper proposes an adjustment to this framework, differentiating the disposal mode of governing into government-based and self-reliant-based approaches. The authors found a significant implementation gap in both municipalities, characterized by a predominant, incremental disposal-oriented governing mode. This contrasts with the visionary and aspirational modes of governing promoted by the national government, focusing on diversion and eco-efficient waste strategies. These divergent modes of governing influence current waste management practices, especially in rural municipalities. We recommend strategies towards narrowing the implementation gap by formulating policies tailored to local development needs. Finally, the research sheds light on the challenges and disparities in rural waste management policy implementation and provides insights into how rural areas can transition towards sustainable waste management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) from coal to renewable energy in response to climate change mitigation policies comes packaged with social costs that these mitigation policies tend to overlook, considering their focus on carbon emission reduction. The paper argues that Social Impact Assessments (SIAs), a component of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) focused on social impact mitigation, can be a long-term approach to closing the social cost gap. Against this backdrop, the paper's arguments were informed by a literature analysis on SIAs and the Just Energy Transition, semi-structured interviews, and surveys with 230 participants, including experts, from Kriel and Carolina in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The findings point to skills development barriers such as poor school attendance, a lack of alignment between existing curriculum design and labour markets, and students' low aptitude for STEM subjects. It also identifies community sustainability issues linked to poor public participation, gender inequalities in land reform and economic participation, and culturally disruptive displacements that will intensify as the energy shift unfolds. The paper submits that SIAs, if incorporated into mainstream energy transition planning, might be a long-term approach to mitigating societal costs and can support socially responsible policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of urbanization in Africa is receiving global attention and is subject to comprehensive scientific research due to the wide socioeconomic influence of this continent. Adopting specific search terms and strategies, this paper conducts a statistical analysis of the research articles addressing African urbanization (n = 2046) from the Web of Science core collection. The results show that since 2006, research on African urbanization has entered a stage of rapid development. South Africa and the Global North are the main regions engaged in research on African urbanization. With the application of the bibliometric software HistCite, this paper tries to investigate the research streams and trends contributed by highly cited articles. The main research streams can be divided into 5 areas, with the relationship between disciplines becoming stronger. Population, economy and land-use are the core issues of African urbanization studies, with the largest volume of highly cited articles. Furthermore, the changes in research hotspots were explored based on keyword analysis by CiteSpace. The results indicate that the topics of research hot spots by African and Global North researchers are different, and the Global North has a stronger influence on African urbanization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the multidimensional nature of flood vulnerability, necessitate an in-depth consideration of experiential knowledge in reducing flood vulnerability in geospatial environments such as informal settlements. The objective of this paper is to provide a critical review of literature and scholarship in the context of the integration of Indigenous Knowledge and Geographical Information System in mapping flood vulnerability in South Africa. Keywords were searched in two databases for empirical studies that integrated Indigenous Knowledge and Geographical Informal System in mapping flood vulnerability in South Africa. The search extended to literature cited in the papers identified from the databases. The studies were thematically analysed and synthesized. The findings reveal that flood vulnerability in South Africa is mainly considered from an integrated perspective. Approaches used to integrate Indigenous Knowledge and Geographical Information Systems in mapping flood vulnerability are fragmented. There is a lack of sensitivity analysis and map validation, limited use of Indigenous Knowledge as well as inadequate community participation in the mapping of flood vulnerability in informal settlements. This critical review demonstrates the need for a comprehensive, explicit and participatory approach for integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Geographical Information System that genuinely utilize the special characteristics that each of them possesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research draws from diary entries shared by participants across various urban neighbourhoods and dwellings in Gauteng Province in South Africa during the Level-5 lockdown period. Occurring between 27 March and 1 May 2020, the Level-5 lockdown was severely restrictive, as residents were confined within their homes, and their movement and social activity curtailed. Research has already indicated that this had a negative impact on the mental health and food security of ordinary people. In this paper, we illustrate how participants' diary entries offer a layered and longitudinal lens to support this emerging research. Notably, analysis of these diary entries illustrates that the 6-week lockdown took an emotional toll on participants across different urban neighbourhoods and dwellings. Furthermore, these diary entries point to the sources of frustration and anxiety being shaded by the spatial and structural location of participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gated communities have evolved into providing unique residential offerings aimed at specific markets. Eco-estates and eco-friendly estates are examples of such niche estates which have witnessed increasing growth in their development throughout South Africa. This paper overviews the literature on the evolution of gated communities and provides a spatial articulation of the location of eco- and eco-friendly estates in South Africa towards creating a categorization of eco-developments. The study is positioned in the theoretical realms of eco-form and eco-urbanism which scaffold the global surge in eco-developments. A database of eco-developments in South Africa was created from several sources and surveys were conducted among developers and estate managers of such developments. The locational analysis shows most eco-developments being located in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, while more than half of the proposed developments were destined for the remaining provinces. Eco-estates and eco-friendly estates show a predilection for sites on the urban edge, along the coast or with mountain views. Criteria based on eco-practices were selected as standards for a five-category continuum of eco-estates. When applied the categorization confirms that eco-developments display differing levels of eco-ness. While eco-developments do have positive ecological impacts and they do enhance sustainable living, they do not add to social connectivity as they are exclusive ecological islands surrounded by walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is recognized as a valuable component of environmental management, yet it has been neglected internationally and in South Africa. Disaster Risk Assessment (DRA), is identified as a complimentary activity to SIA, that due to its shared focus on community wellbeing, has the potential for integration with and enhancement of SIA. The integration of SIA and DRA is a new, but poorly researched trend in South Africa, which is explored in this paper by investigating the current discourses in SIA and DRA practice using questionnaires and interviews with a sample of SIA and DRA experts. Four practical discourses were investigated i.e. specialists' career experience; obstacles to practice; methodological guidance; and integrated assessments. This was followed by a literature study that demonstrated that these discourses echo broad international trends in SIA and DRA practice. The findings suggest that the integration of SIA and DRA should be pursued to optimize SIA for improved practice, to increase community resilience and to promote sustainable development outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of considering both social and environmental impacts of infrastructure development is widely accepted. However, social impacts are often treated in subordination to environmental impacts. This paper examined whether social or environmental impacts dominate public discourse by reviewing 10 years of news coverage by the Mail and Guardian. This found that social impacts dominated news coverage, generated negative emotional responses and more public outrage compared to environmental impacts. At a macro level, this review suggests that social impacts need to receive greater consideration in decision-making. News on power plants was dominated by the economic impacts of insufficient electricity and costs associated with new projects. Social-justice impacts associated with procurement irregularities were also reported. Redressing discriminatory land planning and social-justice impacts caused by the misuse of public finances were the main social impacts associated with housing articles. Impacts on day-to-day activities were often central to articles on water provision, with health-and-wellbeing impacts central to articles on sanitation infrastructure. Articles on roads principally discussed the economic and way-of-life impacts associated with the user-pay principle. Decision-makers will need to consider these social impacts to ensure future project success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in South Africa is still considered to be a neglected component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but the perspectives of the practitioners on the status and practice of SIA have never been probed, despite their key role in SIA. This paper explores those perspectives by means of a two-part survey conducted with an availability sample of 11 SIA practitioners in 2012 and 13 practitioners in 2016 following a qualitative Action Research Approach. Four themes emerged (i.e. SIA in practice, Problems in SIA, Effectiveness of SIA and the Future of SIA). It is evident that the practitioners generally agree about the nature and purpose of SIA, that SIA has problems but is healthy and will benefit from some regulation, that SIA is an important and valuable tool, although with limited effectiveness, and the practitioners are optimistic about the future of SIA. The perspectives of the practitioners are aligned with international trends towards enhancement and sustainability assessment, but they must remain committed to best practice in SIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a theme collection of geographical authored contributions on tourism in Southern Africa to reinforce the position of South Africa's premier geographical serial as an important publishing outlet for research in tourism studies as a whole and for tourism geographical works in particular. The group of papers addresses a diverse set of themes around greening and tourism, business tourism, Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel, second homes tourism and tourism development issues. Two sections of material are offered. First, a brief context is provided of directions in international tourism geography. Second, a review is offered on the directions and contributions which have been made by geographers to tourism studies in South Africa. In particular, the starting point is the benchmark paper which appeared in 2002 in this journal by Magi and Nzama [2002. Perspectives on recreation and tourism geographies in South Africa, South African Geographical Journal, 84, 67–76] outlining the relative novelty of tourism geography research in Southern Africa as well as its possibilities for future development. With the publication of over 100 articles by local tourism geographers, a decade later this paper reflects on the growing maturity of South African tourism geography scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmental management framework (EMF) is a uniquely South African environmental management tool legislated since 2006. Although the tool has been widely applied there has been no empirical research on the overall extent and status of EMF practice. The aim of this paper is to describe the extent and status of EMF practice between 2006 and 2015 through a combination of survey methods. The ‘extent’ of practice is described against the number of EMFs, the lead agents, spatial distribution, scale, time frames and accessibility of information, while the ‘status’ is discussed in relation to the legal mandate of EMF and the number of adopted and gazetted EMFs. The research results show that 53 EMF projects were initiated between 2006 and 2015 and that practice varies significantly in terms of lead agents, spatial distribution, scale and time frames. Moreover the research shows that just over half of the EMFs have been gazetted and that access to information in the public domain is limited. Finally, recommendations are made for future research around the quality and effectiveness of EMF. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tourism geography has developed into a dynamic sub-discipline of contemporary South African geographical scholarship. The investigation provides an overview of the development of South African tourism geography since the early 1970s, and traces its subsequent development. Since the first investigations, tourism geographers had an interest in the developmental potential which the tourism system presents for South Africa. It is shown that recent tourism research is generally framed by concerns for responsible tourism, pro-poor tourism impacts, tourism as a vehicle for local economic development, and the role of small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) development in the tourism sector. The main contribution of the paper is to propose a range of new investigatory avenues that can build on the current scholarship, and considers potential threats to the future development of South African tourism geography. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The world is confronting a range of ‘wicked problems’ that defy simple, linear solutions. Increasingly, the range of challenges including poverty, climate change and environmental degradation require solutions that cannot be drawn from a single knowledge base. Although excellent environmental legislation exists in South Africa (including that relating to climate change), it alone is not sufficient to solve the challenges the country faces. Rather, science that builds knowledge through engagement with a variety of actors, their views, expertise and perspectives, including mutual and transgressive learning, is required. This paper presents three South African case studies that reflect on the value of adopting transdisciplinary (TD) and co-production of knowledge (CPK) approaches to environmental problem-solving. Although not without their challenges, TD and CPK are inclusive approaches which usually enable a wider framing of environmental challenges and their ownership by various publics, and pave the way for effective implementation of solutions and actions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This review article represents an attempt at highlighting the important research conducted by geographers in rural areas of South Africa. Acknowledging the challenges facing many review articles on broad disciplines or sub-disciplines such as rural geography, the paper mostly focuses on selected research that took place over the last two and a half decades or so, that covers the areas of land rights, biodiversity conservation and justice, rural development and livelihoods. The conclusion is that rural geography research in South Africa is of major significance in South Africa’s attempts to fulfil many of the post-apartheid goals of improving the lives of the marginalized. It is also argued that research conducted under the rural geography banner can grow in the same pace as the new challenges emerge, including being in positive interaction with other sub-disciplines (e.g. urban geography) in addressing challenges such as urban–rural fringe and urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After 100 years of academic Geography in South Africa, the emerging field of Environmental Assessment (EA) has occupied an important position vis-a-vis Geography. In this paper the contribution of Geography to practice and research in EA is investigated for South Africa. Firstly, Geography core competences are compared to the requirements for training Environmental Assessment practitioners, followed by reflection of the utility of Geography competences for Environmental Assessment research. It is evident that Geography competences are fundamental to EA practice, that EA skills are taught in some Geography curricula, and that the greater part of published EA research is produced by Geographers. We conclude that Geography as a discipline has embraced the environmental sustainability challenges by engaging actively in EA training and research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Business tourism is a vital element of the global tourism economy. Its importance has not, however, been matched by research attention by tourism scholars, including geographers. Against a review of international debates in business tourism scholarship, this paper analyses the changing geography of business tourism in South Africa, one of Africa's most significant destinations for international and domestic business travel. The changing geographical landscape of business tourism is unpacked through a demand-side analysis which is an important gap in existing tourism geographical work, mainly dominated by supply-side studies about the provision of convention centres or conference venues. The results reinforce the special significance of business tourism for tourism development in certain of the country's major urban centres. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The segment of visiting, friends and relatives (VFR) is one of the largest components of tourism economies. During the last two decades there emerged tourism scholarship around VFR travel, mostly in Australia, the USA and Europe. This paper examines the size, characteristics and spatial patterns of VFR tourism in South Africa. It is argued that studies of VFR travel in the global South must be linked to questions about migration. In the South African case the volume, nature and geography of VFR tourism cannot be understood without an analysis of historical migration trends. It is demonstrated that VFR travel is the largest element of domestic tourism and is dominated by black travellers. In terms of explanation, the continued role of circular mobilities in the post-apartheid period is highlighted. The geographical patterns of VFR tourism in South Africa reveal a complex of factors and most importantly the existence of split or translocal households for which VFR mobilities are critical. In South Africa, strong VFR travel occurs to large metropolitan areas and to the former homeland areas that are not considered as significant tourism destinations. Arguably, in many of these rural areas of South Africa VFR travel is the most significant driver of local tourism economies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]