Search

The South African government's response to the universal crisis of global warming has resulted in the creation of the National Climate Change Response White Paper, a proposed country-wide course of action that would aid in the stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions and intervene in current harmful environmental practices. The role of communication and the media is crucial to the success of any policy implementation as well as of the establishment of an 'action-inspired' mind-set amongst citizens that will bolster lifestyle change to support the cause. This paper will assess the National Climate Change Response White Paper in conjunction with climate change coverage from the South African daily online news source, News 24. Additionally, films released from the Bjerkness Centre for Climate Research and discussion surrounding youth's use of relatable mediums to invoke lifestyle change from Lindie Buirski, Head of Environmental Capacity Building, Training and Education in the City of Cape Town's Environmental Resource Management (ERM) Department, will aid in analysis. Moreover, they will serve to bolster the argument of communications' critical role in realizing any goals set forth by the government. The paper will close by offering proposed climate-change directed development projects for the South African context and will refer to current international successful examples of media use to carry the message of climate change, while inviting audience input, participation, and most importantly, action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 enshrines the right of all citizens to an environment that is not detrimental to their health and well-being. Furthermore, the Constitution places an obligation on the South African government to protect this right through reasonable legislative and other measures. Climate change threatens the environmental right which everyone is entitled to and South Africa has been experiencing the effects caused by changes in the climatic conditions. Therefore, one of the actions adopted by South Africa, to protect the environment as stipulated in Section 24(b) of the Constitution, was the National Climate Change Response White Paper, 2011 (NCCR-WP). The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), formerly known as the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is the facilitating department whose role is to ensure the successful implementation of the NCCR-WP. A qualitative research approach in terms of a document analysis was used to acquire rich and detailed information for the research. The article examines the state of climate change in South Africa, the role of the NCCR-WP as one of South Africa's climate change responses including the two primary objectives of the NCCR-WP, namely: climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and the mitigation strategies outlined in the NCCR-WP. It discusses the DEFF's implementation of the NCCRWP as well as the factors that negatively influence the implementation of the NCCR-WP. The article also provides recommendations that may improve the overall implementation of the NCCR-WP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no longer a myth that climate change‐related disasters are on the rise globally, with severe and devastating consequences in developing countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa, where many of the world's poor people reside. Thus, the emphasis on adaptation to climate change is no longer a choice or a deferred problem into the future, but rather an urgent matter of concern which must be considered a policy priority. As a response to retrogressive climate change challenges on social‐economic development and environmental degradation, the government of South Africa has in the last two and half decades, embarked on the progressive formulation of different policy instruments and strategic frameworks to curb and minimize the impacts of climate change on all sub‐sectors of the economy. Although much remains to be achieved, some level of success has been realized, particularly in the space of policy formulation, albeit the poor record of implementation. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of qualitative research and an appraisal of existing literature, this paper discusses the complexities of climate change adaptation governance at a local government level in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Province. It is argued in the paper that one of the major challenges for climate change governance at local municipality levels in South Africa emanates from the gap between aspirations and actions across the entire national governance system. The absence of an integrated climate change governance system has posed significant systemic challenges, and these have tended to constrain decision‐making and implementation processes. These issues have been discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals, particularly goals number 13, 16 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has brought several natural disasters to South Africa in the form of floods, heat waves, and droughts. Neighbouring countries are also experiencing tropical cyclones, almost on a yearly basis. The insurance sector is faced with an increased level of climate change risk with individuals, corporates, and even the government approaching it for financial cover. However, with an increased level of competition in the insurance sector, (re)insurers must engage in massive product research and development. Therefore, this paper looks at the possibility of the insurance industry developing new products in the form of catastrophe resilience bonds (CAT R Bonds). A qualitative approach is used following content analysis of (re)insurers' product development policies, marketing documents, company reports, and risk management reports as well as the Conference of Parties 27 and 28 resolution papers. The findings reveal that (re)insurers' underwriting capacity, reinsurance protection, and innovative and creative product development increase because of CAT R Bonds. CAT R Bonds enhance the interaction between the capital market and money market, thereby giving speculative investors another investment option. Increased investment into new product development such as CAT R Bonds must continue in South Africa in pursuit of climate change resilience goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is already a reality, and it is affecting the lives and livelihoods of many people globally. Many scientists argue that adaptation is, therefore, necessary to address the impact of climate change on life-supporting systems. Climate change adaptation, however, is a complex process that involves transformations implemented through governance at multiple levels. In this paper, the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa are presented and analysed. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted telephonically and online via Microsoft Teams with 13 government officials working at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment; the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs; and the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. The findings suggest that the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa include inadequate financial resources, a lack of human capacity at the provincial and local levels, limited political will at the local level, limited understanding of climate change adaptation issues by communities, inadequate coordination across government levels and sectors, no legal mandate at the local level, no climate change unit at the district and local levels, a lack of knowledge by some staff members tasked with environmental duties at the local level, not enough climate change plans in place at the local level, and outdated information on climate change used in the IDPs. This paper, therefore, recommends that climate change be a standing item in the Integrated Development Plan for local governments, which will ensure that climate change is budgeted for appropriately. In addition, this paper suggests that a mandate for climate change adaptation be developed for all three government levels. There is also a need for the government to invest in capacity development and improve horizontal and vertical coordination to strengthen the weak climate governance capacity that exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The considerable impact of oxygen deficient waters on marine resources in St Helena Bay has generated interest in exploring the vulnerability of South Africa's largest and most productive bay to further deoxygenation in response to climate change. Seasonal, sub-seasonal and spatial fluctuations in bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) are examined in St Helena Bay to facilitate better interpretation of historical data. DO measurements in relation to physical, chemical and biological variables were made between November 2013 and November 2014. Alongshore bay characteristics were assessed through comparison of variables along the 50 m depth contour. A mean coeffcient of variation of 0.35 provided a measure of the relative variability of near-bottom DO concentrations along this contour. Across-shelf transects captured the seasonal development of hypoxia in relation to the distribution of phytoplankton biomass. DO was lowest in autumn in the south of the bay prior to winter ventilation of the bottom waters. Exceptional dinoflagellate blooms forming extensive subsurface thin layers preceded the autumn DO minima. The development of hypoxia at inner and central stations prior to expansion beyond the boundaries of the bay provided evidence of local drawdown. Coincident with the seasonal decline of DO within the bay was an increase in macronutrient concentrations which tended to mirror DO concentrations. Indication of denitrification in the suboxic waters in the south of the bay was provided through evidence of a nitrate deficit in autumn supported by elevated nitrite concentrations. Superimposed on the seasonal decline of DO concentrations in the bottom waters were sub-seasonal events of hypoxia and anoxia linked to episodic deposition of organic matter as indicated by increases in bottom Chl a concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges, and it is also an obstacle to the fundamental achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of small-scale farmers' participation in social capital networks to enhance adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. Multistage and purposive sampling were used to carry out the study. A cross-sectional research design was used to carry out the study and structured questionnaires were used as a data collection tool. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Binary Logit model, and the Ordered Logit model. The findings of the study show that gender, household size, age, marital status, education, and employment status affect a farmer's participation in social capital networks. The results also show that household size, employment status, and income level affect the extent of participation in social networks. As the paper is the first to look at the determinants of the participation of farmers in social capital networks in Eastern Cape, the results are of paramount importance to policy formulators in order to formulate policies that will encourage farmers to join localized farmer-based social capital networks to adopt climate change adaption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between trade and climate change is not a simple linear relationship. In this paper, using the threshold regression model, we estimated the effect of trade on climate change in South Africa. The paper applied the LM test to examine the nonlinear inference approach to test whether nonlinearity existed and if the threshold model was relevant to the study. The results show that when energy use is set as the threshold variable, the relationship between trade and climate change measured as methane is U-shaped. Also, in other models of GHG as climate change indicators, the results show that the effect of trade on climate change is not dynamic. This result supports the idea that high and low trade effects may have different impacts on climate change indicators. It is, therefore, recommended that all exporters in South Africa resort to more innovative environmental mechanisms to reduce the contribution to climate. The suggestion for future studies is to consider exports of different sectors to climate change. This approach will avoid the generalization of exporting firms as the worst emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics are a precious, versatile set of materials. The accumulation of plastic waste threatens the environment. Recycling plastic waste can produce many new products. The many opportunities for using plastic waste create pressure for a strategy to develop or improve current waste management systems to reduce the negative impact on humans, fauna and flora. The objective of this review paper is to consider an opportunity to recycle plastic; to convert plastic waste into plastic sand bricks. This would reduce the impact of the four emerging crises (plastic pollution, unemployment, the shortage of affordable housing and climate change) identified in South Africa as a threat to sustainability. This paper reviews studies utilising plastic waste to manufacture materials for the construction industry. The feasibility of using plastic waste to manufacture bricks revealed high compressive strength, low water absorption and weighed considerably lower compared to traditional bricks. Plastic sand bricks, therefore, can provide a solution that can be used to curb the four emerging crises and contribute to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is progressing faster than previously envisioned. Efforts to mitigate the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions by countries through the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has resulted in continuous environmental improvements in the energy efficiency and carbon emission signatures of products. In this paper, an energy–carbon emissions nexus causal model was applied using the Leontief Input–Output mathematical model for low-carbon products in future transport-manufacturing industries., The relationship between energy savings, energy efficiency, and the carbon intensity of products for the carbon emissions signature of the future transport manufacturing in South Africa was established. The interrelationship between the variables resulted in a 29% improvement in the total energy intensity of the vehicle body part products, 7.22% in the cumulative energy savings, and 16.25% in the energy efficiency. The scope that has been examined in this paper will be interesting to agencies of government, researchers, policymakers, business owners, and practicing engineers in future transport manufacturing and could serve as a fundamental guideline for future studies in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and youth participation are emerging as important clarion calls today. Indeed, very few individuals will possibly counter a call for the involvement of young people in decisions and actions which (in)directly affect their lives. Presently, some of the greatest social problems faced by young South Africans are COVID-19, employment, and climate change. These challenges require the active participation of young people—locally known as the "born frees"—in the construction and operationalization of interventions, especially in light of the insufficient (sub)national response. That being said, policymakers often adopt top-down over bottom-up approaches, with the young generation often excluded or at best given a tokenistic role in climate decision-making processes. Therefore, this paper suggests some new ways of conceptualizing youth agency and brings to light how the born frees could efficiently take part or have a say in negotiating the path to climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation. By drawing from the existing literature, the paper concludes that effective engagement with youth is essential in empowering them to key stakeholders or partners in adapting and/or mitigating climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a growing global population and shift to embrace the blue economy, a need for marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged in South Africa to sustainably resolve the rising conflicts over the use of marine and seabed resources and services. A well-developed marine spatial plan yields numerous ecological, social and economic benefits. These are achieved through mediating between spatially conflicting economic drivers' interests (e.g. commercial fishing, tourism, mining), preventing their activities from compromising thresholds of an environment's sustainability. Within the MSP framework, high-resolution geospatial datasets are required to document and describe the seabed in the highest possible detail. At any scale, integrated analysis of seabed geomorphology and habitats is anticipated to greatly improve the understanding of ecosystem functioning from a multidisciplinary perspective, whilst improving MSP procedures and management of marine space. South Africa is the first of few African countries to have an approved and implemented MSP framework, but is still somewhat behind globally in implementing large-scale regional hydroacoustic surveys to cover the country's vast offshore territory. The deficiency of hydroacoustic surveys is perhaps due to a relative lack of funds and poor communication about the value of multibeam echo-sounder (MBES) derived data, whilst marine geoscience remains a scarce skill in the country. This review paper presents a geological perspective of MSP and explores (1) the value that seabed mapping offers MSP specifically and (2) the need to increase seabed mapping with MBES, using a recently initiated project from the South African east coast as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather and climate extremes such as heat waves, droughts and floods are projected to become more frequent and intense in several regions. There is compelling evidence indicating that changes in climate and its extremes over time influence the living conditions of society and the surrounding environment across the globe. This study applies max-stable models to capture the spatio–temporal extremes with dependence. The objective was to analyse the risk of drought caused by extremely high temperatures and deficient rainfall. Hopkin's statistic was used to assess the clustering tendency before using the agglomerative method of hierarchical clustering to cluster the study area into n = 3 temperature clusters and n = 3 precipitation clusters. For the precipitation and temperature data, the values of Hopkin's statistic were 0.7317 and 0.8446, respectively, which shows that both are significantly clusterable. Various max-stable process models were then fitted to each cluster of each variable, and the Schlather model with several covariance functions was found to be a good fit on both datasets compared to the Smith model with the Gaussian covariance function. The modelling approach presented in this paper could be useful to hydrologists, meteorologists and climatologists, including decision-makers in the agricultural sector, in enhancing their understanding of the behaviour of drought caused by extremely high temperatures and low rainfall. The modelling of these compound extremes could also assist in assessing the impact of climate change. It can be seen from this study that the size, including the topography of the location (cluster/region), provides important information about the strength of the extremal dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to global climate change, droughts are likely to become more frequent and more severe in many regions such as in South Africa. In Limpopo, observed high climate variability and projected future climate change will likely increase future maize production risks. This paper evaluates drought patterns in Limpopo at two representative sites. We studied how drought patterns are projected to change under future climatic conditions as an important step in identifying adaptation measures (e.g., breeding maize ideotypes resilient to future conditions). Thirty-year time horizons were analyzed, considering three emission scenarios and five global climate models. We applied the WOFOST crop model to simulate maize crop growth and yield formation over South Africa's summer season. We considered three different crop emergence dates. Drought indices indicated that mainly in the scenario SSP5-8.5 (2051–2080), Univen and Syferkuil will experience worsened drought conditions (DC) in the future. Maize yield tends to decline and future changes in the emergence date seem to impact yield significantly. A possible alternative is to delay sowing date to November or December to reduce the potential yield losses. The grain filling period tends to decrease in the future, and a decrease in the duration of the growth cycle is very likely. Combinations of changed sowing time with more drought tolerant maize cultivars having a longer post-anthesis phase will likely reduce the potential negative impact of climate change on maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper my thought experiment leads me to posit that South Africa's environmental governance often results in what I term "hollow environmentalism". This term describes the inevitable long-term outcome of promulgating laws and policies that are idealistic and seem symbolic and that at times fail to achieve their intended objectives or environmental promise. On a narrower scale, hollow environmentalism can also manifest when such symbolic environmental laws and policies lead to judicial decisions that lack substantive ecological justifications, perhaps even resembling symbolic judgments. I substantiate this argument through four key considerations. I commence with a reality check on environmental governance, emphasising that the state is not a neutral actor, necessitating closer scrutiny of state decisions. This leads me to the conclusion that governance stands at a critical juncture. I argue that the symbolic nature of our environmental laws, broadly speaking, often makes it challenging for the state to fully meet the lofty ideals it presents, thereby also complicating court decisions in these matters. Next, I align my thoughts with recent literature on adjudication in the context of the climate crisis. This literature stresses the need for courts to be bold and innovative in their judicial roles, given the precarious nature of stabilising environmental disputes. In the penultimate section I bring the discussion to a close by suggesting two interconnected possibilities to address hollowness in the face of climate change: "sunsetting" and "substitution". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the Global North is historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) are expected to overtake developed country emissions in the coming years. At the same time, NICs are climbing the ladder of the global economy, increasing their competitiveness on the global stage and catching up with technological competencies of developed economies. Against this background, this paper explores innovation and collaboration in Climate Change Mitigation Technologies (CCMTs) in NICs. The research question is whether the propensity to innovate and diffuse CCMTs is impacted by technological collaboration with two highly developed countries, Germany and The United States. The sample of NICs includes the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) plus Israel, Mexico, and Turkey, in a panel from 1995 to 2015. The empirical results suggest that collaboration with both Germany and the U.S. is highly significant for domestic CCMT innovation in NICs. These findings are important because, stepping beyond the literature on the merits and drawbacks of global climate governance tools such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and related UNFCCC processes, they show that collaboration for climate and environmental technologies could become a key tool to significantly improve the chances to stay in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Finally, the policy advice for NICs and developing countries is to, above all else, focus on incubating strong technological innovation systems, including strengthening domestic Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), as well as to enhance technological collaboration with developed countries., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Food insecurity and intimate partner violence are important determinants of health and wellbeing in southern Africa. However, very little research has attempted to investigate the association between them even though food insecurity is anticipated to increase in the region, mostly owing to climate change. The objective of this paper was to descriptively review peer reviewed studies that investigated the relationship between food insecurity and intimate partner violence in southern Africa. Literature searches were carried out in Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases without any time restriction. A total of five studies that investigated the association between food insecurity and intimate partner violence were identified in South Africa and Swaziland. Of these four studies used a cross-sectional design, and one employed a longitudinal design. Samples varied from 406 to 2479 individuals. No empirical studies were found for the remaining southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique. Moreover, the reported findings indicated that there was an association between food insecurity and interpersonal violence (i.e., physical, psychological, and emotional) in the sub-region regardless the fact that the five studies used diverse measurements of both food insecurity and intimate partner violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In striving to achieve the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, governments have the opportunity to implement their climate and sustainability goals more coherently. Such coherence requires the coordination of interdependent policies across different policy fields, sectors and actors. This paper explores how governments design and implement synergic solutions to concomitantly achieve both international agendas. With the empirical cases of Germany and South Africa, we investigate two independent approaches to the synergic solution of a just energy transition, whereby countries aim to phase out coal as a means to tackle climate change while also ensuring that the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is not hindered. Methodologically, we apply a deductive qualitative approach consisting of literature review, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis. To that end, we examine relevant policies and institutional arrangements by applying a combined conceptual framework of energy justice and just transition in both countries. We find major challenges in overcoming environmental, economic and social burdens of the coal phase-out, especially related to jobs and inequality (SDGs 8, 10) and the Water-Energy-Food-Land nexus (SDGs 2, 6, 7, 15). Through the selection of Germany and South Africa, we illustrate how countries with different political, social and economic backgrounds strive to manage such a transition. Our developed framework and case-studies' findings point towards important considerations when designing just energy transition pathways, such as ensuring inclusiveness in decision-making, thoroughly assessing social, economic and environmental impacts, and adequately coordinating across different actors and the local, provincial and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is acknowledged as the fuel for the 21st century, it is the cleanest fossil fuel. Natural gas is the fastest growing energy source, it will dominate the energy sector for the next 30 years (i.e. 2050). The world proven reserves in 2018 were 196.9 × 1012 m3, if we take 2018 gas consumption, this gas will take us another 51 years. The world natural gas reserves increased from 130.8 × 1012 m3 in 1998, to 170.2 × 1012 m3 in 2008, to 196.9 × 1012 m3 in 2018. The world gas reserves will keep increasing for both conventional and nonconventional gas (i.e. shale gas). The world electricity production by source in 2018 was dominated by coal (38 %) and natural gas (23 %), while in South Africa more than 90 % of electricity is produced from coal. South Africa's coal consumption was the highest in the world (70.7 %), even higher than China (58.2 %) and India (55.9 %), both of them the biggest consumer of coal in volumes, while South Africa natural gas consumption is very low (3 %). The South African government's international climate change and carbon reduction commitments can be satisfied by increasing natural gas in the energy mix and reducing the coal and oil consumptions in the transition phase. The two sectors that natural gas can play a role in the energy mix are electricity production (i.e. gas to power) and transportation (i.e. GTL, CNG and LNG). This paper will discuss in detail how South Africa can substitute coal and oil with natural gas, particularly, electricity production and transportation to satisfy decarbonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a developing country, South Africa relies on electricity as the most critical amenity needed for development. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is one of the nine provinces in South Africa that faces an energy supply challenge. KZN is also the warmest province among them all due to its location. As one of the warmest provinces, solar power could be utilised to assist in dealing with the energy crisis. This paper focuses on the cost uncertainties attributed to the implementation of solar power which will assist in meeting the demand of energy in the region. The unsustainability of energy has led to a near collapse of the region's economy. This study also contributes to improving the scientific implementation of solar power in the region to deal with the unsustainability criteria observed. The employment of Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) revealed solar power as one of the most reliable renewable energies for planned implementation bases. With the development of the Economical, Methodological and Environmental (EME) strategic framework which addresses all social cohesion of solar power, the early turn around has been seen through the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in the region of KZN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the resilience of complex social‐ecological systems (SES) to climate change requires transformative changes. Yet, there are knowledge gaps on how best to achieve transformation. In this study, we present an approach for assessing governance performance in SES and identifying leverage points to ultimately enhance climate resilience. The approach combines three different methods including a capital approach framework, fuzzy cognitive mapping, and a leverage points analysis. Using a coastal case‐study in Algoa Bay, South Africa, the performance of governance processes contributing to different forms of capital is assessed. Subsequently, leverage points ‐ where a small shift may lead to transformative changes in the system as a whole ‐ are identified based on measures of centrality and performance. Results suggest that a range of leverage points can improve governance performance and therefore climate resilience in the case‐study. Leverage points include improving (a) support from the provincial government; (b) priority given to climate change in the integrated development plan; (c) frequency of collaborations; (d) participation in the implementation of climate action plans; (e) allocation of funding to climate change actions; (f) the overall level of preparedness in terms of staff with relevant expertise; (g) public awareness and understanding of climate change. The approach can also be used to analyze and model the relations and interactions between capitals. The study advances methodological and theoretical knowledge on the identification of leverage points for enabling transformations toward climate resilience and broader sustainability goals in SES. Plain Language Summary: Climate change has severe impacts on both people and nature. Enhancing the ability to persist and adapt to climate change requires transformative governance of social‐ecological systems. However, more knowledge is required on how to enable such transformations. In this paper, we present an approach to measure the performance of different governance processes, such as decisions and actions for climate change adaptation made by public and governmental organizations. The approach aims to identify key processes, where a small intervention may improve overall performance for climate change adaptation, and therefore transformation. We apply the approach in a real‐world example in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Results suggest that different processes in the case‐study can be changed in order to enhance the ability to persist and adapt to climate change. This includes seven actions: (a) more support from governmental organizations; (b) greater priority given to climate change in relevant policies; (c) increasing the frequency of interactions between organizations; (d) enhancing the participation in the implementation of climate action plans; (e) better allocation of funding to climate change actions; (f) training staff within organizations to enhance their climate expertise; (g) improving public awareness and understanding of climate change. Key Points: The study presents an approach for assessing governance performance and identifying leverage points in social‐ecological systemsThe approach combines three different methods: a capital approach framework, fuzzy cognitive mapping, and a leverage points analysisThe study advances methodological and theoretical knowledge on how to operationalize transformation toward climate resilience [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of landfills on the environment has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years due to the confounding effects of climate change and water scarcity. There is an urgent need to reduce from landfills the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and to provide effective treatment solutions for waste, thereby diverting it from landfills. With an estimated 80 million tonnes of plastic waste entering the world's oceans annually, the accumulation of marine plastic has become a global crisis. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health and coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change. For these reasons, there is an urgent need to explore a bioplastic biorefinery process. This review paper examines the potential of organic waste as an alternative carbon source in the efficient and feasible microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), which are precursors for bioplastic. More specifically, this paper presents a concept for a bioplastic biorefinery from a technological perspective, based on data from previous studies. Biofuel production processes are also assessed with the aim of integrating these processes to construct a bioplastic waste biorefinery. Garden refuse and food waste have been shown to be feasible feedstocks for the production of PHA and PHB in singular processes. Diverting these wastes away from landfills will significantly ease the environmental impacts currently associated with their disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government, policy, intervention campaigns, and communication strategies tend to separate social environmental issues from green environmental issues, and more recently, placing emphasis on responding to the pandemic. Interventions with an individualistic focus has also received criticism. Isolating issues from each other makes them deceptively simpler to deal in the short term, but at the cost of their interconnectedness impacting how future disasters might be managed. This myopic approach is of particular concern considering how climate change is increasingly impacting South Africans. This paper proposes two central questions: given evidence of the likely zoonotic source of COVID-19, how have relative rankings of the green environment changed between 2016 (pre COVID-19) and 2021 (COVID-19), and what does this mean for the study of environmental justice? A study conducted with 721 South Africans in 2016 aimed to establish where green environmental issues ranked compared to social and economic concerns. Subsequently, the pandemic provided an opportunity to conduct a follow up study with 665 South Africans to determine whether issues of concern are different during a pandemic. The results show that in the face of evidence of the zoonotic origins of COVID-19, there were little to no shifts in the ranking of green environmental issues in 2021 compared to 2016 among a sample of South Africans. The findings from this study suggest that red and brown issues could be powerfully leveraged to mobilise a range of movements for environmental justice in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the multiple challenges facing all categories of farmers globally. However, African farmers are the most sensitive in respect of climate variability and change. Climate change impacted negatively on crop production and the livelihoods of the local farmers. In black township South Africa, agricultural activities are highly dominated by small-scale farmers, whose farming system is highly vulnerable to changes in climate. This paper presents the analysis of how small-scale farmers employed adaptation strategies in response to climate change and determinants of small-scale households' choices of coping and adaptation approach to climate variability and change in Vhembe District, South Africa. Multi nominal logit model was used on a surveyed of 224 local farmers. Farmers' socio-economic attributes, was used in response to climate changes and further, households have adaptation strategies both on-farm and off-farm approach. Such approaches were; drought-tolerant seeds, shorter cycle crops, diversification of crops, changing planting dates, small-scale irrigation, migrating to urban areas and involvement in petty business. The results of the findings reveals that the significant drivers affecting choice of adaptation approach include climate information, gender, farm size, education level, farmer experience, decreasing rainfall and increases in temperature as farmers' determinant choices of adaptation to climate change. While, on the other hand, off-farm resources, headed households and age had no significant impact on the choice of coping and adaptation approach to climate change. Therefore, policy makers in the local municipality should play a significant role by enhancing adaptation strategies appropriate for particular climatic shock on the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a global problem, which affects the various geographical regions at different levels. It is also associated with a wide range of human health problems, which pose a burden to health systems, especially in regions such as Africa. Indeed, across the African continent public health systems are under severe pressure, partly due to their fragile socioeconomic conditions. This paper reports on a cross-sectional study in six African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) aimed at assessing their vulnerabilities to climate change, focusing on its impacts on human health. The study evaluated the levels of information, knowledge, and perceptions of public health professionals. It also examined the health systems' preparedness to cope with these health hazards, the available resources, and those needed to build resilience to the country's vulnerable population, as perceived by health professionals. The results revealed that 63.1% of the total respondents reported that climate change had been extensively experienced in the past years, while 32% claimed that the sampled countries had experienced them to some extent. Nigerian respondents recorded the highest levels (67.7%), followed by Kenya with 66.6%. South Africa had the lowest level of impact as perceived by the respondents (50.0%) when compared with the other sampled countries. All respondents from Ghana and Namibia reported that health problems caused by climate change are common in the two countries. As perceived by the health professionals, the inadequate resources reiterate the need for infrastructural resources, medical equipment, emergency response resources, and technical support. The study's recommendations include the need to improve current policies at all levels (i.e., national, regional, and local) on climate change and public health and to strengthen health professionals' skills. Improving the basic knowledge of health institutions to better respond to a changing climate is also recommended. The study provides valuable insights which may be helpful to other nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Managing water and food systems in South Africa is complex given the factors involved in sustainably managing the sector. To ensure sustainable management of water and agricultural systems, equal access to natural resources, and economic equality, the government has implemented policies to regulate the systems and ensure economic growth. However, the unintended consequences of these policies on the sustainability of water and agricultural systems have not been fully understood in South Africa. This paper identified and analysed four system archetypes believed to have implications for current water and agricultural development policies in South Africa. These are 'Limits to Growth', 'Fixes that Fail', 'Shifting the Burden', and the 'Attractiveness Principle'. The results show that policies implemented by the government ensure inclusiveness, equal access to natural resources, and improve productivity in the short‐term; the unintended consequences will ultimately undermine sustainability and food security over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater, which is water that is found underground, is less susceptible than surface water resources to evaporation, and thus offers resilience against the impacts of climate change. Many South African cities, communities and farmers depend on groundwater for domestic or other socio-economic purposes. This implies that groundwater resources which are currently or potentially utilisable should be identified, and suitable legal measures should be implemented to protect these resources from potential risks of harm or damage posed by anthropogenic activity. This article firstly evaluates the effectiveness of the country's existing regulatory framework to effectively protect South Africa's groundwater resources and finds that the framework can be improved upon significantly. Secondly, it explores regulatory opportunities within the existing legal framework to strengthen South Africa's groundwater governance regime, including making use of land-use planning instruments to facilitate the implementation of groundwater protection zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing concern over the sustainability of the tourism industry, which is blamed for contributing to several environmental challenges, including carbon emissions that lead to global warming and ultimately climate change. The industry is further blamed for causing ocean plastic pollution and associated negative impacts on the marine environment including fish deaths. Consequently, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and other key role players have been calling for the tourism industry to embrace and localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so as to address some of the concerns and in the process ensure buisness sustainability. However, since the Declaration of 2017 as the Year of Sustainable Tourism, very few studies have reviewed the role of tourism in the localisation of SDGs. Using primary, archival and secondary data, the paper presents an example of how a private nature reserve in the Cape Floral Kingdom (a World Heritage Site) has localised SDGs. The study shows that the Grootbos Foundation, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve has localised 16 SDGs through various initiatives targeting several aspects of business operations, including commerce, conservation, community, and culture. In addition, the study also highlights some critical challenges that are being faced by tourism companies in the localisation of SDGs which calls for greater scientific engagement and research so as to find innovative solutions. The study recommends the replication of the model by similar tourism businesses located near and in protected areas, to ensure tourism sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adds an additional layer of complexity to existing sustainable development and biodiversity conservation challenges. The impacts of global climate change are felt locally, and thus local governance structures will increasingly be responsible for preparedness and local responses. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) options are gaining prominence as relevant climate change solutions. Local government officials seldom have an appropriate understanding of the role of ecosystem functioning in sustainable development goals, or access to relevant climate information. Thus the use of ecosystems in helping people adapt to climate change is limited partially by the lack of information on where ecosystems have the highest potential to do so. To begin overcoming this barrier, Conservation South Africa in partnership with local government developed a socio-ecological approach for identifying spatial EbA priorities at the sub-national level. Using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and vegetation distribution models, the authors have spatially integrated relevant ecological and social information at a scale appropriate to inform local level political, administrative, and operational decision makers. This is the first systematic approach of which we are aware that highlights spatial priority areas for EbA implementation. Nodes of socio-ecological vulnerability are identified, and the inclusion of areas that provide ecosystem services and ecological resilience to future climate change is innovative. The purpose of this paper is to present and demonstrate a methodology for combining complex information into user-friendly spatial products for local level decision making on EbA. The authors focus on illustrating the kinds of products that can be generated from combining information in the suggested ways, and do not discuss the nuance of climate models nor present specific technical details of the model outputs here. Two representative case studies from rural South Africa demonstrate the replicability of this approach in rural and peri-urban areas of other developing and least developed countries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the factors that drive farmers' simultaneous adoption of six water conservation practices (WCPs) and the intensity of their adoption. We estimate farmers' adoption of these WCPs with a multivariate probit model, and for the intensity of their adoption, an ordered probit model is estimated. Our results show that gender, age, education, and farm size (among other factors) influence the probability and extent of adoption of WCPs. Furthermore, combinations like drip and/or sprinkler irrigations and cover cropping, drip and/or sprinkler irrigations and intercropping (among others) are complements, suggesting the bundling of these WCPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern African cities face several challenges including management of rapid urbanization, rising populations, expanding informal settlements; adequate water and other service provision, and a host of governance challenges. Climate change and variability add a compounding effect to this complex, multi stressor context. Addressing the complexity requires an understanding of urban ecosystems functioning and interactions amongst the built and natural environment (climate) and human systems. In this paper we argue that learning is essential for cities to be resilient to current and future challenges. We profile the Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands (FRACTAL) project which contributed towards climate resilient development by providing relevant climate information for decision-making at the city regional scale in southern Africa. Following FRACTAL's city-to-city learning approach of sharing good practices, knowledge and experiences framed around transdisciplinary research, the study cities of Harare, Lusaka, Windhoek and Durban conducted city learning exchange visits between 2017 and 2018. We used a mixed methods approach to collect and analyze historical climate and hydrological data and current socio-economic and development data among the cities. A qualitative, in-depth, case study comparative analysis was used to identify similarities and differences as well as lessons drawn from the learning process during the city exchanges and these were complimented by desktop studies. Results showed water scarcity, large informal settlements, reliance on external water and energy sources, inadequate protection of ecologically sensitive resources and service provision as some of the common complications in the cities. Several lessons and transferable practices learnt from the cities included effective water conservation and waste management and the use of public-private partnerships in Windhoek, community engagements in Durban and Lusaka while lessons on decisive leadership in dealing with informal settlements emanated from Harare's limited informal settlements. Lastly, Durban's Adaptation Charter and integrated climate planning provided lessons for biodiversity protection and mainstreaming climate change at city governance level. While we recognize that cities are context-specific we consider these good practices as being broadly transferable to other southern African cities. We conclude that social, experiential and structured learning can be an innovative way of multi-stakeholder engagement and a useful approach to increase city resilience planning across southern Africa and cities that face similar developmental challenges., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Concerns over climate change are increasingly reaching an urgent level. Many countries have begun focusing their efforts on mitigating its devastating impact. At the same time countries need to ensure their economic growth and development, thus calling for greater energy usage leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions. As the environment struggles to adapt to the rapid changes brought about by climate change, the effects are felt by the most vulnerable of the world's population. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have outlined the reasons and the effects of climate change providing actions required to mitigate these effects. Unfortunately developing countries, including South Africa, are the most affected. The current energy system in the country is primarily based on fossil fuels, which emit the greatest amount of greenhouse gases. To ensure that South Africa mitigates the impact, government needs to safeguard and promote sustainable development. To do this South Africa should weigh its energy mix in relation to the environment and the wellbeing of its citizens. A comprehensive and robust regulatory framework on climate change is required thus ensuring the achievement of South Africa's developmental goals well into the future and ensuring participation in the global effort against climate change. Earthlife Africa Johannesburg v Minister of Environmental Affairs 2017 2 All SA 519 (GP) signifies a good start towards the effective regulation of climate change in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-generated stress has been linked to multiple socio-political outcomes, many of which are violent. Scarcity is a key mechanism behind these violent outcomes. I argue that climate-induced scarcity creates conditions for organized criminal groups to capture the markets of legal commodities. Scarcity drives prices up, creating incentives for criminal groups to capture the production and distribution of these commodities with pernicious consequences. Using qualitative evidence for the abalone shellfish market in two South African provinces, I trace the process connecting climate-induced scarcity to price changes, to criminal market capture. In doing so, I make three contributions: I propose a new theory about the climate drivers behind the behavior of organized crime by bringing together scholarship on climate and conflict and criminal violence; I extend research on organized crime from markets of illicit goods into markets for licit ones; and I provide evidence suggestive of brokerage as a specific mechanism to illegally control a market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century. To combat climate change the international community has agreed to keep the average temperature increase well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Despite this consideration, the latest scientific evidence suggests that the planet has already warmed by 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. The slow reaction by national governments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions has prompted cities to take ownership of climate change mitigation action and drive global intervention from the sub-national level. These urban areas are home to more than half of the world's population and have immense energy requirements, and typically rely heavily on fossil fuels to meet this demand. Therefore, a shift to city level climate governance is significant as cities are both the victims and the culprits of climate change. Should cities supplant fossil fuels with renewable energy initiatives in meeting their energy demands, this would provide a significant boost to climate change mitigation efforts. Bioenergy as a form of renewable energy can potentially contribute to the energy mix in cities through biomass exploitation while simultaneously addressing climate change mitigation efforts. This article focusses on the role of bioenergy in the energy discourse in cities and the potential of law and policy to contribute to developing these biomass-based systems. The article provides insight into the South African bioenergy regulatory framework from an energy and climate change perspective and offers an account of what bioenergy can contribute to cities when considering the transition to a low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explore the affordances of employing the visual mode--specifically the medium of drawing--as a multimodal pedagogy to raise awareness of deforestation and climate change in the South African mainstream school context. Conducted at several public and private schools in the Gauteng and the North West provinces, the research follows nine learners between the ages of 10 and 18, who have volunteered to participate in a three-week enrichment programme involving the multimodal reimagining of a noncurricular narrative into a series of drawings, paintings and collages. The narrative, which also serves as the primary source text during each participant's artefactual redesign journey, is a wordless picture book that explores the concept of exponential environmental change. With this visually engaging text merely acting as a springboard for the making of new meanings in the Grade 5 to 11 Social Sciences/Geography classroom, participants are granted complete autonomy in their visual representations of how the exhaustion of our natural resources and moreover the threat of global warming may be impacting upon our daily lives on a spiritual, emotional and corporeal level. Finally, each artefact is presented as primary data to offer a tripartite focus on the latter learner experiences, the expressional properties of art, as well as the viability of the proposed pedagogy in future practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intersecting challenges of urbanization, growing inequality, climate and environmental risk and economic sustainability require new modes of urban governance. Although the urban poor are increasingly recognized as needing to be part of climate adaptation planning and implementation, many governance arrangements fail to explicitly include them. In order to make climate governance more inclusive, transformative capacity is needed. Drawing on two case studies from different urban contexts in South Africa, this paper explores the nature of inclusive governance between local government and the urban poor and the extent to which this has contributed to transformative development trajectories. The findings suggest that inclusive governance will be strengthened when local government (1) recognizes the everyday reality of the urban poor and works with them to identify priorities for transformative change, (2) supports sustained intermediaries who are urban poor themselves and (3) draws on diverse modes of governance to find new ways to engage diverse actors and experiment with inclusive adaptation planning and practice. These practices will help to build transformative capacity that can envisage and enable new ways of governing urban risk and implementing adaptation that puts the poor, frequently most impacted by climate and disaster risk, at the centre.

Background: Globally, the response to climate change is gradually gaining momentum as the impacts of climate change unfold. In South Africa, it is increasingly apparent that delays in responding to climate change over the past decades have jeopardized human life and livelihoods. While slow progress with mitigation, especially in the energy sector, has garnered much attention, focus is now shifting to developing plans and systems to adapt to the impacts of climate change., Methods: We applied systematic review methods to assess progress with climate change adaptation in the health sector in South Africa. This case study provides useful lessons which could be applied in other countries in the African region, or globally. We reviewed the literature indexed in PubMed and Web of Science, together with relevant grey literature. We included articles describing adaptation interventions to reduce the impact of climate change on health in South Africa. All study designs were eligible. Data from included articles and grey literature were summed thematically., Results: Of the 820 publications screened, 21 were included, together with an additional xx papers. Very few studies presented findings of an intervention or used high-quality research designs. Several policy frameworks for climate change have been developed at national and local government levels. These, however, pay little attention to health concerns and the specific needs of vulnerable groups. Systems for forecasting extreme weather, and tracking malaria and other infections appear well established. Yet, there is little evidence about the country's preparedness for extreme weather events, or the ability of the already strained health system to respond to these events. Seemingly, few adaptation measures have taken place in occupational and other settings. To date, little attention has been given to climate change in training curricula for health workers., Conclusions: Overall, the volume and quality of research is disappointing, and disproportionate to the threat posed by climate change in South Africa. This is surprising given that the requisite expertise for policy advocacy, identifying effective interventions and implementing systems-based approaches rests within the health sector. More effective use of data, a traditional strength of health professionals, could support adaptation and promote accountability of the state. With increased health-sector leadership, climate change could be reframed as predominately a health issue, one necessitating an urgent, adequately-resourced response. Such a shift in South Africa, but also beyond the country, may play a key role in accelerating climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Climate affects crop production decisions and outcomes in agriculture. From very short-term decisions about which crops to grow, when to plant or harvest a field, to longerterm decisions about farm investments, climate can positively or negatively affect agricultural systems. Although the general effects of climate change on agriculture are broadly understood, there are limited studies that model the relationship between specific crops and climate variables. The study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to analyze the sensitivity of maize yield to climate variables, fertilizer use and other non-climate variables. This paper uses annual timeseries data of 47 observations spanning from 1970 to 2016. The results reveal that rainfall and temperature are important maize yield drivers in South Africa. However, if excessive, they will produce negative effects. The findings of this analysis are relevant for designing long-term interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change on maize production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant proportion of South African municipalities, who hold the mandate for providing solid waste management (SWM) services for millions of South Africans, appear to be on the brink of collapse. On the frontlines of municipal failure, the city of Makhanda, following two decades of poor governance and mismanagement, has found itself unable to fulfil its mandate, with the state retreating on SWM service provision, and disruptions to waste management services becoming a daily reality. Drawing on embedded, qualitative fieldwork, this article examines how differently placed residents have experienced disruptions to SWM services. This work explores how residents of Makhanda's two halves: the affluent and predominantly white neighbourhoods in the west, and the poor, non-white townships in the east, have (or have not) adapted to manage and dispose of their own waste during periods of disruption. Findings suggest that disruptions to waste management service provision have been broadly experienced by residents. However, the consequences of interruptions to municipal collection have not been evenly borne, as more resourced, western residents have been more successful at managing their own waste disposal, while the residents of Makhanda's townships are less capable of coping, with affected communities coming to resemble a dumping ground, and residents having to adopt unsafe or environmentally harmful disposal practices. These findings are important because they shed light on the challenges of creating cleaner, more equal communities without healthy municipal participation in waste management services, while raising important considerations for a South Africa facing the possibility of widespread municipal collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given its associated burden of disease, climate change in South Africa could be reframed as predominately a health issue, one necessitating an urgent health-sector response. The growing impact of climate change has major implications for South Africa, especially for the numerous vulnerable groups in the country. We systematically reviewed the literature by searching PubMed and Web of Science. Of the 820 papers screened, 34 were identified that assessed the impacts of climate change on health in the country. Most papers covered effects of heat on health or on infectious diseases (20/34; 59%). We found that extreme weather events are the most noticeable effects to date, especially droughts in the Western Cape, but rises in vector-borne diseases are gaining prominence. Climate aberration is also linked in myriad ways with outbreaks of food and waterborne diseases, and possibly with the recent Listeria epidemic. The potential impacts of climate change on mental health may compound the multiple social stressors that already beset the populace. Climate change heightens the pre-existing vulnerabilities of women, fishing communities, rural subsistence farmers and those living in informal settlements. Further gender disparities, eco-migration and social disruptions may undermine the prevention-but also treatment-of HIV. Our findings suggest that focused research and effective use of surveillance data are required to monitor climate change's impacts; traditional strengths of the country's health sector. The health sector, hitherto a fringe player, should assume a greater leadership role in promoting policies that protect the public's health, address inequities and advance the country's commitments to climate change accords.

The built environment is a critical part of the climate change problem in cities, and urban buildings can act as a scaled response to mitigating anthropogenic climate change. Buildings last for well beyond a hundred years and thus have the potential to provide cities with a healthier and safer environment for urban dwellers well into the future. The role of the building sector toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is now better understood, and has resulted in various initiatives globally to move toward being a net-zero carbon sector. The objective of this study was to provide an assessment of the costs in achieving the emissions-reduction potential for each high-emitting sector in the eThekwini Municipality (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) through the determination of a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC). The MACC was developed for 2030, 2040, and 2050 across key sectors and aligned with the approach used by the eThekwini Municipality by employing the GHG Protocol's BASIC level of reporting that excludes the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land-use (AFLOU) and Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) sectors. We found that the building sector offers the lowest cost to mitigate each tonne of GHGs when compared to other sectors in the eThekwini Municipality. Several interventions within the building sector further display positive payback periods throughout its life cycle. The MACC produced in this study is the first of its kind for any municipality in South Africa and will provide insights into the net cost of interventions that would mitigate a tonne of carbon emissions. Significance: • The MACC produced in this study is the first of its kind for any municipality in South Africa. Developing a MACC adds to an important basket of factors that need to be considered when planning for future climates in cities and is of benefit in prioritising actions in addressing climate change. The MACC in this study demonstrates that energy efficiency interventions in the building sector offer substantial mitigation potential within the most feasible payback periods when compared to other sectors. • The MACC may be replicated by other municipalities, to support the prioritisation of actions needed to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the progress made in climate change adaptation in the city of Durban since the launch of the Municipal Climate Protection Programme in 2004. This includes the initial difficulties in getting the attention of key sectors within municipal government, and how this was addressed and also served by the more detailed understanding of the range of adaptation options and their cost-benefits. There is also a better understanding of the potentials and constraints on community-based adaptation and the opposition from some landowners to measures to protect and enhance ecosystem services. The paper ends with lessons learnt that contradict some common assumptions – for instance, what approaches best build support for climate change adaptation within local governments, what measures work and from where lessons can be drawn. It also describes the perhaps unexpected linkages between local action and international influence and highlights the need for international climate change negotiations to recognize the key roles of urban governments in developing locally rooted adaptation and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the light of student protests in 2015 and 2016 relating to the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements, the significance of the historical discourse has been sidelined. This concept paper discusses the role of digital technologies as platforms to capture and disseminate oral histories, audio-visual sources, historical writings and indigenous knowledge in order to tackle environmental concerns. In South Africa, there is a moral responsibility to encourage previously ignored communities and individuals to collect and share their experiences and knowledge, particularly where this knowledge may be valuable in tackling contemporary challenges. Through better utilisation of oral histories, oral traditions, audio-visual sources, historical writings and indigenous knowledge - as well as better access facilitated by means of digital technologies - the sustainability of historical discourse, the asset-worth of these sources and the viability of the archival institutions and the similar heritage entities housing these items, could be assured. Historians and archivists need to engage actively in highlighting collections, demonstrating their relevance to contemporary challenges and interacting with society at large to ensure that the histories recorded, captured and disseminated represent all communities. Better dissemination of these information sources could provide more effective solutions to deal with contemporary environmental concerns, such as climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sorghum is emerging as a viable crop option to increase food production under changing climate due to its resilience to drought and marginal soils. Appropriate planting date, crop cultivars, type of tillage and rotations, under contrasting climatic conditions, could make significant contribution on the effective management of sorghum under changing climatic conditions. A short-term study was carried out to investigate the effects of planting date, crop cultivar, tillage type and rotations on the growth and primary nutrient uptake of sorghum in contrasting climatic regions. Methods: The study was conducted in Free State - (FS) and KwaZulu Natal (KZN) Provinces of South Africa over two seasons (2020/21 and 2021/22). The two cultivars (Pan8816 and Macia) were sown in December (PD1) and in January (PD2) under conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) and with two rotations (Sorghum-Cowpea-Sorghumand Sorghum-Sorghum-Sorghum) resulting in 2×2×2×2 factorial experiment. Results and discussion: In KZN, in both the first (2020/21) and second (2021/22) seasons, the effects of all the factors, except cultivar in the second season, were not significant on yield, and uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In the second season, Pan8816 (4.40 t/ha) produced 3.3 times higher yield than Macia (1.32 t/ha), and took up higher N, K and P. In FS, the early planted sorghum (1.15 t/ha for season one; 3.39 t/ha for season two) had significantly higher yield than late planted sorghum (0.434 and 0.91 t/ha for seasons one and two, respectively). Furthermore, the early-planted crops took up higher N, K and P than when planted late, while Pan8816 took up 1.74 times more P than Macia. Plants grown under CT (2.61 t/ha) produced significantly higher yield than under NT (1.70 t/ha), with plants under CT taking up significantly more K than those grown on NT. These findings suggest that in the drier FS, early planting under conventional tillage, while in the wetter KZN, selecting the appropriate cultivar (PAN8816), are essential for sorghum grain yield, at least in the short-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current disconnect in policy development and management of the water, energy, and food resources threatens their security of supply despite their inextricable interlinkage, commonly known as Water-Energy-Food nexus. The security of these basic human needs is aggravated by climate change's cross-cutting role, which impacts their availability. These apprehensions suggest that contemporary methods are required to improve and enhance the management of the food, water, and energy resources within the climate change discourse. This study applies Systems Thinking methodologies to foster collaboration amongst key stakeholders within Eskom, the electricity generating sector in South Africa. This was done through several simulation workshops held amongst employees within the generation, transmission, distribution, and corporate employees. The workshops demonstrated the ability of the systems thinking approach to enable stakeholders to apply the “nexus thinking” in managing the WEF sectors within the climate change discourse. The study concludes by recommending the application of this simulation within policy development and other key sectors to enable a broader application of nexus thinking, thus assisting in addressing the silo approach within these resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane (CH4) is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for about 20% of global emissions. CH4 anthropogenic emission sources include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment and certain industrial processes. In this work, we examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of CH4 and its relationship to climatic and vegetation parameters in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. Various datasets from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project were used. The results show an increasing trend of CH4 concentration throughout the entire province. The greatest increase in CH4 concentration is observed in the western parts of the province during June-July-August (JJA) season. CH4 concentration shows negligible correlation with most climatic parameters, i.e. Temperature (Temp), Precipitation (Precip) and NDVI for both seasons. The Temp-NDVI relationship shows high correlation values of r = -0.71 and r = 0.82 for the DJF and JJA seasons, respectively. Seasonality plays a critical role in the relationships of the CH4 to climatic and vegetation parameters. This study shows that we are in a crisis, and robust mitigation strategies are needed to combat this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a 50% possibility that global temperatures will have risen by more than 5 °C by the year 2100. As demands on Earth's systems grow more unsustainable, human security is clearly at stake. This narrative review provides an overview and synthesis of findings in relation to climate change, air pollution, and human health within the Global South context, focusing on case study geographic locations in South Africa and Brazil. Two case study regions—the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere region of South Africa and the Amazon region of Brazil—were the subjects of PubMed literature searches. Technical reports, policy briefs, and grey literature were also narratively synthesized. The burning of wood for fuel, as witnessed in Agincourt, and forest fires, such as those seen in the Amazon rainforest, release air pollutants such as methane and black carbon, which are strong short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) which fuel climate change and adversely affect human health. SLCPs have a brief lifetime in the atmosphere, but they frequently have a far larger potential for global warming than carbon dioxide (CO2). Most air pollution in geographic case study areas, that are home to human settlements, is due to the burning of wood and other biomasses that are pollutants. These areas are seen to be important for climate and health responses, and if constructive action is taken to switch to other modes of electricity generation (such as solar power) and the prevention of deforestation, the worst of the impacts may still be mitigated in these regions. Authorities should also establish a monitoring strategy for air quality, as well as enforce air quality regulations that safeguard public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the design and application of a benefit-cost model to the city of Durban’s (South Africa) climate change adaptation options. The approach addresses the inability to compile an accurate damage-cost function for economic prioritizations at the local level. It proposes that uncertainty over climate impacts and the efficacy of adaptation responses, in conjunction with the lack of economic data, high levels of economic informality and inequality make it difficult to link adaptation efforts to positive GDP impact in Durban. Instead, the research based its calculations of “benefits” on the number of people impacted and the extent of the welfare benefits imparted by the respective adaptation efforts. It also took into account the uncertainty over future events, capacity constraints, priorities of decision makers and the risk of maladaptation. The results were reported as benefit-cost ratios for 16 clusters of interventions (many of which were primarily the responsibility of one municipal department or agency) in each of four future scenarios (defined by minor or major climate change and weak or strong socio-institutional capacity). The paper presents and discusses the benefit-cost ratios and total benefits for each of the intervention clusters in each of the future scenarios. It emphasizes how these are influenced by choices of time frames. It also highlights how the most efficient interventions across all futures and time frames tend to be socio-institutional – for instance the creation of a cross-sectoral disaster management forum, sea level rise preparedness and early warning system, and creating climate change adaptation capacity within the water services unit. Ecosystem-based adaptation measures had moderate benefit-cost ratios, probably because in Durban the land that needs to be purchased for this is relatively expensive. Infrastructure-based clusters generally had the lowest benefit-cost ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environment & Urbanization is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)