Spatial analyses of threats to ecosystem service hotspots in Greater Durban, South Africa

Background Population growth at all scales and rapid rates of urbanization, particularly in the global South, are placing increasing pressure on ecosystems and their ability to provide services essential for human well-being. The spatial consideration of threats to ecosystem services related to changes in land use is necessary in order to avoid undue impacts on society due to the loss or reduced supply of ecosystem services. This study assesses the potential threats of land use change from strategic and local development proposals to ecosystem services in the city of Durban. Methods We analysed the spatial relationship between five categories of ecosystem service hotspots (carbon storage, water yield, sediment retention, nutrient retention and flood attenuation) and urban land use change related to selected strategic planning proposals, development proposals and sand-mining applications in Durban, South Africa (eThekwini Municipality) with a view to determining the consequences for progress towards a more sustainable development path in the city. We identified the potential levels of threat related to habitat destruction or transformation for the five categories of ecosystem services and a subset of 13 ecosystem service hotspots, using GIS spatial analysis tools. Results The results show that on average, should Durban’s strategic development plans be realised, approximately 42% loss of ecosystem service hotspots is expected in the two municipal town-planning regions assessed. With respect to development applications between 2009 and 2012, approximately 36% of all environmental impact assessments and 84% of sand mining applications occurred within ecosystem service hotspots within Durban. Discussion The findings highlight the tension between short-term development pressures and longer-term sustainability goals and confirm that current planning and development proposals pose a threat to ecosystems and their ability to deliver services that support human well-being in Durban. We suggest practical solutions to include ecosystem services into local government decision-making

Towards the Three Dimensions of Sustainability for International Research Team Collaboration: Learnings from the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems Research Programme

This paper highlights the potential for learning and virtual collaboration in international research teams to contribute towards sustainability goals. Previous research confirmed the environmental benefits of carbon savings from international virtual conferences. This paper adds the social and economic dimensions by using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the constraints and benefits for personal development, economic costs, efficiency and team learning of holding international virtual conferences (VCs). Using the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) research programme as a case study, we analysed VC participant survey data to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of VCs. We estimated ‘saved’ GHG emissions, costs, and time, of using VCs as an alternative for a planned in-person meeting in Chennai, India. Hosting VCs reduced North–South, gender, and researcher inclusivity concerns, financial and travelling time costs, and substantially reduced emissions. For one international meeting with 107 participants, changing to a virtual format reduced the per capita GHG emissions to half the annual global average, and avoided 60% of travel costs. The benefits of VCs outweighed weaknesses. The main strengths were inclusivity and access, with 20% more early/mid-career researchers attending. This study identified opportunities for international research partnerships to mitigate their carbon footprint (environmental benefit) and enhance inclusivity of early/mid-career, women and Global South participants (social benefit), whilst continuing to deliver effective collaborative research meetings (economic benefit). In doing so, we present a holistic view of sustainability opportunities for virtual collaboration

Urban sustainability and social ecological systems: linking civic ecology, nature and ecosystems services for the achievement of the SDGs.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.To address global environmental change and ensure well-being, an improved understanding of complex human-environment relationships is needed. It further requires that the role of natural systems and ecosystem services are recognised for their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are included in a broad range of development sectors, and are managed and protected appropriately to safeguard those contributions. This PhD contributed to the evolution of the application of sustainability frameworks, from global to local level, by providing local-level evidence from two sources of change, civic / community action and local government actions (eThekwini Municipality). Through the five papers produced in this PhD research, I developed and assessed contributions of civic ecology, research organisation processes, and government planning and management, to global sustainability, using socialecological systems and ecosystem services theory as a foundation. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4, a mixed methodological approach was used (household surveys, interviews, field observations and impact assessment) to identify the systemic linkages between civic ecology interventions of the Wise Wayz Water Care programme (case study), ecosystem services, SDGs, and human well-being. Chapter 5 analysed virtual vs face-to-face international conferences of the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems programme (case study) and identified impacts on inclusivity, organisational learning, carbon footprints, barriers and enabling conditions for improved efficiency, and environmental sustainability, of international research collaborations. Chapter 6 used the Durban Research Action Partnership (D’RAP) transdisciplinary scienceaction collaboration as a case study, to explore the links between social outcomes and ecosystem services from multiple viewpoints, through expert collaboration and engagement for urban planning and sustainability. The main contributions made by this work are: (1) Identification, quantification, and assessment of civic ecology interventions as a tool to improve human well-being, using a social-ecological systems approach; (2) Linking local interventions to global policy outcomes through quantified systems mapping of civic ecology, natural capital, and ecosystem services enhancement, related to the SDGs; (3) Linking ecosystem services to human well-being improvements and policy implementation through transdisciplinary approaches. This thesis provided insights, tools, methods and evidence for local-level actions, yielding national and international sustainability wins

Civic Ecology Uplifts Low-Income Communities, Improves Ecosystem Services and Well-Being, and Strengthens Social Cohesion

International audienceEcosystem services enhance well-being and the livelihoods of disadvantaged communities. Civic ecology can enhance social-ecological systems; however, their contributions to ecosystem services are rarely measured. We analysed the outcomes of civic ecology interventions undertaken in Durban, South Africa, as part of the Wise Wayz Water Care programme (the case study). Using mixed methods (household and beneficiary (community members implementing interventions) surveys, interviews, field observations, and workshops), we identified ecosystem service use and values, as well as the benefits of six interventions (solid waste management and removal from aquatic and terrestrial areas, recycling, invasive alien plant control, river water quality monitoring, vegetable production, and community engagement). Ecosystem services were widely used for agriculture, subsistence, and cultural uses. River water was used for crop irrigation, livestock, and recreation. Respondents noted numerous improvements to natural habitats: decrease in invasive alien plants, less pollution, improved condition of wetlands, and increased production of diverse vegetables. Improved habitats were linked to enhanced ecosystem services: clean water, agricultural production, harvesting of wood, and increased cultural and spiritual activities. Key social benefits were increased social cohesion, education, and new business opportunities. We highlight that local communities can leverage natural capital for well-being and encourage policy support of civic ecology initiatives

Community disaster exposure and first onset of depression: A panel analysis of nationally representative South African data, 2008-2017.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces unprecedented disasters, with climate change expected to exacerbate the frequency and severity of unpredictable and stressful catastrophic events. Unlike developed nations, reconstruction in developing nations is hindered by resource constraints, with certain communities potentially experiencing multiple and enduring effects of disasters. Despite the potential danger of such cumulative community disaster exposure on mental health (e.g. depression), large-scale population-level evidence for the region is limited. We investigated the association between exposure to cumulative disaster and the first onset of depression in a nationally representative survey in South Africa. We used panel data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study (SA-NIDS) from 2008-2017, consisting of 17,255 adult study participants who were depression free at baseline. Risk of first depression onset between individuals exposed and unexposed to community disaster was measured, accounting for multiple disaster exposure over time by fitting generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression models. Data on the geographic location of disasters were obtained from the South African government gazette, and mapped with the government delineated SA-NIDS households' locations. Of the sampled individuals, 2,986 were exposed to disaster during the study duration (17.3%). Increased cumulative community disaster was significantly associated with the likelihood of depression onset (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.20, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09-1.33), even after controlling for socio-demographic factors. In sub-group analyses, greater likelihood of depression onset was found among females [but not in men] (aRR = 1.23, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09-1.38), Black African [but not in other population group] (aRR = 1.21, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09-1.36), lower education attainment group [but not in tertiary and above educational attainment group] (aRR = 1.20, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.08-1.33), and lower income attainment group [but not in the top income quartile group] (aRR = 1.24, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.11-1.38), due to cumulative community disaster. Although cumulative community disaster exposure was significantly associated with the first onset of depression, its negative impact may be more pronounced among individuals considered chronically socially vulnerable (i.e. the groups above) in South Africa. Given that many individuals in South Africa rely on social, food parcel relief, and health services from government/public sector, timely access to community-based supportive intervention is needed for disaster survivors, prioritizing socially vulnerable groups to help mitigate problems associated with mental health challenges

Visioning a Food System for an Equitable Transition towards Sustainable Diets—A South African Perspective.

The global goal to end hunger requires the interpretation of problems and change across multiple domains to create the scope for collaboration, learning, and impactful research. We facilitated a workshop aimed at understanding how stakeholders problematize sustainable diet transition (SDT) among a previously marginalized social group. Using the systems thinking approach, three sub-systems, namely access to dietary diversity, sustainable beneficiation of natural capital, and ‘food choice for well-being’, highlighted the main forces governing the current context, and future interventions of the project. Moreover, when viewed as co-evolving processes within the multi-level perspective, our identified microlevel leverage points—multi-faceted literacy, youth empowerment, deliberative policymaking, and promotion of sustainable diet aspirations—can be linked and developed through existing national macro-level strategies. Thus, co-designing to problematize transformational SDT, centered on an interdisciplinary outlook and informational governance, could streamline research implementation outcomes to re-structure socio-technical sectors and reconnect people to nature-based solutions. Such legitimate aspirations could be relevant in countries bearing complex socio-political legacies and bridge the local–global goals coherently. This work provides a collaborative framework required to develop impact-driven activities needed to inform evidence-based policies on sustainable diets

Community disaster exposure and first onset of depression: A panel analysis of nationally representative South African data, 2008–2017

Sub-Saharan Africa faces unprecedented disasters, with climate change expected to exacerbate the frequency and severity of unpredictable and stressful catastrophic events. Unlike developed nations, reconstruction in developing nations is hindered by resource constraints, with certain communities potentially experiencing multiple and enduring effects of disasters. Despite the potential danger of such cumulative community disaster exposure on mental health (e.g. depression), large-scale population-level evidence for the region is limited. We investigated the association between exposure to cumulative disaster and the first onset of depression in a nationally representative survey in South Africa. We used panel data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study (SA-NIDS) from 2008–2017, consisting of 17,255 adult study participants who were depression free at baseline. Risk of first depression onset between individuals exposed and unexposed to community disaster was measured, accounting for multiple disaster exposure over time by fitting generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression models. Data on the geographic location of disasters were obtained from the South African government gazette, and mapped with the government delineated SA-NIDS households’ locations. Of the sampled individuals, 2,986 were exposed to disaster during the study duration (17.3%). Increased cumulative community disaster was significantly associated with the likelihood of depression onset (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.20, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09–1.33), even after controlling for socio-demographic factors. In sub-group analyses, greater likelihood of depression onset was found among females [but not in men] (aRR = 1.23, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09–1.38), Black African [but not in other population group] (aRR = 1.21, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.09–1.36), lower education attainment group [but not in tertiary and above educational attainment group] (aRR = 1.20, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.08–1.33), and lower income attainment group [but not in the top income quartile group] (aRR = 1.24, p<0.01, 95% CI: 1.11–1.38), due to cumulative community disaster. Although cumulative community disaster exposure was significantly associated with the first onset of depression, its negative impact may be more pronounced among individuals considered chronically socially vulnerable (i.e. the groups above) in South Africa. Given that many individuals in South Africa rely on social, food parcel relief, and health services from government/public sector, timely access to community-based supportive intervention is needed for disaster survivors, prioritizing socially vulnerable groups to help mitigate problems associated with mental health challenges