Understanding the Determinants of Pro-Environmental Behavior among South Africans: Evidence from a Structural Equation Model

This paper explores the relationship between pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) and environmental awareness, knowledge, attitudes, risk perceptions and activism in South Africa. To achieve this goal, the 2010-2012 data from the International Social Survey Program "Environmental III" was analysed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics, including the employment of the structural equation model. Significant differences were found between pro-environmental behaviour and other environmental variables such as environmental concern, awareness, willingness to sacrifice, and others in terms of the educational background, place of living, ethnic identity and provinces where respondents lived. Thus, to increase PEB amongst citizens would require the introduction and support of development programmes that enhance access to more education and environmental awareness across all population groups

The Nigeria Teachers Social Studies Training Curriculum and Sustainable Development Goals: A Content Analysis

The concept of sustainable development has become a widely used construct that is incorporated into virtually all disciplines and discourses. The implementation and achievement of sustainable development goals in the management of our environmental resources cannot be realised without education especially at a formal levels. Teacher training institutions - (college of education and faculty of education in universities) are expected through their courses to engage and create awareness of sustainability issues using their training programmes. This paper therefore presents a content analysis of sustainability themes and concepts in the College of Education Social Studies curriculum in Nigeria.  This is with the ultimate goal of exploring how any noticed gaps that could inhibit the promotion of education for sustainable development through teacher training can be filled, so that the post 2015 sustainable development goals could be better achieved

Household cooking fuel use patterns and determinants across Southern Africa : evidence from the demographic and health survey data

Abstract: Improving access to modern energy sources is critical to enhancing the quality of life of many people in developing countries. In southern Africa, the majority of rural and poor urban households are dependent on solid fuels to meet their cooking needs. This has adverse effects on health, productivity, and environmental sustainability. To date, there is scarce information in the literature on household cooking fuel patterns and choice determinants across the southern African region. Using household fuel data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), this study investigated cooking fuel types and the determinants of their choice by households in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The data on household cooking energy were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that 25% of sampled households in all seven countries have access to electricity, while 66% rely on biomass for cooking. Chi-Square analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between place of residence and type of cooking fuel, and between access to electricity and type of cooking fuel. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that socio-demographic factors such as access to electricity, household size, level of education, and wealth index have a positive influence on the type of cooking fuel used in this region. However, access to electricity does not imply that households will negate the use of traditional fuels. These results have implications for household air pollution, health, policy and environmental sustainability. It is recommended that energy interventions in this region need to consider demand factors and have to be less supply driven, advocating for continued use of multiple fuels from a suite of options

Perspectives on integrated water resource management and its relevance in understanding the water-energy-climate change nexus in South Africa

It is increasingly acknowledged that the water-energy-climate change (WECC) nexus is one of the synergies that pose a significant risk to achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically numbers six, seven and thirteen. There are suggestions that climate change outcomes such as increased temperature and drought episodes have implications for water availability, which in turn affects energy production in countries dependent on hydropower, pump-storage or coal-generated electricity, including South Africa. This development therefore calls for improved understanding of how to effectively manage the challenges that arise from this nexus, to mitigate the impacts it may have on achieving the associated SDGs. This study, which is based on an in-depth appraisal of existing developments, assessed the potential of the integrated water resource management framework in understanding the WECC nexus and its implications for South Africa’s sustainable development endeavours, particularly in the context of water resource management and utilisation. The study revealed South Africa’s lack of integrated, effective, and efficient institutions and policy framework to comprehensively manage the challenges emanating from this nexus. It identified an urgent need to develop systems and processes through which South Africa can handle the challenges as well as capture the benefits that may be obtained from this nexus

The Test of the Availability Hypothesis Reveals the Needs for Ex-Situ Conservation for Some Protected Area-Restricted Species

In ethnobotany, the availability hypothesis predicts that plants that are abundant and easily accessible to people are more likely to be medicinal than not. By protecting species diversity away from people, protected areas (PAs) may act as a limiting factor to a sustainable development of traditional knowledge concerning medicinal uses, and in so doing, PAs provide opportunity to prioritize ex-situ conservation for species that are PAs-restricted. In this scenario, ex-situ conservation becomes the only chance for people to develop traditional knowledge on plants which otherwise wouldn’t be documented as traditionally useful to people. To test these expectations, we used data collected for almost 20 years of fieldworks on plant medicinal uses and their abundance inside and outside the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. We fitted four different scenarios of structural equation models (SEMs) to the data collected. We found that total plant abundance (abundance outside + inside KNP) is a significant positive predictor of medicinal status, and so is abundance outside KNP, thus supporting the availability hypothesis. However, not only is abundance inside KNP not a direct significant correlate of medicinal status, but the relationship between both is also negative. The lack of predictive power of inside-abundance is most likely because some species are exclusively found inside KNP and local communities do not have access to them. It also shows that the positive and direct correlation of total abundance with medicinal status is driven by outside-abundance. In addition, the negative relationships between inside abundance and medicinal status implies that abundant plants inside KNP tend to be not-medicinal, further providing evidence that PAs hinder the development of medicinal knowledge. Furthermore, when inside and outside abundance were included simultaneously in one metamodel as two distinct variables, inside abundance was never a direct significant predictor of medicinal status, but it was so, via an indirect path mediated by outside abundance. This suggests that outside abundance is the key variable driving the development of medicinal plant knowledge. Cumulatively, our findings suggest that anything that favors the establishment of PA-restricted plants outside the naturally realized niches of these plants (ex-situ conservation), such as in botanical gardens, private gardens, in agroforestry systems, etc., is to be promoted so that people-plant interactions may continue for the benefits of ethnobotanical knowledge development

Household Pharmaceutical Waste Management Practices in the Johannesburg Area, South Africa

Pharmaceutical wastes are expected to increase given the increasing population growth rates and rapidly rising economic burden of human diseases. This challenge calls for appropriate measures for the management of such hazardous wastes. The purpose of this survey was to document and investigate existing practices for the handling, storage, and disposal of household pharmaceutical wastes (HPWs) in the Johannesburg area. Primary data were collected via online surveys with self-administered questionnaires completed by respondents. The research found that 77% (n = 286) of respondents claimed some knowledge about HPWs. Types of medicines that contributed to HPWs included painkillers or analgesics (73%, n = 270) and drugs for treating colds and flu-related illnesses (52%; n = 193). Although there were a few exceptions, the respondents generally exhibited strong disagreements with environmentally unfriendly and health-threatening disposal practices. Moreover, most participants were willing to return expired medicines to pharmacies (40.7%, n = 151), whereas only 8.6% (n = 32) opposed this solution. Awareness levels tended to vary with employment status, educational qualifications, and place of residence. However, place of residence and household size did not correlate with types of pharmaceutical waste. Additionally, the study found that education attainments significantly influenced the willingness of respondents to return pharmaceutical wastes. Finally, there were no significant differences amongst respondents in terms of waste disposal practices. Altogether, the findings suggest the need for targeted efforts to bring about sustainable waste management at a household level

Nigerian households' cooking energy use, determinants of choice, and some implications for human health and environmental sustainability

The aim of this study was to investigate the types of cooking fuels and factors that influence their choice by households in Nigeria. Cross national data used were extracted from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) on households' cooking energy and was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that 55% of sampled households have access to electricity, while about two-third (66.3%) of households depend on biomass as fuel for cooking. The Chi-square analysis revealed that a significant statistical relationship existed between geo-political regions, place of residence, access to electricity, educational level, and wealth index and type of cooking used. Results also showed significant statistical differences between rural and urban households' type of cooking fuel while analysis of variance found significant differences in the type of cooking fuel according to regions, educational level, and wealth index. Multiple regression results demonstrated that socio-economic factors such as household size, geographical region, place of residence, educational level and wealth index have a significant positive influence on the type of cooking fuel used by households in Nigeria. However, access to electricity showed no significant association with the household type of cooking fuel. These results have important implications for human health and environmental sustainability, and therefore it was recommended that government needs to intensify educational efforts towards enlightening people about the need for the sustainable utilization of energy resources.Measure DHS, ICF International, Rockville, MD, US

Gender relationships in forest resource utilization and conservation in Nigeria: implications for environmental sustainability

This paper examines gendered patterns in forest resource utilisation and conservation among rural inhabitants in Ogun State, Nigeria. Qualitative data - participant observation, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews for the paper were drawn from a larger mixed methods, comparative study of natural resource utilisation among rural inhabitants of Ogun State, Nigeria and among rural inhabitants in the Bushbuckridge area of Mphumalanga, South Africa. Focus group discussions were transcribed and analyzed thematically, using a phenomenological method. The results reveal that access to and control of forest resources are complex and heavily influenced by gender. Whereas women rely to a greater extent than men on forests and forest products for both their basic and non-basic needs, they have lesser roles than men in the decision-making that affects and controls their own lives and those of their households and communities. Poverty, cultural beliefs and values of society, social attitudes, limited access to education and lack of alternative sources of income to conservation all constrained women’s participation in decision-making about natural resources. The implications for community-based environmental education are discussed.Keywords: Gender, forest resources, conservation, Nigeria, environmental sustainabilit

Predicting Pro-Environmental Behaviour amongst Citizens in African Countries: A Cross-National Study amongst Six African Countries

The role of pro-environmental behaviour in environmental care and mitigation of environmental problems is widely recognised. However, most studies on pro-environmental behaviour have focused on populations living in Western and high-income countries and only a few studies are available in developing countries. In this paper, we explored and compared the determinants of pro-environmental behaviour of citizens in six African countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. We examined the relationship between socio-demographic variables and pro-environmental behaviour of citizens within and across these countries using secondary data collected through Wave 6 of the World Value Surveys. The results showed that there were differences and some similarities in pro-environmental behaviour across the selected countries. Factors such as gender, education, social class, membership of environmental organisations and employment status positively correlated with pro-environmental behaviour among the selected respondents. Based on the study findings, recommendations are made within to improve and increase pro-environmental behaviour in the selected countries

Comparison of the mineral composition of leaves and infusions of traditional and herbal teas

Most research on teas has focused on organic composition and less attention has been given to the mineral composition. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the mineral compositions (Na, Mg, K, Ca, P, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Al) of eight commonly consumed teas. The teas included three traditional black or green teas (from Africa, China and Sri Lanka) and five herbal teas – two from South America (maté and coca) and three from South Africa (rooibos, honeybush and Athrixia phylicoides). Analyses were conducted on five samples of dry tea leaves of each of the teas and their infusions (steeping time: 6 min) using identical techniques in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). It was found that each tea has a unique mineral profile. Dry tea leaves and their respective infusions also exhibited different mineral profiles. The tea infusions that contained relatively higher concentrations of beneficial minerals were maté, coca and Athrixia. High levels of aluminium were found in the traditional black and green teas whilst rooibos was high in sodium. Although teas are not rich sources of nutrients, the consumption of maté could contribute significantly to dietary manganese requirements