Waste Management Policy Implementation in South Africa: An Emerging Stakeholder Participation Paradox

The need to eliminate plastic shopping bags from South Africa’s environment has resulted in the formation and implementation of the Plastic Carrier Bags and Plastics Flat Bags Regulations (hereafter referred to as the Plastic Bags Regulations).The new law requires manufacturers to produce thicker, reusable and recyclable plastic shopping bags sold at purchase points.However, some major retailers have refused to charge customers for the new bags claiming that they were not party to the policy process. Consumer organisations have called for boycotts and urged shoppers to support retailers that continue issuing ‘free’ bags. Drawing theoretical insights from actor network theory (ANT) and other actor oriented and practice-based policy frameworks, this small-scale study established that the failure to consider key actors and actants in the policy implementation process, and the role of powerful actor networks in the process have adversly affected the policy implementation process. Given that South Africa placed emphasis on consultative national environmental policy process approaches, the unfolding events and emerging policy process models show an emerging stakeholder participation paradox in implementing policies on waste management in South Africa

Actor/Actant-Network Theory as Emerging Methodology for Environmental Education Research in Southern Africa

This paper deliberates on actor/actant-network theory (AANT) as methodology for policy research in  environmental education (EE). Insights are drawn from work that applied AANT to research environmental  policy processes surrounding the formulation and implementation of South Africa’s Plastic Bags Regulations of 2003. The paper reveals that the application of AANT methodology made it possible to trace relationships,  actors, actants and actor/actant-networks surrounding the Plastic Bags Regulations as quasi-object (token). The methodology also enabled a focus on understanding and investigating tensions, debates and responses  emerging from the policy process. The findings were that after the promulgation of the first draft of the Plastic Bags Regulations in May 2000, tensions emerged around the nature of regulation (whether to use the command and control approach – preferred by Organised Government – or self regulation – preferred by Organised Business and Organised Labour). From these findings, a series of conceptual frameworks were drawn up as identified around key actors and actor/actant-networks. The conceptual frameworks included among them, Organised Government, Organised Business and Organised Labour

Book Review: Understanding Environmental Policy Processes: Cases from Africa

Keeley, J., & Scoones, I. (2003). Understanding Environmental Policy Processes: Cases from Africa. London: Earthscan

Editorial: The Policy-in-Practice Nexus

No Abstrac

Natural organic matter in aquatic systems – a South African perspective

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a complex heterogeneous mixture of humic (HS) and non-humic substances which are widespread in the aquatic environment. Other constituents are amino acids, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons containing oxygen, nitrogen and hydroxyl groups. It is the combination and proportions of these motifs which give NOM its overall polarity and reactivity. Its main origins include soils, residues of fauna and flora, microbial excrements and anthropogenic faecal loads, agriculture activities and urban landscapes. Due to the different origins of the precursor material and the extent of transformation it undergoes, the composition of NOM in different water bodies varies. Characterization methods for NOM can be divided into three broad categories namely: (i) direct measuring methods, which measure the amount of organic matter in the sample; (ii) spectrometric methods, which measure the amount of radiation absorbed and or released by chromophores; and (iii) fractionation methods, which separate NOM according to size and polarity. South Africa has 6 distinct water quality regions, and each region has a unique NOM character and quantity. Existing water treatment plants do not remove NOM to levels low enough to inhibit the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). Currently, research is focusing more on the use of alternative techniques for NOM removal; these include advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), nanomaterials, and ceramic membranes. While NOM is well studied in other parts of the world, to the best of our knowledge, there is no state-of-the-art investigation of the occurrence and removal of NOM in South African source waters. This review aims at (i) synthesizing literature on the nature, occurrence and ecological impact of NOM, (ii) evaluating the removal of NOM in the six different water quality regions of South Africa, and (iii) suggesting novel approaches that can be used to remove NOM in South Africa.Keywords: advanced oxidation, ceramic membranes, disinfection byproducts, treatability, water treatmen

Assessment of rural livelihoods, health and wellbeing in Vhembe District Municipality, South Africa and Narok County, Kenya: A water-energy-food nexus perspective

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has become an integral component duly suited to enable sustainable development and an important tool to achieve and sustain various socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. The WEF nexus has become increasingly important in recent years as it can holistically address humankind's current triple challenges, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and population growth. Socioeconomic factors such as increased population, economic development, and climate change patterns frequently induce unprecedented pressure on WEF resources. From the various climate change model simulations, the climate is likely to increase in the future, exacerbating the demand of the population to access the WEF resources and services. For effective resource planning and decision-making, the availability of WEF resources must be assessed under ongoing climate change. In this regard, this study assessed rural livelihoods, health, and wellbeing indicators within the WEF nexus framework in Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), South Africa, and Narok County, Kenya. The premise was to determine the drivers of livelihood changes by applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making to understand the causal linkages between the WEF nexus resources and the sustainable livelihood indicators. Data collected from the literature review, questionnaire/group discussions, and field visit engagements were used to formulate and develop a matrix of indicators to assess livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. A correlation analysis based on the AHP was used to determine the linkages between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators. The multivariate analysis used the correlation matrix to capture the pairwise degrees of relationship between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators in the two study areas. The results show that the resources for sustainable livelihoods in VDM are more sustainable than those in Narok County. The Consistency Ratio values for Narok County and VDM were 0.046 and 0.067, respectively. The resulting composite index (0.143) classified both study sites under the lowly sustainable category. The results are important for informing policy formulation that guides timely interventions to balance socio-ecological systems

Assessment of rural livelihoods, health and wellbeing in Vhembe District Municipality, South Africa and Narok County, Kenya : a water-energy-food nexus perspective

DATA AVAILABILITY : Data will be made available on request.The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has become an integral component duly suited to enable sustainable development and an important tool to achieve and sustain various socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. The WEF nexus has become increasingly important in recent years as it can holistically address humankind's current triple challenges, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and population growth. Socioeconomic factors such as increased population, economic development, and climate change patterns frequently induce unprecedented pressure on WEF resources. From the various climate change model simulations, the climate is likely to increase in the future, exacerbating the demand of the population to access the WEF resources and services. For effective resource planning and decision-making, the availability of WEF resources must be assessed under ongoing climate change. In this regard, this study assessed rural livelihoods, health, and wellbeing indicators within the WEF nexus framework in Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), South Africa, and Narok County, Kenya. The premise was to determine the drivers of livelihood changes by applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making to understand the causal linkages between the WEF nexus resources and the sustainable livelihood indicators. Data collected from the literature review, questionnaire/group discussions, and field visit engagements were used to formulate and develop a matrix of indicators to assess livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. A correlation analysis based on the AHP was used to determine the linkages between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators. The multivariate analysis used the correlation matrix to capture the pairwise degrees of relationship between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators in the two study areas. The results show that the resources for sustainable livelihoods in VDM are more sustainable than those in Narok County. The Consistency Ratio values for Narok County and VDM were 0.046 and 0.067, respectively. The resulting composite index (0.143) classified both study sites under the lowly sustainable category. The results are important for informing policy formulation that guides timely interventions to balance socio-ecological systems.The Water Research Commission of South Africa and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/envscihj2024Geography, Geoinformatics and MeteorologySDG-02:Zero HungerSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-06:Clean water and sanitationSDG-07:Affordable and clean energySDG-13:Climate actio

Connecting climate action with other sustainable development goals

The international community has committed to combat climate change and achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here we explore (dis)connections in evidence and governance between these commitments. Our structured evidence review suggests that climate change can undermine 16 SDGs, while combatting climate change can reinforce all 17 SDGs but undermine efforts to achieve 12. Understanding these relationships requires wider and deeper interdisciplinary collaboration. Climate change and sustainable development governance should be better connected to maximize the effectiveness of action in both domains. The emergence around the world of new coordinating institutions and sustainable development planning represents promising progress

A review of the water-energy-food nexus research in Africa

Notwithstanding the dispersed nature of the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus scholarship in the African continent, its strategic importance to the African agenda has gained widespread attention in research and planning circles. In this regard, the bibliometric science mapping and content analysis of the WEF nexus scientific publication trends, the conceptual, intellectual and social structures, as well as the inherent paradigmatic shifts in the WEF nexus body of knowledge in the African continent have been undertaken, using the nexus body of literature accessed from the Web of Science and Scopus core collection databases. The review results confirmed that, whilst the WEF nexus scholarship has expanded since 2013, there is also evidence of growth in the conceptual, intellectual and social structures of the WEF nexus in the African continent. These shifts have resulted in the emergence of hot topics (subfields) including modelling and optimization, climate variability and change, environmental ecosystem services sustainability, and sustainable development and livelihoods. The review further determined that these structures have evolved along two main perspectives of WEF nexus research development, i.e., the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary domains. In support of the interpretation of the visual analytics of the intellectual structure and changing patterns of the WEF nexus research, the shifts in positivist, interpretivist and pragmatic paradigmatic perspectives (these are underpinned by the ontology, epistemology, and methodology and methods) are considered when explaining WEF nexus research shifts: (a) From the unconnected silo paradigms that focus on water, energy and food (security concerns) to interconnected (and sometimes interdependent or nested) linkages or systems incorporating environmental, social-economic and political drivers (also viewed as subfields) in a bid to holistically support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the African continent; and (b) in the evaluation of the WEF nexus scholarship based on novel analytical approaches. We contend that whilst the theories of science change underpin this apparent expansion, the macro-economic theory will find use in explaining how the WEF nexus research agenda is negotiated and the Integrative Environmental Governance (IEG) is the duly suited governance theory to bridge the inherent disconnect between WEF nexus output and governance processes uncovered in the literature. Overall, operational challenges and opportunities of the WEF nexus abound, transitioning the WEF nexus research to practice in Africa, motivating the need to take advantage of the scholar–practitioner research underpinnings, as contemplated in the transdisciplinary research approach, which is characterised by the dual quest for new knowledge and considerations of use. Yet, there is need for more coordinated and collaborative research to achieve impact and transition from WEF nexus thinking to WEF nexus practice.The Water Research Commission of South Africa. The APC was funded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilitydm2022Geography, Geoinformatics and MeteorologySchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH