Environmental Science

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An assessment of environmental awareness and management strategies, regarding electrical and electronic equipment waste amongst environmental regulatiotors in Kigali, Rwanda.
(2011) Mugabe, Robert Rubona.; Ahmed, Fathima.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), constitutes one of the development sectors that have expanded significantly in Rwanda. With very limited natural resources and a sector of the industry at its early stage of development, ICT provides Rwanda with opportunities to achieve its vision to become a middle-income country by the year 2020. However, old and discarded ICT equipment constitutes a source of hazardous waste, namely waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or e-waste which, if not appropriately managed, could have serious impacts on human and environmental health. This study aimed at assessing the level of awareness regarding e-waste and management strategies amongst environmental regulators in Kigali, Rwanda. The study was guided by the Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT), which advocates the integration of environmental concerns in all economic and development sectors, such as ICT, in order to achieve environmental sustainability. This research employed a mixed-method approach to scientific enquiry, using a combination of quantitative and desktop research methods. The desktop research method was used to study the current waste management practices in Kigali and the legal and institutional framework relevant to e-waste management. The quantitative approach, conducted through a questionnaire survey, was used to collect data regarding e-waste awareness amongst environmental regulators, current extent of e-waste, e-waste management in Kigali and challenges experienced. Using a purposive sampling method, 32 environmental regulators from different government institutions having vested interest in environmental protection and waste management from central to the district level were selected. Questionnaires were dispatched to the respondents via e-mail. The responses comprised 87.5% (28) of the target environmental regulators. Data was coded and analysed using the Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) template and Microsoft Excel. In addition, qualitative information was used to support the quantitative data, in the analysis and discussion. The findings of this research revealed that the level of awareness amongst environmental regulators with regard to the hazardous nature of e-waste remains low. In addition, e-waste managerial strategies remain largely unknown amongst environmental regulators. Regarding an e-waste management framework, Kigali does not have any formal ewaste management, while the legal framework remains at the draft level. In addition, the city lacks adequate infrastructure and financial capacity for environmentally sound e-waste management. E-waste is currently managed through various informal structures such as storing discarded equipment, selling and donating it, or disposing obsolete electrical and electronic equipment with other household waste. The study recommends that in order to progress towards sustainable development, an e-waste managerial framework, including clear institutional and legal frameworks must be established. In addition, professional capacity building on environmentally sound e-waste management should be offered to environmental regulators. Finally, the study proposes that programs to raise awareness of e-waste hazards amongst the different population strata should also be initiated.
An assessment of the Giba Gorge special rating area as a biodiversity stewardship practice.
(2015) Chinzila, Chuma Banji.; Ahmed, Fathima.; Bob, Urmilla.
Traditional conservation practices restricted resources to formally Protected Areas leaving biodiversity lying outside Protected Areas with minimal or no formal management. Increasing evidence of significant biodiversity lying outside Protected Areas, even in urban areas has necessitated innovative strategies for conserving biodiversity for human well-being. One such strategy is the use of a ‘Special Rating Area’ (SRA) legislative instrument to raise funds for managing biodiversity on privately owned properties through a pilot project in the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct (GGEP). The aim of this study is to assess the Giga Gorge SRA as a biodiversity stewardship practice by understanding the processes of open space management and the impact it has had on local communities, ecosystems and adjacent property. The study was conducted involving the GGEP property owners and the Tshelimnyama community members (local community adjacent to the GGEP) comprising the traditional healers and general community members. The study is guided by the political ecology conceptual framework for understanding environmental issues in the GGEP and how socio-political processes at various scales have shaped the GGEP project. In addition, stakeholder theory provides a framework for exploring relationships among GGEP stakeholders and how their interests are managed. The study uses a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach in data collection and analysis. Analysis of data reveals improvement in the quality of ecosystems during the period 2010 to 2012. Secondly, findings reveal unsustainable natural resource uses such as recreational activities and medicinal plant harvesting. Thirdly, the study highlights negative stakeholder perceptions towards management activities resulting from communication breakdown. Fourthly, findings show that majority of the property owners did not find security concerns in the GGEP open space as factors that would restrict their interactions with the open space and other open space users. Lastly, the study reveals that the GGEP project had no impact on property value. This study recommends that the GGEP management develops and implements research based communication strategies for engaging stakeholders in the processes of managing the GGEP project.
Few climate change adaptation strategies of rural women : a case study of Ndwedwe-Cibane, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2017) Mzimela, Jabulile Happyness.; Ahmed, Fathima.
Climate change is documented to impact food, energy and water (FEW) resources. Rural women are vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their high dependence on natural resources. Despite numerous studies on climate change impacts, there has been insufficient examination of climate change adaptation with a focus on FEW resources using an intersectional lens. Focusing on women and using an intersectional lens, this study explores how marital status intersects with gender to influence FEW based climate change adaptation in Ndwedwe-Cibane. In addition, perceptions are explored, vulnerability is assessed and barriers and opportunities are determined. The sustainable livelihood and ecofeminist framework are used to explore the various concepts in this study. Data were collected using quantitative (meteorological data and climate projections) and qualitative Participatory Rural Appraisal-PRA research methods (three focus group discussions and two key informant interviews). First, women’s perceptions of past climate change were sought by matrix scoring and meteorological data was analyzed using mainly the MK test and climate projections downloaded from the CSAG CIP website. Second, women’s vulnerability was assessed using resource and hazard mapping and the vulnerability matrix. Third, climate change impacts were determined through trend diagramming. Fourth, adaptation strategies, barriers and opportunities for adaptation were explored during discussions. This study makes four contributions to climate literature. Firstly, perceptions of temperature change regardless of marital status are fairly congruent, though there are divergences in rainfall perception. Both single and married women were found to have high temperature perception and low rainfall perception evidenced by contradiction of woman’s perception of rainfall changes and meteorological data. Women’s perceptions and meteorological data provide evidence for climate change. Climate projections reveal a warmer and wetter climate, which will affect FEW resources. Secondly, vulnerability appears comparable between the two groups of women. However, strong conclusions pertaining to vulnerability cannot be drawn. Thirdly, the results show that climate change impacts on FEW resources are negative and include crop failure, livestock death, and reduced water supply among other impacts. There was concordance of perceived climate change impacts between both groups of women. Fourthly, to adapt both single and married women employed multiple strategies including income and crop diversification, irrigation, use of fertilizer, collection of wet firewood and rainwater harvesting among other strategies. Notable differences in adaptation strategies indicate that single women are more concerned about crop adaptation while married women are more concerned about livestock adaptation. Despite adopted adaptation strategies, barriers to climate change adaptation were established. Barriers were similar between single and married women, whereas divergences were in financial barriers which affect only the single women. The findings reveal that no support pertaining to climate change adaptation was given to women. Women in Ndwedwe-Cibane want to opportunistically use development projects for adaptation purposes. The findings suggest that designing policies, plans and programs that focus on women as a homogenous group will not adequately address issues underlying climate change adaptation, and an intersectional perspective should be used when developing and implementing adaptation strategies.
An investigation into the waste management practices of emerging livestock farmers : the case of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
(2015) Sankar, Sasha.; Ahmed, Fathima.; Muswema, Aubrey Patrick.
Livestock waste management is a growing global concern in terms of its contribution to climate change, environmental sustainability and quality of animal products. In South Africa, poor waste management is a chronic problem, yet it has not been an area of concern for the government, with the agricultural sector receiving the least attention. In communal and rural areas, livestock provides food and livelihood security for poor emerging farmers (small-scale producers or the second economy), in addition to monetary benefits. However, the lack of waste management infrastructure, coupled with insufficient hygiene translates into a sanitation problem, which could result in environmental health impacts and compromise the sustainability of the sector. However, studies conducted in Africa and Asia indicate less pessimistic scenarios, where emerging farmers have turned waste into resources by drawing on indigenous knowledge systems such as improved animal husbandry techniques and nutrient use efficiency from animal wastes, among other strategies. With the emerging livestock sector poised to transition into commercialization in South Africa, these constraints and opportunities provide the need for this study. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate current waste management strategies used by emerging livestock farmers in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, where livestock farming is practiced. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. In terms of the former, key informant interviews were conducted with industry professionals, considered to be relevant stakeholders in the waste management cycle from prevention to disposal. In terms of the latter, a sample of 50 emerging farmers was randomly surveyed using a questionnaire, in an attempt to address the interconnectedness of livelihoods, socio-cultural, environmental, health, economic, and technical spheres, considered relevant to assessing waste management practices in developing countries such as South Africa. The objectives of the study were therefore to illicit information from the emerging livestock farmers in terms of waste management practices and environmental impacts; waste management technology needs; the knowledge network that is used in waste management practices; the contribution of the industry to local food security; and the role of policy in the sustainability of the sector. The study utilized the sustainable livelihoods approach as a theoretical framework to gauge how waste disposal, management and re-use impact poor people’s livelihoods. The key findings of the study indicate that cost and ease of implementation govern the waste management practices implemented by emerging livestock farmers. The rural regions of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands are defined by vast distances in addition to a lack of municipal disposal services and waste authority. This has led to burning and illegal dumping of waste on vacant sites. In contrast, the results indicate that farmers would be open to best practices provided that there are resulting benefits. For example, many farmers implemented composting as a means of recycling with the intentions of producing manure to fertilize crops. The study recommends that farmers be educated on the effects of improper waste management to understand the consequential threat to their livelihood security. In addition, emerging farmers require support with the implementation of sustainable husbandry practices, land remediation, slaughter practices and market access before they are capable of implementing proper waste management practices.
Participatory risk assessment of tourism development in coastal areas : challenges and implications for management on the KwaZulu-Natal coast.
(Kamla-Raj Enterprises., 2013) Ahmed, Fathima.; Nadasen, Naadira.
Geographic concentration of coastal tourism and its associated development impacts are strongly associated with proximity to the littoral zone. Concurrently, this is an area where normative collaboration, policy and science rarely coincide. Poor understandings of interlinks between coastal ecosystems by both public and private entities has led to short-sighted tourist investment which fails to consider beach capacity or resource constraints. The results are the loss of ecosystem services which critically impair the resilience of coastlines, making them susceptible to natural and climate-related risks. Concerns and contestations over natural resources are entrenched in ecological, economic and social dynamics. However tourism tends to favour the economic, which is inadequate. The potential for high-income, mass and ecotourism is huge along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline which is relatively undeveloped. The objective of this study emphasizes a participatory risk assessment of the tourism sector by interrogating land use-ecology interactions as necessary for optimal relationships between coastal uses and protection of coastal ecosystems. Key findings reveal that there are stressors acting cumulatively on individual ecosystems, thus the need to adopt a strategic view to management. Furthermore, the tourism footprint emerged as being larger than the industry itself, implying the potential benefits of integration across different sectors, stakeholders and legislation along the coast, with regard to tourism and its associated development.
A study of public consultation in the environmental management framework (EMF) process : a case study of the rural voice in the iLembe EMF.
(2015) Moodley, Novashni.; Ahmed, Fathima.
With South Africa’s democracy came the introduction of developmental local government, however, shortfalls of democracy in public engagement do exist despite the role of civil society (as advocated by the South African Constitution) being vital to check on the exercise of state power. Many municipal and metropolitan municipalities in South Africa lack the institutional capacity to carry out effective environmental planning. Various cases in the history of South Africa display attempts by government to extend the grid of formalised or regulated development over areas termed ‘informal.’ These cases pay testament to the biased nature of planning toward urban communities. In instances where these informal sector groups are able to put across their views, those of the urban elites are often prioritized. In South Africa the consultative process often takes the “decide and defend” approach rather than an open and participatory one. The extent thereof forms the motivation for this study, particularly with regard to the prevalent dismissal of the knowledge of the rural communities in the consultative process. The study focuses on the gap in the public consultation process in South African environmental planning through the case study of the iLembe Environmental Management Framework (EMF), located in KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of the research is to examine the public consultation undertaken in the EMF process, with particular focus on rural concerns and perspectives using the iLembe EMF as a case study. The objectives of the research were to examine the mechanisms of public consultation of the EMF using the iLembe EMF case study; to analyse to what extent rural communities of the geographical area applicable to the EMF are given the opportunity to voice their concerns or opinions or local knowledge, to examine to which extent community needs and concerns are reflected in the EMF, to interpret local awareness and views of environmental planning with a specific focus on the EMF tool and to forward recommendations for improved public participation in rural areas in relation to the EMF. The study undertakes a case study approach of the EMF for the iLembe District Municipality (IDM), with a focus on the processes for creating awareness and public participation in a community within the Ndwedwe Local Municipality (NLM). The case study communities were selected as being a representative of rural communities of the iLembe district. Household questionnaires were completed by 400 respondents. KIIs were conducted with relevant stakeholders such as the officials in the iLembe district, interested and affected parties who partook in the EMF process and the team of professionals involved in the roll out of the EMF, with the objective of ascertaining the strategic process followed in public consultation and the methods commonly used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in data collection for this study. The key finding of the research is that the level of public consultation as reflected in that of the iLembe EMF is insufficient for environmental planning through the application of the EMF tool in South Africa. It is difficult to state whether modernist planning approaches leads to sustainability from the outcomes of this study, but it is evident that despite the modernist planning approaches aiming to move from technocratic stance to a more inclusive and consultative one, the theory does not seem to meet practice. This study recommends tasks to be undertaken to overcome language barriers, to overcome the barrier posed by use of jargon, to increase transparency and information sharing, to rectify the absence of key personnel at meetings, to rectify poor attendance at public meetings and to undertake a strategic approach to public participation. While this research explains the mechanisms for public consultation employed in the EMF, it would be interesting to determine the exact cause for decreased effectiveness in the methods of public participation with a focus placed on how and why there is a disjuncture between South Africa’s sound legislation and what takes place in practice.

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Browsing Environmental Science by Author "Ahmed, Fathima."