Despite government interventions, South Africa continues to deplete its environmental capital.
That is the thrust of the second Environment Outlook report — the first was released in 1999 — commissioned by the department of environmental affairs and tourism, which was published last week.
Authored by leading environmental scientists, the report takes stock of the health of the environment in key areas, notably biodiversity, land, inland water resources, marine areas, the atmosphere and human settlement.
It indicates that South Africa has made significant progress in environmental management in the past decade. Yet, because pressures on the country’s resource base have grown, many aspects of the environment have deteriorated.
This week the department said that, although it had commissioned the report, it did not agree with all its findings. ”The opportunities that the environment provide [such as for nature tourism] are not adequately addressed,” it said. ”Key emerging environmental issues were also not consistently identified throughout the report.”
It believed the research could have been subjected to more rigorous and formal intergovernmental consultation, specifically on sections dealing with options for action.
The report finds that South Africa’s ecological footprint per person is higher now than the global average and increased by 2% between 1991 and 2001. In other middle-income and low-income countries, the average footprint dropped in this period.
South Africa’s environmental sustainability index has dropped. Our ranking went from 77 out of 146 countries in 2004 to 93 a year later.
The report sounds alarm bells about water resources and the likely effect of climate change on the country. It finds that South Africans exploit natural resources in an unsustainable way, threatening the functioning of ecosystems and polluting water resources. Land degradation is regarded as another serious threat and the report warns that many species are doomed if trends continue.
Biodiversity
Condition: critical
South Africa’s biodiversity is under threat, with species destruction on the increase. Almost 10% of South Africa’s birds and frogs and 20% of its mammals are threatened.
The report finds that the health of ecosystems is declining, with aquatic and West Coast marine systems in a poor condition and wetlands continuing to be developed and destroyed.
Natural resources that support livelihoods are ”rapidly declining” because of over-exploitation, particularly in forests, grasslands, the KwaZulu-Natal coastal belt and the Cape Floristic Region.
The report warns that over- harvesting of indigenous plants for subsistence and commercial use is driving species — such as cycads, colophon beetles and the Knysna sea horse — to extinction. Slow-growing plants used for medicines have to be better protected.
Despite the great success of projects, such as Working for Water, the rate of the spread of alien invasive plants has intensified and is expected to double in 15 years.
The report emphasises that the greatest threat to biodiversity might be climate change, warning that the area climatically suitable for South Africa’s seven terrestrial biomes could shrink by 40% by 2050.
Inland Water
Condition: critical
Despite the enactment of strong water legislation, South Africa now has less water and it is of poorer quality.
The report finds that almost all the country’s exploitable water resources have been tapped and freshwater flows are slowing.
In 50% of the water sites tested, salinity levels have increased. The health of river ecosystems is weakening, with effluent pollution continuing to grow.
The report cites the National Water Resources Strategy as saying that with careful management there should be sufficient water to meet all South Africa’s needs in the near future. It points out, however, that the effects of climate change on water availability are not factored into these calculations. Other projections indicate that South Africa could face water shortages by 2025.
Reduced rainfall in the western parts of the country because of climate change could result in a 10% reduction in run-off by 2015, the report warns. It recommends the urgent expansion of water conservation and water demand management initiatives, and the development of strategies to promote the reuse of treated sewage and mine water by industry. Pristine water resources particularly should be protected.
Marine areas
Condition: deteriorating
South Africa’s marine and coastal environment is considered moderately healthy compared with other parts of the world, owing largely to strong management measures in the past decade. But it does not get a clean bill of health.
The report praises the country’s new protected marine areas, but criticises the absence of such areas on the West Coast, which is at greatest risk.
Extractive use, pollution and mining, the major threats to marine areas, are expected to rise in the next decade. Populations of abalone and line fish will continue to dwindle and the numbers of species listed as endangered or vulnerable will rise, cautions the report. Up to 20 species of commercial and recreational marine fish are considered over-exploited or collapsed. By-catch by commercial fishers remains a serious problem, particularly the mass mortality of seabirds in longÂline fishing operations.
On a positive note, the report finds that sardine fishery is healthy again after a near-collapse in the late 1960s.
The scientists foresee that uncontrolled coastal development will increase, leading to habitat change and degradation. Development pressures on estuaries, especially around intensively developed areas in the Western Cape, Cape south-west coast, Port Elizabeth and southern KwaZulu-Natal are set to intensify.
They are alarmed by the daily waste water discharge into marine and coastal waters, which has risen 62% in the past five years.
Land
Condition: deteriorating
Land degradation is seen as especially severe in communal areas, where it is a serious threat to ecosystem functioning, biodiversity, household food security and rural livelihoods.
The report calls for more research on the extent of degradation.
Soil degradation costs South Africa nearly R2billion annually in dam sedimentation and increased water treatment costs.
The report finds that grazing areas declined in the 1990s because of increasing human settlement and erosion. Food productivity per land unit area rose because of increased fertiliser use and improved technology, but the intensification of farming has affected biodiversity and might have increased pollution from fertiliser run-off.
A bright spot is that ”conservation tillage”, a ploughing technique to reduce erosion, grew from 500 000ha in 1975 to 1,5million hectares in 2005.
Atmosphere
Condition: critical
Air quality is declining in South Africa, with high sulphur dioxide and particulate matter levels. Health problems owing to air pollution are expected to rise by 20% in the next decade.
”The impact on people’s health of indoor air pollution in fuel-burning households remains the most serious national air pollution problem,” says the report.
It notes that air pollution is linked closely to road transport, with the number of vehicles on South African roads growing by 2% a year. Vehicle exhaust emissions have increased 27% since 2002 and will continue to rise by up to 44% by 2011 if emission controls are not installed.
The country’s greenhouse gas emissions are climbing 0,6% every year. South Africans have increased their energy consumption by 23% since 1992, with a corresponding rise in coal consumption.
The use of renewable energy is rising at a snail’s pace, mainly through solar water heating, experiÂmental wind farms and some landfill gas projects. The report notes that the use of ozone-depleting substances had fallen significantly since 1990.
Human settlements and vulnerability
Condition: deteriorating
Poor people face disproportionately high environmental health risks, mainly from indoor air pollution and inadequate sanitation. ”Many poorer households still lack access to basic services,” says the report. ”With more than 21% of the population without sanitation, this is a serious need.”
Urbanisation continues to grow; 58% of South Africa’s people now live in urban areas, up from 53% in 1996.
It highlights the fact that several South African cities have developed energy strategies, including renewable energy targets. And an increasing number of local authorities are developing integrated waste management plans to accommodate waste.
Yet almost 50% of South Africans still do not have regular waste collection, while municipalities are proving increasingly unable to deliver efficient waste services.
Vulnerability assessments provide an improved early warning system, but climate change, and particularly declining water quality and natural resources, threaten to increase human vulnerability.
”Current environmental hazards include living in inhospitable and hazardous areas and the increase in diseases that come from poor environmental conditions and poor quality housing,” says the report.