by Munyaradzi Chenje
The environment has been identified as one of the many disparate strands to be woven together, like a basket, into a product of strength and durability a strong prosperous southern Africa.
“One of the many strands that we in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have to weave as we work for economic development and independence is our environment,” writes Botswana President Sir Keturnile Masire in the Foreword to a new book on the state of the region’s environment.
In the foreword to State of the Environment in Southern Africa, the chairman of the l l -member SADC adds, “It has become abundantly clear that the state of the regional environment determines our level of prosperity, not only in the short-term but also for future generations.”
The book, published by the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and SADC’s Environment and Land Management Sector (SADC ELMS), highlights the need for sustainable development.
Tracing the development of environmental awareness and practices from the pre-colonial era, through colonialism and apartheid to the post independent period, the influences of traditional knowledge on the conservation of natural resources are clearly evident.
“Cultural taboos, for example, put restrictions on the use of certain plants, animals or areas,” says the book. “This helps to curb the depletion of natural resources considered important” for continuation of the larger community.”
The onset of colonialism in southern Africa disrupted the delicate balance that existed between traditional communities and their environment, and triggered a process of change in all spheres of development.
Colonial rule saw the introduction of legislation that marginalized Africans in terms of land tenure and access to natural resources. It also saw the first attempts at legislating against overexploitation of natural resources and abuse of the environment.
Until the early 1960s, there was hardly any written, holistic environmental policy anywhere in the world. The environmental vogue was preservation rather than the current context of sustainable development.
The global environment movement, which began with the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, pushed the ideals of sustainable development into the world and southern Africa’s development agenda.
“Our ideals of sustainable development do not seek to curtail development,” says Masire, probably addressing himself to developers who see new measures to protect the environment as a threat to their profit margins.
“Experience elsewhere has demonstrated that the path to development may simply mean doing more with less.”
Natural resources and the environments in southern Africa have been exploited as people tried to alleviate poverty and raise their standards of living.
Overexploitation and abuse of the environment have not only led to environmental degradation in some areas, but have also exacerbated the very poverty people sought to alleviate.
“Poverty and environmental degradation are linked in a vicious circle in which people cannot afford to take proper care of the environment,” says the book, adding that a degraded environment produces less, so people become even more vulnerable.
Linked to poverty is the controversial issue of population growth and control. In southern Africa, the average annual population growth rates three percent, although the growth rate ranges from 2.2- 3.8 percent in different countries in the region.
With the regional population estimated to be 136 million people, it is projected that the figure will double in less than 25 years. By the year 2020 the region’s population is expected to be about 290 million, unless the growth rates change dramatically. The increasing population is multiplying the effects of all environmental issues in the region.
Rapidly increasing numbers of people in southern Africa put more pressure on resources and leads to clearing of vegetation, use of marginal land, inappropriate land-uses and soil degradation, altering the landscape in the process.
The book states that it is generally accepted that the best way to decrease population growth is to reduce poverty and increase standards of Iiving.
However, population is not the only issue people in southern Africa have to contend with. A combination of inequitable land allocations leading to high population densities in some areas, armed conflict and poor farming methods, have led to declining productivity of grazing lands, falls in crop yields, diminishing water supplies and localized pollution.
Overgrazing causes more than half the soil degradation in southern Africa. The loss of natural nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous is a massive drain on the region’s natural resources and economies, estimated to cost as much as US$50 per hectare on cultivated land and US$80 on grazing land.
Armed conflict has caused some serious environmental problems in southern Africa, many of them indirect. The displacement and subsequent haphazard settlement of people is probably the major impact of war on the environment.
By the end of the 1980s, southern Africa had more than 2.5 million refugees mostly Angolans and Mozambicans. Another 4.5 million were displaced in their own countries.
“The areas that hosted war refugees often had their carrying capacity exceeded, usually with negative impacts on the environment,” says the book.
With the reduction of hostilities in the region, it is hoped that governments will be better placed to redirect resources to environmental management, among other things.
Another major problem in the region is pollution. Countries in the region are dealing with greater volumes of waste and more dangerous waste materials. The main sources of pollution are found in urban areas and major developments such as mines and irrigated agricultural estates.
“Pollution from sewage is a growing problem as urbanization increases the strain on water treatment facilities,” says the book. “Unplanned settlements such a shanty towns, and densely populated rural areas, usually have inadequate or non-existent sanitation and waste facilities, exposing people to diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.”
While the book is primarily concerned with environmental impacts in southern Africa, it also looks at trends and decisions in other parts of the world and how they are likely to affect the region’s ability to achieve sustainable development.
Countries in the region are likely to face more severe and frequents drought as levels of “greenhouse” gases rise. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and other gases.
The gases functions in much the same way as horticultural greenhouses. Sunshine entering the glass roof and walls of the greenhouse heats the interior. The glass prevents some of the heat from escaping, so the temperature inside the greenhouse becomes higher than that outside.
Greenhouse gases increase the amount of heat trapped near the earth surface, making the earth warmer.
Global warming is believed to be a result of hum an activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, along with use of agricultural and industrial chemicals.
Thinning of the ozone layer is a related problem resulting from use of CFCs and other chemical products. The ozone layer, a three-atom oxygen, shields the earth from lethal ultraviolet rays which can cause skin cancer and eye cataracts in people.
The strong ultraviolet rays also impact plants and animals. Globally, a slightly higher temperature within a relatively short period will have wide-reaching impacts on atmospheric circulation, weather patterns and rainfall in southern Africa.
Most predictions point to slightly drier conditions for the region, though some envision slightly wetter conditions in coastal areas. Models of the impact of global warming on Namibia, for example, suggest that there could be an increase in both summer and winter temperatures of up to 4°C.
Global atmospheric changes could cause sea levels to rise, seriously impacting marine resources; change the Cape’s rainfall pattern from winter to summer; and shift agricultural zones to the detriment of farming.
While some of the environmental problems southern Africa faces may appear insurmountable, countries in the region are working together and with other countries in the world to find solutions.
The Treaty establishing the Southern African Development Community commits SADC to “achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources and effective protection of the environment ….”
The state of the environment in southern Africa is generally in good shape, but localized problems such as degradation, deforestation and pollution are of concern. The future of the environment in the region depends on its people.
They are part of the environment in which they live, make decisions and take actions. “We can use our resources and fulfil our potential for development, or we can abuse them, and not only slow our own progress but jeopardise security for future generations,” says Masire. (SARDC)
