South Africa and Oxfordshire (management) Flashcards
What are the problems with traffic management in South Africa?
● South Africa ranks amongst some of the worst performers on road safety in the world. The IRF ranks South Africa with 31 road fatalities per 100,000 populations as the third worst in the world (IRF World Road Statistics 2009).
● Transport improvements have simply isolated and trapped local communities with poor road infrastructure. They are in poor condition, maintenance is hampered by the lack of clarity of role and responsibilities (lack of hierarchy). 435km are in poor condition,50% of gravel roads in poor condition
● Accidents killing animals at the roadside (farm animals essential for resident’s survival)
What is the management of traffic in South Africa?
● The 15-seater ‘minibus taxi’ provides transport to at least 65 per cent of the countries commuters.
● Johannesburg has already rolled out the first phases of its Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system
● The construction of bus lanes.
● Law enforcement of fare collection, passenger safety, and keeping unauthorised vehicles out of bus lanes (protests from minibus drivers)
Describe the increasing use of rural areas for recreation and leisure in South Africa.
● Tourism has added 10% of district value with 20,000 jobs
● New b&bs, backpacker hostel and game farms have sprung up
● Heritage sites and Amathole Mountains Escape Route
● Hunting tourism – on privately owned game ranches.
Explain the problems caused by hunting tourism
● Hunting tourism – on privately owned game ranches.
● On privately owned ranches 53,885 animals are killed annually in South Africa with the most hunted animals being Lions, kudu and gemsbok.
● Private ranches decrease land available for local farmers to farm.
● Corruption also plays a role in destabilizing hunting quotas, as corrupt officials are thought to provide wealthy hunters special permits which authorize quota exempt offtake.
● Concerns have been raised about the evolutionary consequences of hunting, as the most sought-after trophy animals are usually those with the best physical characteristics.
● Some game ranch owner’s cross-breed closely related species to create unique trophy animals that would prove more desirable to hunters; examples of such hybrids include the red wildebeest and the white springbok. Such genetic manipulation that alters coloration can compromise an animal’s ability to evade predation.
● To diversify the range of species available to hunters, outfitters have introduced exotic species to game ranches, which can facilitate habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity.
● Other forms of misconduct include hunting practices from which the trophy animal has little or no chance of escape, such as canned or put-and-take hunting.
Describe the management of hunting tourism.
● Hunting is only permitted in the presence of a hunting guide, who ensures that animals are killed in a humane way.
● Hunting regulations also dictate that in species with marked sexual dimorphism, only surplus males can be harvested, to reduce the impact of hunting on reproduction.
● To avoid overexploitation, quotas are established to ensure hunting remains sustainable.
● In the CAMPFIRE program, communities receive 50 percent of all hunting revenue, which is distributed back to local communities in a transparent, peer-reviewed manner. This has led to a decrease in poaching, as rural residents perceive wildlife to be valuable to their livelihoods.
What the issues with building developments in South Africa?
● Eskom (South Africa’s largest electricity producer) is a significant user of water, consuming annually approximately 2% of South Africa’s scarce fresh water supply.
● Kusile and Medupi coal-fired power stations under construction – this implies a major environmental footprint, this also means an impact on water, which is scarce
● No adequate sanitation for building developments (72% of Mbhashe have no sanitation)
● Freshwater quality has declined (eutrophication). Water quality guidelines in Amathole region are exceeded (high dissolved substances)
● Lack of road and rail infrastructure
● Illegal dune raiders are mining dune fields along the Wild Coast, destroying fragile coastal ecosystems to fulfil the high demand for building sand in Eastern Cape.
● The mines are destroying hundreds of acres of natural flora, causing massive soil erosion and degradation of roads by heavily laden trucks, within a 1km protected coastal zone.
● According to a Daily Dispatch report sand mines the size of five football fields are being carved out of the earth inside the protected 1km coastal zone.
● The Green Scorpions took some action in 2014, staging a blitz that resulted in one arrest in March and another two in August.
● The responsibility has been given to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR)
What is the management of building developments in South Africa?
● Thanks to new innovative water-saving technologies, Eskom should be able to reduce its water usage by 26% by 2030.
● The new Medupi and Kusile power stations will use dry cooling technology
● Both Medupi and Kusile will have fabric filter plants to reduce ash emissions
What are the impacts on farming in South Africa on the environment?
● As population grows many of the areas of natural vegetation, is converted into grazing land, leading to a decline in biodiversity and an increase in scrubland
● Subsistence farming replaced by cash so less labour is needed
● Population has grown resulting in a loss of natural vegetation (forest, woodland, grassland and shrubland). Urbanisation has meant 9.4% of land is used for cultivation and plantation forestry. This results in a decline in biodiversity and an increase in secondary succession, changing the natural vegetation. Influenced by grazing and burning
● Domestic stock farming is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale, fueled by the commercial benefits of eco-tourism and the lower risk needed to protect wild game against drought, the natural elements and poaching Decline of subsistence agriculture (31% of rural households live below subsistence levels)
● Land shortages resulting in overcrowding, overgrazing, use of poor land, soil erosion and land degradation, decline yields, reduces productive capacity of the lad and denudation
● From an environmental standpoint, the assessment showed a considerable carbon footprint, South Africa is the thirteenth-largest CO2 emitter 94% of the country’s electricity comes from coal,
What is the management of the impacts of farming on the environment in South Africa?
● Using drought resistant fodder crops
● The utility decided to add more renewable energy projects to its power mix by, inter alia, installing photovoltaic solar panels at sites around the country.
The problems of the overuse of the physical environment (degradation and pollution) in South Africa?
● Commercial lands for grazing, cropland and forestry are characterised by extensive gully and sheet erosion.
● Freshwater quality has declined (eutrophication). Water quality guidelines in Amathole region are exceeded (high dissolved substances)
● The most serious bush encroachment is in the commercial areas, in communal areas overgrazing is of greatest concern
● Eastern Cape Province is one of the most degraded provinces
● Extensive gully and sheet erosion of commercial land
● Loss of 13-60 tonnes of soil per hectare in 2000 (over half the province). Soil is a non-renewable resource as it is formed more slowly than it is lost. Soil loss, low veg cover and overgrazing have contributed to degradation and desertification
● Eastern Cape lost 13-60 tonnes of soil per hectare in 2000, soil loss; low vegetation cover and overgrazing all contribute to degradation and possibly desertification.
● Chemicals and acids used during mining leave harmful contaminants inside the soil and water table.
● South Africa’s West Coast has undergone persistent overfishing.
Describe overfishing in South Africa.
South Africa’s West Coast has undergone persistent overfishing of commercially valuable products and species like rock lobster, pilchard and anchovy. Further in the sea, some of the species face extinction due to overharvesting. These dangerous tendencies continue due to improvements in fishing techniques, founding of successful fishing industries and increase in the effort of fishing.
Describe the management of the impact of overuse of the physical environment in South Africa?
● The South African Association for Marine Biological Research has started taking steps forward towards making overfishing less of a problem
● Hook and lining - this is sustainable because by-catch – or species that the fisherman doesn’t intend to catch for sale – can be released as soon as they are caught. Traps and harpooning are other ways of targeting a particular type of fish.
Describe the problems with traffic congestion in Oxfordshire.
● Increasing due to little road development – at capacity
● Loss of land for parking
● High cost of road improvements, e.g. £100m for A40
● Increased pollution
● Water pollution from roads
● Major problems with congestion and air quality
● Areas of farmland converted to coach parks, an impermeable surface resulting in run off leading to flooding
Describe the management of traffic congestion in Oxfordshire.
● Double track the railway line from oxford to Worcester, revive Oxford to Witney line.
● Improve bus services using guided transit express system
● Close monitoring of pollution levels by water authority – fines for polluters
● Transit Express put in place
Describe the problems with the increasing use of rural areas for recreation and leisure in Oxfordshire.
● Country park at Shotover (600,000 visitors a year). The area is protected from development. The large number of visitors results in erosion by car & foot on paths
● Need for accessibility for horse rides, cyclists and disabled people
● Day visits to honeypot sites such as Blenheim
● Golf course construction
● Modification of green belt land to allow manufacturing schemes
● Infrastructure and schools will need to be developed (for increased housing)
