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An evaluation of the EIA process in promoting sustainability in the mining sector of Namibia
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Nelumbu, Naemi Mweshiyola; Muller, Joanne Anneke; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can contribute significantly to the advancement of sustainable development by allowing the inclusion of the project’s ecological, social and economic aspects of the into the development process. In actuality, though, it's unclear if EIAs are carried out in a way that effectively advances sustainable development, and especially social sustainability. This research study therefore reviewed the literature pertaining to EIA effectiveness, developing a theoretical framework about the potential role that EIA could play in promoting social sustainability in Namibia's mining industry. The study designed an evaluation framework to assess the efficacy of EIA reports in promoting sustainable development, based on this literature review, and the importance of including the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals at the forefront of development. This research then used this evaluation framework to evaluate how effective the EIA process was in promoting social sustainability in the mining sector of Namibia, by exploring sixteen EIA reports. This same framework was also used to evaluate the Namibian legal framework as it relates to EIA. An evaluation research design was used, and the study also used multiple case studies based on sixteen EIA reports, using a combination of numeric and non-numeric data collection methods. The secondary data used in this desktop study came from archived data sources. The EIA reports were assessed using the evaluation framework as developed, which focussed on a social sustainability theoretical framework. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse non-numeric data, while Microsoft Excel was employed to analyse numeric data. The case studies found that societal problems were barely included in EIA reports or insufficient information was provided in the reports. The case studies further revealed that Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is not carried out in a specialised manner in the mining sector. The case studies revealed that public participation is done to comply with minimum legal requirements, although there are challenges such as indigenous people not being involved as they are supposed to be, or participation happens late in the process. With regards to the legal framework, the Namibian legislation has omitted several important aspects in their EIA Regulations. For example, the EIA Regulations do not state clearly what social information should be included in the EIA reports. In addition, both the Act and its regulations do not stipulate SIA or community meetings, thereby jeopardising the effective implementation of EIA. Lastly, the study made recommendations on improving social sustainability in Namibia. The recommendations are that environmental and social professionals must identify objectives, set processes, establish timetables, put into practice choices to fulfil predetermined goals for the proactive creation of achievable, sustainable results in order to bring the SDGs into compliance with the EIA procedure. This includes making sure that programmes, strategies, and policies support the SDGs' vision for transformative change and ensuring that the planned outcomes of an EIA are in line with efforts to advance social and economic objectives and improve and restore the environment. SIA reports should specifically address all the SDGs, Consultants should carefully match screening criteria with the SDGs and identify which project activities affect the SDGs. Consultants should ensure compliance with the respective SDGs,
based on the kind of project and how the targets of those SDGs will be met. Moreover, EIA legislation and regulations should be reviewed to ensure that social sustainability aspects are addressed in the EIA reports, and provisions should be made for SIA and public meetings in the legislation and EIA Regulations.
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Termite-affected soils in the Western Cape – a toolkit for the assessment of oxalotrophy and carbon storage potential
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Nel, Teneille; Clarke, Catherine E; Francis, Michele L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Soil Science.
Soil carbon (C) sequestration is a nature-based strategy to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels. Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) represents a store of durable C in (semi-)arid soils. Earthen mounds (heuweltjies) occupied by Microhodotermes viator termites are ubiquitous in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa and may be active sites for the biogenic formation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) via the oxalate-carbonate pathway (OCP). However, a lack of techniques to monitor the OCP has hindered its investigation. The impact of land use change on C storage capacity of heuweltjies demands research efforts to inform land-use decisions. No studies have confirmed whether OCP is active in heuweltjie soils or assessed the quantity and distribution of soil organic C (SOC) and SIC in heuweltjies of mesic climatic regions. The aims of this study were to develop an analytical toolkit to identify and monitor the OCP and apply these techniques to evaluate biotic and abiotic drivers of C dynamics in termite-affected soils. This toolkit included novel methods of quantifying oxalate concentrations in environmental samples by mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and monitoring soil pore gas composition in incubation experiments. Soils, vegetation and termite frass (excrement) from semi-arid and mesic regions (Koringberg and Stellenbosch) and from cultivated and uncultivated heuweltjies were compared to evaluate climatic controls as well as the impact of land-use change on C dynamics in the mounds. The heuweltjie in Stellenbosch contributed to 51% of landscape SOC stocks (predominantly in the topsoil) and subsoil alkalinization suggested that bicarbonates may be produced in these heuweltjies and leached to aquifers for long-term C storage. In Koringberg, heuweltjie subsoils were enriched in SOC and SIC relative to off-mound soils. The SOC enrichment factor of uncultivated heuweltjie topsoils relative to off-mound soils was up to 5.6 times greater than that of cultivated mounds due to higher organic C content of frass derived from renosterveld vegetation compared to crops. The deeper, cultivated mound (up to 140 cm depth) stored more C than the shallower mounds in undisturbed soil (mean maximum depth of 85 cm) and contributed 53% toward total landscape C stocks. MIR spectroscopic models accurately quantified CaOx in compound clay mineral mixtures, frass samples and vegetation extracts (normalized root mean squared error of prediction ≤ 0.07). Higher soluble oxalate content in vegetation from drier climatic zones may reflect drought stress-induced oxalate synthesis in plant tissues of these regions. CaOx in frass samples may have degraded more rapidly in soils with greater moisture content. Increases in pH, calcite saturation index and apparent respiratory quotient values provided evidence of oxalotrophy in heuweltjie soils treated with CaOx or frass. Soils treated with frass sequestered more C (18.5% increase) than CaOx treatments, which may be attributed to CO2-fixation. Decreased apparent respiratory quotient (ARQ) values in frass treatments (ca. 0.5 units lower than the control) suggested preferential metabolism of lignin. This study provides an analytical toolkit that enables more comprehensive assessment of C dynamics in oxalate-rich ecosystems to inform land use decisions based on evaluation of climate-regulating ecosystem services.
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The impact of the polyphagous shot hole borer beetle and its fungal symbiont, Fusarium euwallaceae, on commercial pear production
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Neethling, Emma Cecile; Crous, Casparus J; Roets, Francois; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Conservation Ecology and Entomology.
This thesis investigates the impact of the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) beetle and its fungal symbiont Fusarium euwallaceae (FE) (together PSHB-FE) on commercial pear production, specifically focusing on the Packham's Triumph cultivar in the Western Cape, South Africa. PSHB-FE is recognized globally as a destructive pest–disease complex affecting a vast range of hardwood tree species, many of which are important to agriculture, forestry, and urban landscaping. The presence of such a destructive pest in the economically vital fruit production industry, where its full impact is yet unknown, is alarming. The study primarily evaluates the physiological and phenological responses of commercial pear trees to different levels of infestation and explores how these responses affect fruit quality, water-use efficiency (WUE), and leaf traits. After the first year of invasion, we assess the early impact of PSHB-FE on fruit quality
and WUE and examines the phenotypic plasticity of tree responses to infestation. It highlights that high PSHB attack density is associated with smaller, sweeter, and duller-coloured fruit, along with reduced WUE, even in asymptomatic trees. In the second year of invasion, the assessment zoomed into the physiological and phenological changes in the host trees due to PSHB-FE infestation. Here no significant physiological stress or disruption to phenological timing was detected. The research also evaluates the potential of multispectral vegetation indices (VIs) for early detection and monitoring of PSHB-FE invasion in commercial pear crops, highlighting their application in agricultural settings. While VI results aligned with the physiological assessments, the absence of clear physiological stress in the trees limited the ability to correlate VIs with specific PSHB-FE-induced stress parameters. Overall, the risk of PSHB-FE to commercial pear production appears lower than initially anticipated. However, early stages of invasion may still significantly impact production and the continued presence of PSHB-FE in orchards cannot be disregarded. The study highlights underlying inconsistency in the water-use dynamics of highly infested trees, suggesting potential management challenges if water use becomes more variable during hot, dry productive seasons. Monitoring PSHB populations during these periods will be critical. Invasion in this orchard was likely opportunistic, facilitated by prolific hosts in surrounding vegetation, since PSHB breeding in Packham’s Triumph pears is poor and infrequent, and PSHB activity seemingly declined in the second year. We propose that any resulting stress to pear host trees closely mirrors prevailing climatic conditions and PSHB-FE activity, rather than compounding over consecutive seasons of invasion. This response may extend to other deciduous fruit species with low breeding susceptibility. Our observations emphasize the importance of safely removing infested breeding hosts surrounding orchards and call for continued research on the susceptibility of various fruit species and cultivars to PSHBFE. The findings from this study are expected to inform future research and orchard management and pest monitoring strategies to mitigate and better understand the threat posed by this invasive pest complex.
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Human dignity : a socialist conception of God's image in Ujamaa philosophy
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Ndaro, Lucas Burenga; Van der Merwe, W. L.; Mahokoto, Sipho; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology & Ecclesiology.
Discourse on human dignity intensified in legal, ethical, and political charters after the Second World War and one aspect of the debate concerned the ambiguities of whether dignity is inherently permanent or destructible. This study addresses this lacuna and, in agreement with David Kirchhoffer and Augustine Onwubiko, differentiates inherent dignity from acquired dignity and avoids the impasse of a reductionist approach in support of Nyerere’s description of dignity as humanness or personhood. The argument develops through the analysis of dignity in previous legal and religious discourses, traditional practices of Ujamaa dignity, Ujamaa dignity in theology and philosophy, and the practices of dignity in the policies of Ujamaa socialism. The section on legal and religious discourse addresses human dignity and God’s image as descriptors of humanness and as violable and in need of human rights protection. The section on traditional Ujamaa noted the roots of homogeneous ancestries, as illustrated by Chief Nyerere’s own household, which Mwalimu Nyerere emphasized as roots for the type of intertribal Ujamaa that respected the community’s common need and common duty to prove the common dignity, common good, and common equality of all members of the community. The section on Ujamaa theology and anthropology focuses primarily on the creation model that delineates the intertribal and interracial dignity and equality of the human species irrespective of their nonessential differences and the realm that the Creator and the created share without distinctions of sacred and profane. The section on Ujamaa socialism focuses on the dignity of national freedom, the restoration of Ujamaa attitudes, and the dignity of human and economic development. It became evident that dignity and image function as descriptor of humanness and personhood from creation and through
procreation, a personhood that God and humanity share unequally but uniquely as members of God’s clan and will provide a clarification on the nature of divine and human personhood.
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AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PRACTICE OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY IN SELECTED SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOL CHOIRS: FIVE CASE STUDIES
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Ncamani, Lunathi; Berger, Martin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Music.
The Republic of South Africa is a nation with a diverse and inclusive democracy that embraces and values the diverse races and cultures of its people. The diversity of South African public school choirs should reflect the image of a free and fair society. However, the reality is that there are still inequalities in access to formal choral music education of good quality. When formal music education is available, it is often guided by European epistemologies and teaching approaches that only target one cultural group of learners, rather than taking a holistic and culture-oriented approach. To address this problem, the concept of culturally responsive teaching proposes a student-centred approach that considers learners' lived cultural experiences in the classroom, including in the context of public school choirs. This approach aims to promote social cohesion in the school choir context by recognizing and addressing social justice issues and acknowledging the diverse cultures represented in the school choir. In this work, five case studies are compiled to examine the implementation of culture-oriented pedagogy by school choir teachers. The research focuses on five choral teachers from different
socio-economic and cultural backgrounds in the Stellenbosch and Cape Winelands region who were interviewed by use of semi-structured interviews. The research Findings are discussed in relation to current international choral pedagogy research. The results show different practical approaches towards culturally responsive teaching and this thesis will discuss and evaluate these approaches. Additionally, the study raises the question of what tools and knowledge are needed to apply culturally responsive teaching in a way that addresses social justice issues.