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Sadc water pollution
http://www.controllingpollution.com/water-pollution-south-africa/
Water Pollution in South Africa
The pollution of rivers, lakes and acquifers from domestic and industrial wastewater discharges, mining runoff, agro-chemicals and other sources in now a growing threat to water resources in most countries insouth Africa.
According to a new report titled: ‘Water Quality Management and Pollution Control’ in south Africa, written by Prof Ngonidzashe Moyo, a freshwater biologist at the University of Limpopo in South Africa and Sibekhile Mtetwa and other water resources development experts, the quality of water supplies in the Sadc region, once taken for granted, is becoming the focus of increasing concern.
PICTURE TO BE ADDED
Water Pollution in South Africa
The water experts say the solid, liquid and particulate waste by-products of urbanisation and economic activities are contaminating air, soil and water quality.
Water pollution has affected water quality and impacted negatively on public health and functioning of ecosystems including the rising cost of water treatment.
The report suggests that the main sources of water pollution are untreated or partially treated effluents from municipal, industrial and mining wastewater discharges.
Runoff from small-scale mining operations, urban stormwater and runoff from agricultural, livestock and poultry operations have also impaired the quality of water in the Sadc region.
InZimbabwe, the discharge of industrial and municipal effluent has heavily pollutedLakeChivero,Harare’s principal water supply dam leading to massive fish deaths in the lake.
Because of poor original planning,Hararelies within its own catchment area. This means that all the city’s waste, which passes through the heavily industrialised and densely populated areas flows into the lake.
This has compromised the quality of the city’s water and contributed to the accumulation of ammonia compounds that are causing fish deaths on the lake every year.
Lack of resources to upgrade sewage treatment works, lack of funding to water quality management and research, overcrowding, bureaucracy and poor management of wetlands has led to the eutrophication of the lake.
Prof Moyo said the degradation of river water quality has resulted in an increased risk to consumers who consume water from the region’s water sources. In the report, the writers note that not all countries have adopted (the World Health Organisation and FAO water guidelines) or derived their own standards. “Tanzania, for example, still has temporary drinking water standards because they envisage that adopting permanent standards, say for fluoride, would present difficult economic choices and compliance problems for a large segment of he population,” the water experts noted.
Urbanisation is increasing in the Sadc region and water experts say most cities have not been able to develop the basic utilities for water and environmental services (solid waste disposal systems, sewage treatment and industrial pollution control) to keep pace with the rapid growth. They say existing wastewater treatment facilities in many countries in the region are overloaded and facing serious difficulties in handling the ever-increasing volumes of wastewater generated by an increasing urban population. “Many sewage treatment works are old. Most have been maintained poorly and overdue for rehabilitation,” water experts said in the report on water resources management insouth Africa.
InZambia, for example, inadequate sewage treatment and sanitation has led to widespread eutrophication of water bodies near towns and cities. Water experts estimate that sewage treatment plants in many Zambian towns are handling just 20 percent of sewage collected and even that is not adequately treated. The remaining 80 percent is lost into storm drains because of leakages or blockages.
In Zimbabwe, the Firle sewage works in Harare was designed to treat 72 000 cubic metres of waste water per day, but the plant now receives more than 100 000 cubic metres of wastewater a day. The sewage effluent which is partially treated and nutrient-rich finds its way toLakeChivero contributing to its eutrophication.
InTanzania, only seven out of more than 52 urban centres had some form of sewage system in the mid-1990s. These sewage systems provided only partial coverage, were aged and in need of rehabilitation, the water experts noted in the report. “As much as 80 percent of the urban population inTanzaniais not served by sewage and uses the traditional pit latrines,” the report indicates.
The Mirongo river which drains intoLake Victoria, receives sewage from squatter settlements because of the breakdown of pumps and stabilisation ponds. The river is said to have turned into an open sewer transporting tonnes of industrial and municipal waste intoLake Victoriaevery year. As a result,Lake Victoriais now heavily polluted with high levels of poisonous metals and substances which are affecting the lake’s ecology.
Municipal sewage discharge untreated or partially treated into the ocean and marine pollution is now of major concern in coastal towns throughout the Sadc region.
Sewage from the central business district of Dar es Salaam and Tanga, water experts say, is discharged directly into theIndian Oceanwithout treatment.
Water resources experts estimate that coastal urban areas inSouth Africadischarge more than 850 million litres of largely untreated wastewater into the sea. They say although coastal pollution in Mozambique is still comparatively light by global standards, studies in Maputo harbour in the mid-1990s indicated that the beaches of Maputo and Beira were polluted from increased soil erosion, human-induced pollution, domestic and industrial residues and from ship traffic and were not safe for swimming. InAngola, water experts noted, people fleeing the conflict in rural areas settled in coastal, urban areas resulting in overpopulation, overburdening of sanitation facilities and localised pollution.
The capital,Luandawas built for 500 000 people, but the population multiplied as the civil war intensified leading to a fierce growth of unplanned settlements. There was virtually no sanitation facilities, sewage systems and refuse collection. Marine pollution in and around major urban areas with large informal settlements such as Luanda has in some cases reached toxic levels, water experts said in the report.
Industrial pollution inSwazilandis impacting on poor communities residing near waterways used as receiving waters. The polluted water poses a severe health risk to communities located near the river who use it for domestic activities, such as cooking, washing and bathing. Even inSouth Africa, toxic and radioactive substances generated from industries is polluting rivers and causing long term contamination of the aquatic ecosystems. In 1991, the Atomic Energy Corporation ofSouth Africacaused a huge spill of 80 000 – 100 000 tonnes of caustic soda near the Hartbeesport dam massive fish deaths and killing aquatic animals.
Untreated industrial waste from coastal areas in the whole of the Sadc region is discharged into streams and rivers running into the ocean. Water experts in the report noted that industrial waste is found in ocean waters near major centres dotted along the entire coastline –formDar es SalaamandMaputoon the east coast, pastNatalandCape Townto Walvis Bay and Baia do Cacuaco, 15km north ofLuanda.
Mining activities in the region has led to the discharging of heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury into the river systems strewn across the Sadc region.
For example, theKafueriver deteriorates substantially in quality as passes through the Copperbelt because of the concentrated waste discharges. The mining activities in the Copperbelt have degraded the Kafue river which is the source drinking water for millions of people in urban areas inZambia. Water experts say the cost of treating water for human consumption has risen sharply as the quality of the raw water deteriorated due to the mining activities.
Other issues raised in the report, include the water quality management and pollution control challenges facing the Sadc region and a range of water quality management strategies. Natural factors that impair water quality are discussed in detail as well as the severity and extent of the problems and consequences. Existing pollution control management systems in the region are also evaluated as well as policy options.
A variety of pollution control options were recommended and these included pollution permits, self-regulation, economic incentives and pollution penalties. “The management of present and future water quality insouth Africa is fundamentally important if the continued existence of both the resource and the populations reliant on the resource is to be ensured,” water experts said in the report. “There is therefore an urgent need for changing the misperceptions among policy makers that water pollution is not a serious problem in the region.”
They say appropriate mechanism need to be established to check the health of aquatic environments and the effects of pollution on the biota and human health. Adequately equipped laboratories are necessary for monitoring purposes and individual laboratories in each country must network. Water experts also noted that water quality specialists and environmental engineers are needed and these skills should be developed through intensification training and education and civil service reforms that encourage the retention of specialists within the public and private sector.
All stakeholders including private sector, communities, interest groups and individuals as well as governments must have the will to participate in tackling the water pollution problems in a curative but also in a preventive manner. Water experts said a vigorous public awareness campaign for improving the understanding of key issues at the political level should be promoted at national levels and in the Sadc region.
Other important interventions raised by water experts include strengthening water management and aquatic ecosystems laws, implementing the polluter-pays principle, encouraging self-regulation, economic incentives, strengthening regulation and its implementation and promoting public participation in water resources planning and management.
Water is a basic right and everyone in the region has a role to play to enhance its value and the protection of river ecosystems.
The San People of Africa
https://www.natucate.com/en/blog/nature/the-san-people-of-africa
The San people live in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. These indigenous people of Southern Africa originally lived purely as hunters and gatherers.
“Imagine a society in which the work week seldom exceeds 19 hours, material wealth is considered a burden, and no one is much richer than anyone else.”
This description may sound like a futuristic utopia to some. However, this quote from a 1969 Time article references the hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari. Some call them San. Others call them Bushmen.
Who are the San people of Africa?
Most archaeologists believe that the San hunter-gatherer culture dates back 20,000 years. However, some archaeological evidence supports the view that the San should be attributed to the Early Later Stone Age (ELSA). The San tribes are descendants of the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa and thus belong to the oldest cultures on earth.
The term San is to be understood as a collective term for several indigenous ethnic groups in Southern Africa. These groups include, for example, the ǃKung, |Gui, Ju/’hoasi or Naro Tribe.
The history of the San
In 1652, the Dutch began colonising South Africa. Here they encountered two groups of people, both speaking languages heavily influenced by “click” sounds.
- Cattle herders called Khoi (or Khoikhoi)
b. Hunter-gatherers called San
They are collectively referred to as Khoe-San. Khoe-San genetics reveal that those groups harbour the greatest level of diversity of all living peoples. They speak Khoisan languages, which rank among the most complex languages in the world. Symbols such as ! or / represent the typical clicks of this language in our alphabet.
The San lived near and in the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert, covering parts of what is now known as Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. The Kalahari is a hot, large semi-arid savanna with lots of sand. This area of thirst, where the sun burns relentlessly, has harsh living conditions. Only adapted survival experts who know their environment inside out will survive here. This unforgiving rule of life applies to humans and animals.
Domesticating animals, as the Khoi did, or crop cultivation, is not an option in this sandy area. This reason made the Kalahari Desert a natural frontier for peoples who relied on cattle and crops. During the further course of the European settlement, the San tribes were forced further into the northern depths of the desert. The San were clearly overmatched in the fight against the Europeans equipped with firearms. During this period, the number of San was significantly reduced. Trapped San were forced into slavery.
The San people’s way of life
African San people are migratory people. That means they do not stay in one place for long. Small mobile family groups, comprising up to 25 men, women and children, carried their simple shelter with them. Whenever available, the nomadic people made use of caves for protection.
What do bushmen eat?
The San’s diet includes meat, collected eggs, wild berries, roots, nuts and other plant materials. Among the gatherers and hunters, the roles are divided. The San women are responsible for gathering. And the San men perform the hunting. The vegetables harvested by the women make up about 75% of their intake. They rely on their extensive knowledge of edible, medicinal and poisonous plants. This indigenous knowledge has been passed down for generations. That San women supply three times as much food as San men is one of the reasons why San women are treated as relatively equal.
San hunting methods
The African San are excellent hunters and make use of a wide variety of methods. Antelopes and giraffes are just two examples of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects considered huntable. Depending on the animal being tracked, the hunt can last between a few hours and several days — a physically demanding challenge.
Trapping
When setting traps, the San use, among other things, pitfall traps or snares. For pitfall traps, they dig a hole, for example at a waterhole that is frequently used by the hunted species, and cover it with branches. If an animal accidentally falls into the trap, it cannot escape this large, deep hole and becomes easy prey.
Snare traps are intended to catch smaller species, such as hares. For this trapping method, a deadly snare is formed from plant fibres that tightens when an animal walks into the trap.
Poisonous bow and arrow
The San often go hunting with bow and arrow. However, bows and arrows alone usually do not kill the animal. Only in combination with poison does the arrow become a deadly weapon. The San utilise a special kind of beetle to poison their arrows. This poison is strong enough to kill the hunted animal. However, it also has the characteristic of not poisoning all the meat.
Endurance hunt
Endurance hunting, the oldest form of human hunting, focuses on chasing animals until they collapse exhausted. With cooling sweat pores and an upright walk on two legs, humans have a significant advantage when it comes to perseverance. On the other hand, predators such as lions depend on reaching their prey in one go. Otherwise, they would overheat, and the target would escape. The San are sophisticated trackers who know the game and habitat very well, which helps them to lead their way on a persistence hunt.
Thirst quencher in the Kalahari Desert
Due to the San’s harsh environment, water is a rare resource. To get water in the Kalahari Desert, they use the root of the “bi! bulb”. If it is squeezed, it provides water. Scooping out the morning dew also serves as a source of water. To store water, the San utilise ostrich eggshells.
The San Culture
The San people in Africa have a rich traditional culture – with a habit of gift-giving, the creation of eggshell jewellery, drawings, music, spirituality and wisdom.
Using different coloured stones, the San made rock paintings and carvings to record things that happened. The San rock paintings show non-human beings, humans and hybrid creatures that are half human, half animal. They, for instance, illustrate the speed of a hunt with a galloping movement or the dedicated communal dances around the fire. Later, San rock art began to show contact with European settlers by depicting sailing ships, European-style clothing, guns and cannons.
Another central element of San culture is music and dance. Particularly noteworthy here is the nightly, long-lasting medicine trance dance, which is considered a central healing remedy. During this trance experience, the supernatural power n/um is awakened, which cures diseases and benefits the group. Additionally, medicinal plants known by the San are used to treat illnesses.
The San belief systems differ among the various groups. Generalised, there is the predominance of a powerful god alongside the presence of less powerful gods in the San religion. Respect is also paid to the spirits of the deceased.
San survival skills and tracking course
Nowadays, the modern San are no longer isolated. If you want to be part of a progressive example of bush tourism, you should attend Natucate’s San survival and tracking course.