Green economics: e-waste recycling intentions of urban South Africans

Most Sowetans continued to invest substantial amounts of energy and money in their ‘matchbox’ houses even after the state restricted their rights of tenure in the 1960s. Their alterations were often not apparent ‐ for example, plastering walls and installing interior doors ‐ but they carried heavy significance for the families involved in such activities. Upgrading related on many levels to the worries and aspirations of working‐class adults regarding their tenuous positions as urban Africans and particularly to their efforts to gain and preserve respectability in the township. The stories people tell about their houses, as well as the actual material forms that home improvements took, suggest that respectability rested less on conspicuous display of taste and wealth than on the application of traditional African understandings. Upgrading offered Sowetans a way of quietly setting down roots and establishing, to others and to themselves, their places as urban South Africans.

Globally, there are social, economic and environmental challenges related to sustainable development; these challenges include climate change, the need to feed a rapidly increasing population, high rates of poverty and environmental degradation. These challenges have forced us to rethink the way in which development takes place, resulting in the emergence of the concept of a ‘green economy’. A green economy results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing risks to the environment. It is based on principles which integrate social, economic and environmental considerations. South Africa has adopted the principle of green economic growth, and agriculture is one of the sectors that will drive this growth. Agriculture could address some of the sustainable development problems, but there are challenges related to resource availability, environmental impacts of agriculture and climate change. For agriculture to support a green economy it has to be productive, contribute to economic growth and not undermine the environment, social and cultural systems. The information base and policies required to support a green economy in general, and/or an agriculture-supported green economy have not yet been developed, as the green economy is an emerging concept in South Africa as well as globally. The generation of such information requires analysis and synthesis of green economy principles and agricultural imperatives into generic principles and practices for facilitating agriculture’s contribution to the green economy. In this paper, we conduct this analysis and synthesis and highlight the defining aspects of an agricultural green economy.

The pivotal role of small-scale farming in a green economy is well articulated at the theoretical level. However, the practical aspects of green economy implementation in the general agricultural context are unclear. Green economy projects cannot be implemented based on green economy principles alone using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach; but should be tailored to specific contexts. This chapter covers the practical realities of green economy implementation through analysis of the practices and experiences of small-scale vegetable farmers in South Africa. Case studies were used to understand the broad socio-economic and biophysical operating environment and the specific conditions on individual farms. Factors such as employment and livelihood provision, marketing and capacity building, production practices and the crops grown were analysed for each farm. These aspects were assessed for alignment with green economy principles and South Africa’s green economy aspirations. Production methods are a critical factor as farms which use organic production methods are better aligned with environmental green economy principles than farms which use conventional production methods. All the farms produce food, market produce and provide employment; and are aligned with several socio-economic green economy principles. Green economy implementation should be informed by practical realities on the ground and build onto compatible practices where these occur; and identify and introduce alternatives to practices which are not compatible with green economy ideals.

There are implications to sustainable development from overconsumption of natural resources. Increasingly, economies are running out of resources to sustain or achieve desired growth rates and inclusive growth. As a result, momentum is building on exploring how the blue economy can be used as complimentary resource, particularly as a taping into it as an opportunity of ensuring that the marginalised groups in society are catered for. This is argued to address the ex-ante inequalities in other sectors of the economy, such as the green economy (land and resources on it), where participation by vulnerable groups like women and youth is limited owing to segregation policies of yesteryears, at least in former colonised countries like South Africa. The study used a systematic literature review, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols (PRISMA-P) approach to ascertain works on this topic and identify gaps that need to be addressed to adequately inform policy and practice. With regards to access and participation in the blue economy, most studies found that women do have access and participate in the blue economy, however, their participation is limited by barriers such lack of education and credit as well as patriarchal beliefs. Furthermore, women participation in both green and blue economies is determined by social norms, skills attainment, access to credit, age, technology. Most of the reviewed studies concluded that men derived more commercial benefits from green economy, while women derive more subsistence and recreational benefits from the blue economy.

Global interest in the ‘green economy’ has heightened since 2008, and this article contributes to these discussions by elaborating on (a) four alternative, and sometimes competing, discourses of the green economy, and (b) the particular politics of the green economy in South Africa. Most research on the green economy tends to focus on European and North American countries, however in the context of a changing global economy and the ‘rise of the South’ the politics of the green economy in countries like South Africa is of increasing importance. South Africa faces many challenges in pursuing a transition to a more sustainable development path, yet has been cited as a global green economy leader. This article argues that this is related to the particular discourse of ‘green growth’ which is dominant in South Africa, and proposes two significant lines of critique of this discourse. The first cautions that commitment to the green economy may not be particularly deep-rooted, sustained or coherent; and the second highlights some of the more troubling political implications of the type of green growth advocated, even if it were to be pursued with more determination. With this in mind, it is important to consider whether transitions to a green economy might produce new power relations of inequality and injustice, just as the industrial revolution helped produce today's deeply unequal world.

BackgroundMindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been found to have significant health benefits in studies conducted in the global North.AimThis study examined the effects of MBSR on stress, mood states and medical symptoms among urban South Africans to inform future research and clinical directions of MBSR in local settings.SettingParticipants completed an 8-week MBSR programme based in central Cape Town.MethodA retrospective analysis of 276 clinical records was conducted. Mindfulness, stress, negative and positive mood, medical symptoms and psychological symptoms were assessed before and after the intervention using self-report questionnaires. We compared pre and post-intervention scores and examined the relationship between changes in mindfulness and changes in stress, mood and medical symptoms.ResultsMindfulness scores were significantly higher after intervention, both on the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Changes on the KIMS were associated with reductions in stress, negative mood, psychological symptoms and total medical symptoms, and improvement in positive mood. Changes in mindfulness, as measured by the MAAS, were significantly correlated only with reduced total number of medical symptoms.ConclusionThis study provides preliminary evidence for the positive health impact of MBSR on urban South Africans, and in turn acceptability and feasibility evidence for MBSR in South Africa and supports the case for larger trials in different local settings.

Redefining the ECG in urban South Africans: Electrocardiographic findings in heart disease-free Africans

Electronic waste (e-waste) pertains to all electrical and electronic devices that have reached the end of their operational life, posing environmental hazards. It stands out as one of the rapidly expanding sectors on a global scale. This paper aims to apply the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict consumer intentions towards e-waste recycling, pinpointing the key factors contributing most significantly to behavioural intentions. Through a quantitative approach involving online surveys, data was gathered from 522 respondents. The collected data underwent exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling for analysis. The investigation pinpointed the following factors as the primary catalysts for behavioural intention: (a) the convenience associated with e-waste recycling, (b) attitudes regarding e-waste recycling, and (c) the environmental awareness exhibited by consumers. This research offers valuable insights for scholars, marketing practitioners, and environmental experts, aiding them in comprehending and fostering environmentally conscious consumer behaviour.

Large-scale environmental signals in seagrass blue carbon stocks are hidden by high variability at local scales

This chapter explores the degree of understanding of the green economy concept and the green practices undertaken by the tourism industry in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The findings show that there is generally a lack of understanding of the green economy concept among the 41 tourism businesses sampled. Further, the main green economy practices being implemented include water- and electricity/energy-saving initiatives driven mainly by the need to cut operating costs and increase net profits. Most of the tourism businesses interviewed showed a lack of knowledge of any government policies and/or incentives to promote green economy investments in the tourism industry besides the provision of energy-saving bulbs. The results also show the need for increased awareness-raising on the green economy concept and how it will benefit the businesses, including skills development in green economy practices to encourage implementation. The lack of information on the green economy and the high costs of implementation were identified as the key constraints in implementing green economy initiatives in the province.

Over the past 15 years, South Africa has embraced ‘green economy’ policy approaches aimed at tackling social and environmental challenges. However, concerns have emerged that these approaches may inadvertently exclude marginalised communities and fail to address the systemic factors perpetuating inequities. Drawing upon field-based research in the Agulhas Plain, we critically examine how the green economy concept is understood and applied in South Africa as a vehicle to include marginalised communities. We use a multi-dimensional ‘inclusion framework’ to analyse four equity dimensions in the country’s largest green economy initiative, the Working for Water Programme (WfWP). Our findings reveal that the WfWP includes communities in a perfunctory fashion, resulting in limited distributive benefits while ignoring several equity dimensions that contribute to existing inequities. These shortcomings are attributed to the neoliberal ideological framework which not only underpins the WfWP, but forms the basis of South Africa’s broader green economy approach. We contribute to counter-hegemonic development debates by advocating for stronger forms of sustainability in South Africa’s green economy approach that challenge power inequities to effect political change.

This book provides policy framework on “towards a Green Economy in the Transport Sector” draws inspiration from the UNEP report on Green Economy Modeling (2014), which focused on South Africa with respect to Transport, Natural Resource Management, Agriculture, and Energy sectors. This is because in the last 10 years natural resources, environmental risks and ecological issues have come to the attention of the international community because the subject is fundamentally important for overarching sustainable growth. It is important to note that environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in different regions of the world including South Africa result in significant problems. However, the challenges can provide an opportunity to do things differently. Further to this in 2010, South Africa hosted the Green Economy Summit to set up the stage for the formulation of a Green Economy Plan. In line with this, the choice for a New Growth Path (NGP) was formulated and it was aimed at creating new green jobs in their thousands by 2020. It was in this context that the NGP policy framework on green economy in the transport sector was envisaged to respond to the request by Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) to assess potential opportunities and policy levers to inform a green economy in the transport sector. The findings from the desktop research, the stakeholder workshop and the field survey reports form the basis from which the policy framework recommendations in this report were made.

A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) was introduced in South Africa in April 2018. Our objective was to document perceptions and attitudes among urban South Africans living in Soweto on factors that contribute to their SSB intake and on South Africa's use of a tax to reduce SSB consumption. We conducted six focus group discussions using a semi-structured guide. The study was conducted in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, 3 months before South Africa's SSB tax was implemented. Adults aged 18 years or above living in Soweto (n 57). Participants reported frequent SSB consumption and attributed this to habit, addiction, advertising and wide accessibility of SSB. Most of the participants were not aware of the proposed SSB tax; when made aware of the tax, their responses included both beliefs that it would and would not result in reduced SSB intake. However, participants indicated cynicism with regard to the government's stated motivation in introducing the tax for health rather than revenue reasons. While an SSB tax is a policy tool that could be used with other strategies to reduce people's high level of SSB consumption in Soweto, our findings suggest a need to complement the SSB tax with a multipronged behaviour change strategy. This strategy could include both environmental and individual levers to reduce SSB consumption and its associated risks.

Large tracts of fynbos on the Agulhas Plain are being converted to agriculture. Carbon (C) stocks in fynbos, pastures and vineyards were measured in this preliminary study to determine whether conservation of fynbos results in greater C storage relative to agricultural land uses. Fynbos had greater aboveground C than pastures (12.7 ± 1.7 vs 0.8 ± 0.3 t C ha−1), greater root C than pastures and vineyards (13.0 ± 11.7, 4.9 ± 1.4 and 0.2 ± 0.2 t C ha−1, respectively), less soil organic C than pastures (1.26 ± 0.14 vs 2.06 ± 0.22%) and less total soil C than pastures (66.7 ± 7.2 vs 99.2 ± 10.9 t C ha−1). The results indicate that conversion of fynbos into pastures is unlikely to result in a net loss of C stocks because reductions in aboveground biomass, litter and root C are recovered through gains in soil C. Conversion of fynbos into vineyards is likely to result in a net loss of approximately 23 t C ha−1 in aboveground and root biomass.

The many opportunities for mitigating atmospheric carbon emissions in developing countries include reforesting degraded lands, implementing sustainable agricultural practices on existing lands and slowing tropical deforestation. This analysis shows that over the next 10 years, 48 major tropical and subtropical developing countries have the potential to reduce the atmospheric carbon burden by about 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon. Given a central price of $10 per tonne of carbon and a discount rate of 3%, this mitigation would generate a net present value of about $16.8 billion collectively for these countries. Achieving these potentials would require a significant global effort, covering more than 50 million hectares of land, to implement carbon-friendly practices in agriculture, forest and previously forested lands. These estimates of host-country income potentials do not consider that outside financial investment may or may not be available. Our calculations take no account of the additional benefits of carbon sequestration in forest soils undergoing reforestation, increased use of biomass and reduced use of fossil-fuel inputs and reduced agricultural emissions. In all events, realizing these incomes would necessitate substantially greater policy support and investment in sustainable land uses than is currently the case.