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For more about region: Southern Africa

Many environmental issues affect Southern Africa due to urbanization and the acts needed in order to survive. Southern Africa is the southern region of the continent Africa. It consists of countries such as: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Through an attempt of keeping up with the developing world, and trying to meet the high demands of the growing population, Southern Africa has exhausted it’s many resources resulting in severe environmental damage. Southern Africa’s log, and produce are the cores of their economy, and this region has become dependent on these resources. The continuous depleting and improper treatment of their natural resources have led Southern Africa to the state where they are only harming their environment.

Location of Southern Africa on Map

Composite Satellite image of Southern Africa

Some environmental issues that affect Southern Africa are: water pollution, air pollution, land degradation, solid waste pollution, and deforestation. The environmental damage affects not only the population’s health, but also the species that live in the area, while also contributing to the world-wide issue of climate change.

Water Polution

For more about: Water supply and sanitation in South Africa

One of Southern Africa’s biggest issues is the lack of clean water. Water is an essential part of a human’s physiological need to survival according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to The United Nation’s Convention on Climate Change on South Africa in 2000, the water around Africa is unevenly distributed, meaning that 60% of the water is situated in only 20% of the land . Less than 10% of Southern Africa’s surface water is accessible and due to the fact that a majority of their ground water lay under large rock formations, ground water becomes difficult to access as well . Water is reliant on the climate and due to climate change, storms and precipitation may be delayed. Climate change also causes an increase in temperature, resulting in an increase in evaporation. With a delay in rainfall, an increase in evaporation and a minimal amount of accessible ground water, water becomes very scarce and important to life in Southern Africa.

Many Africans are moving to rural areas, adding to the already high demands for clean water and while demands are growing drastically, freshwater supplies remain limited. Adding to the high demands, Durban’s dam has decreased by 20% since 2010, and up to 30% of the water has either been stolen or given away illegally through international trading . “A review of water availability in 1996 estimated that the total average annual surface runoff was 50 150 million cubic metres, the maximum potential annual system yield was 33 290 million cubic metres, and total water annual requirements were 20 045 million cubic metres. Water requirements could increase by about 50% by 2030 (DWAF, 2000a).” .

Although South Africa has one of the best, cleanest water out of all the countries in Southern Africa, many don’t have access to basic sanitations . A majority of Southern Africa’s accessible water is unclean, making the water vulnerable for water transmitted diseases to exist. Water-borne diseases such as Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E increase, while some of the water become so unclean that diseases such as: Typhoid fever, Leptospirosis, Schistosomiasis, and Bilharzia are transmitted through water contact.

Causes of Water Pollution:

Urbanization

As the population of people moving to urbanized areas increase, the demands for food supply also grow. As a mean to keep up with these high demands, the use of fertilization and sewage contamination also incline. Nitrates and phosphates found in fertilizers and sewage wastes causes eutrophication, which is harmful to other species in the environment. Eutrophication increases algae blooms, which may cause illnesses such as: diarrhea, hayfever, skin rashes, vomiting, fevers, gastroenteritis, muscle and joint pains, and eye irritations .

Oil Spills

South Africa is situated at the very tip of Southern Africa. This location causes South Africa to become very vulnerable to oil spills. High levels of oil is transported from the Middle East to Europe and America along the coast, making Southern African’s water and ecosystem at risk to being severally damaged .

Coal Mining

See also: Environmental effects of coal

Coal mining is one of Southern Africa’s main energy source, but it holds a huge negative impact on the land’s water, air and soil quality. Acid mine drainage is the result of the excess coal mining that occurs. Sulphuric Acid is released from coal mining, and although the generalizing process is slow, the time it takes for the acid to neutralize is equally as slow. When clean, excess water is released from the rock masses that are broken through mining, it’s mixed with the sulphuric acid causing the water to become toxic. This toxic, contaminated water kills plants and animals, while also dissolving aluminum and heavy minerals found in clean water (increasing toxicity level). Although rocks which contain calcium carbonate are able to neutralize the acidic water, Southern Africa does not have the rocks which contain these minerals .

For a link to see the graph for the total primary energy supply in Africa, 2010 and more, click Here

Air Pollution

Highveld in Gauteng Province

In this developing region, low-grade fuels are used to meet high demands for food, and energy . SO₂ and CO₂ are released in the air, and due to deforestation and the growing amount of air pollution, the air pollutants in the atmosphere are slowly building up.

During the winter, pollutants are trapped in the air due to the high pressure, and are unable to move or dissipate. In the summer, due to the low pressure, pollutants are dissipated through unstable circulation. Many women are also cooking indoors with fossil fuels, which is the main cause for the health problems in women and children.

75.2% of Southern Africa’s energy come from Highveld Areas , where 5 of it’s 10 Eskom Power Stations are the largest in the world. Highveld areas are above sea level, making the oxygen level 20% less than the oxygen level in the coast. This results in an incomplete combustion of fossil fuels , and a severe nocturnal temperature inversion to occur; which results in smoke being trapped in the air . 860 tons of SO₂ is produced from 3 of their main power stations (Matla, Duvha and Arnot) , “which exceeds the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) [exposure to particulate matter] standards of 180 mg.m-3 by 6 to 7 times during winter months (Annegarn et al. 1996 a,b)” . This high concentration of air pollution surround the area making it very dangerous to one’s health.

To see graphs indicating South Africa's share of of CO₂ emissions, click Here

Solid Waste Pollution

With the increase of population, and an increase in people who are moving to urbanized areas, the number of solid waste produced is increasing. Over 50% of Southern Africa doesn’t have access to proper solid waste management , and is slowly becoming an issue in this developing region. Large amounts of solid waste is illegally thrown on the ground or burned. This contributes in soil and air pollution, adding to the environmental damage.

Deforestation

The low percentage of rainfall and the increase in temperature due to climate change makes it very difficult for trees to grow.

As the population inclines, Southern Africa’s demand for land also increases. They meet this demand by clearing forests, but for every 28 trees that are cut down, only 1 is replanted . The clearing of trees add to the excess amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere, contributing to air pollution.

Other Contributions to Deforestation:

Shifting cultivation: Southern Africa was losing more than 200 000 hectares of forests due to shifting cultivation. Fortunately, this number has been steadily decreasing as farmers begin to change agricultural practices.

Charcoal Production: Charcoal is produced by burning wood with low-levels of oxygen. This causes air pollution, but is preferred due to high amount of energy produced.

Wood fuel: Some people who live in urban areas don’t have electricity; therefore they use wood fuel to power their homes.

For more about data on drivers of deforestation, click Here

Soil (Land Degradation)

With the decrease in water and the high demands for agriculture, Southern African’s land is becoming less fertile. Climate change is also causing an increase in water evaporation from the soil, making it very difficult for produce in Southern Africa. Africa itself is located in an area where climate is unpredictable, making them vulnerable to climate change and while Southern Africa is semi-arid, it puts them at risk for desertification.

Desertification causes an increase in soil erosion, making it difficult for plants to grow. This will lead to unsustainable food, and endanger Southern Africa’s wildlife . Through time, soil erosion will result in harvesting alien plants. Alien plants threaten indigenous plants and reduce grazing areas, which contributes to soil erosion .

Southern Africa’s land is already over cropped and over-grazed as a result of Africa’s undistributed lands. With the combination of alien plants and the exhaustion of their lands, Southern Africa’s degraded land is beyond repair . Many countries use the method of irrigation as a way to prevent desertification and droughts. Unfortunately, only 4% of Sub-Saharan Africa is equipped for irrigation . With the decrease in rainfall, and the lack of irrigation, Southern Africa’s land and soil will soon become arid.