Government type: a Republic Capital: It has three - Pretoria the administrative capital, Cape Town the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital Size:1,219,090 sq km (or a little smaller than two times Texas) Population:49,052,489 people Life expectancy average:48.98 years GDP per capita: $10,000 (2009 est.) - in US dollars Time line of major events:BBC Timeline Map:
One source that I had the wonderful chance of having available to me are friends who live in South Africa. Therefore I sent them some of the key questions that I am trying to answer to see what a South African's view on them were. So through out this page there will be quotes from Sarah Pope and Bradley Lund who both live in Johannesburg giving a slightly skewed view of this vast country yet still insightful as Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa.
Sarah Pope and Bradley Lund
Environmental Damage
Background on South Africa's Environment:
The total area is 1,219,090 sq km with only 4,620 sq km of that being water.
It is known to be a semi-arid climate, however there is a vast variation in the climate and topography throughout the country. (see map below) It is subtropical on the east coast and very lush. In contrast there is the Kalahair desert in the north-west, which is very dry in the summer and can be icy in the winter.
South Africa has many resources though, which include: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas.
Environmental issues:
According to theNational State of the Environment Report - South Africa "South Africa is sensitive to climate change, and contributed about 1.2% to global warming in 1990." The major cause for this is the air pollution that is produced in the country. There is an increase in the burning of fossil fuels and it is only expected to raise as South Africa is a developing country and more of its population is wanting access to energy. Much of this pollution is in major cities and towns and caused mostly by carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The air pollution is creating health problems,predominately respiratory, for the people of South Africa.
Here are two tables from the National State of the Environment Report - South Africa to show the impacts of this air pollution.
And a graphic of how the urban population is dispersed throughout South Africa (from the 1996 census)
Another big problem for South Africa is the fact that it is very susceptible to drought. The average rainfall is around 19.5 inches, that is about half of the worlds average. Most of the rainfall also occurs in the summer. Although South Africa is mostly bordered by water their access to freshwater is limited which is what is stunting their development as a country. There are only two major rivers in South Africa and very little of the total area is made up of water. The water sources are then depleted from water pollution and effects of both agriculture and mining. The cost of South Africa is mostly made up of cliffs so the rise in ocean level will not effect the country as fast in terms of flooding, it will however cause problems with the mixing of salt and fresh water. This mixing would be one major cause of South Africa collapsing from no longer having enough fresh water.
Interviews:
When looking around South Africa how much environmental damage is there? If there is what kind of damage is there?
“There is a fair amount of environmental damage. Air pollution is a problem. Our main electricity source is coal which creates a lot of damage. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be moving towards cleaner methods. Development in the nuclear industry is minimal. Gold mining is also a cause. Our high levels of poverty don’t help in creating environmental awareness. Over grazing, soil erosion, water pollution and litter are hard to control. Environmental damage is definitely very area specific in SA.” – Sarah Pope “Quite a lot of pollution in the towns and the townships. There are also a lot of building projects currently on the go, which means habitat loss.” - Bradley Lund
Environmental Damage score:
Scale - 0 = in perfect environmental health, 10 = in complete environmental damage that will be nearly impossible from which to recover.
South Africa receives a 6 on that scale. It would not be impossible to recover from the Environmental Damages that occur in South Africa, however it would involve great effort and many regulations put into place. South Africa would need to start investing in clean energy sources that would then help to decrease the air pollution and stop greenhouse gasses from rising ocean levels. This however would be hard to do since most of the country is in deep poverty and fossil fuels are the cheapest source of fuel. South Africa would also need to start figuring out a better way of collecting water in order to handle the rising demand. Their rivers are not going to be able to support the whole population and they are not helping the matter by polluting the few resources they do have.
Climate Change
Background:
South Africa is said to be sensitive to climate change. There can be major shifts in how much rainfall there is year to year, decade to decade. There are even major differences in rainfall through out the country. For example this bar graph shows how in Cape St lucia it get much less rain than every where else most of the time except in 1991, proving that the amount of rainfall is totally dependent on where one is and how the wind is blowing.
Temperature tends to fluctuate a little less than the rainfall does but it still varies.
Interviews:
How fast is your climate changing? It is totally stable? or are there huge changes in climate conditions that negatively impact life/physical landscape.
“I’m not really aware of climate change in SA. We haven’t been told about any major changes and it really isn’t seen as a major issue here.” – Sarah Pope
“The climate isn't really changing. (If you're talking about weather patterns).” – Bradley Lund
Climate Change Score:
Scale - 0 = a completely stable climate, 10 = large/violent swings in climate conditions that negatively impact life and physical landscape.
I would have to give South Africa a 4 on the Climate Change scale. Although there are not large and violent swings in the climate conditions there they are still having issues with rainfall and drought. Many of the major cities no longer really experience much change in the climate since they have access to all the resources they need. However in the outer towns where the poor live they experience the change in the amount of rain brings to them. They do not have enough water to grow crops and to water their animals. They also do not have enough safe drinking water for themselves which has caused a raise in Malaria in the country. Malaria is now surviving in more parts of South Africa and because not everyone has access to clean drinking water there are greater cases of the illness.
Hostile Neighbors
Background information:
South Africa shares its borders with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and the Ocean. They have good relations with their neighbors since South Africa is a key player in keeping those countries alive since they are the richest in the area. South Africa has a developed system of roads and rail ways that are key to the trade routes of the other countries. Even when there were sanctions on the South African trade many countries depended on them to survive. South Africa has been a major helper in projects through out Africa giving them a good name. South Africa is also trying hard to create even stronger ties between countries as a way to try and lift all of them out of their deep poverty.
Interviews:
How well does South Africa get along with the countries that surround it?
“Very well. We have good relationships.” – Sarah Pope
“I'm not too sure about that one.” – Bradley Lund
Hostile Neighbors score:
Scale - 0 = no hostile neighbors, 10 = surrounded on all sides by hostile neighbors.
I would have to give South Africa a 2 on the Hostile Neighbors scale. Although right now there are no agruments going on between the countries, many of the bordering countries are extremely poor and none of them have a ton of resources. The lack of resources could easily start a feud between countries and cause problems. Although right now South Africa is helping to take care of the other countries so until they can no longer do that the country is pretty safe from having hostile neighbors, at least towards them, there are some problems in neighboring countries.
Friendly Trade Partners
Background:
South Africa was pretty much shunned by the rest of the world, totally cut off from all global trade because of the way they were treating their people and the segregation that was happening. This made it hard for South Africa. In 1990 trade sanctions were lifted and South Africa began to trade again. The trade relations have grown strong over a short amount of time with many different countries around the world.
Here are some graphs of the export and Import to and from different countries into South Africa:
Here is a graph of the commodities that South Africa exports. Notice that most of it is minerals and very little food gets exported, since they have barely enough food for their own people. South Africa however mines a good portion of the minerals we need for our different tech toys.
South Africa has many Industries that consist of mining, car assembly, metal work, food, different machinery, textiles, fertilizer, and ship repair.
Canada Expanding Trade Relations With South Africa
This article discusses the trade relationship between South Africa and Canada. The two Ministers have traveled to meet with each other and they had decided to strengthen their partnership. They are trying to make traveling between the two countries easier by providing direct flights between the two. Canada is also going to help South Africa build rail ways to increase the trading. South Africa is Canada's second largest Sub-Saharan trade partners and they want to increase the trade even more. SouthAfrica.info
Here is a nice website that gives information about the trade happening within South Africa. According to this source the production of wine has really taken off in South Africa, along with the exportation of cars. Although South Africa exports many high quality goods around the world, they also import many things from all over. This website talks about what is being imported and the trade relations South Africa has with the rest of the world.
Interviews:
How good is South Africa's access to friendly trade partners?
“SA has good trade relationships with most of the countries in Southern Africa. We are lucky to have many resources and are one of the most advance countries in Africa so many countries are dependent on us. Despite the political trouble around us (mainly in Zimbabwe) we continue to trade with everyone and perhaps because of history we are unlikely to impose sanctions. Our president seems very friendly with our neighboring country leaders. Judging by what I have in my house we import things from China and other Asian countries but other than that my knowledge of SA’s trade isn’t great.” - Sarah Pope
When shopping how much of the products are from South Africa vs the rest of the world? especially food.
“Most of the basic, everyday food items are produced locally. Especially fruit and veg. Luxury food items are often imported.”- Sarah Pope
“Shopping: a lot of our foods are supplied from south African producers. During the off season for food production, like winter when not much grows, the upper class shops like Woolworths Import food from other countries.” – Bradley Lund
How has things changed since South Africa has been allowed to trade with the world again on the world trade market?(if you can remember)
“I can’t really remember but I asked my mom and she says that not that much was different. A few things cost a bit more (I guess because they were harder to get) Access to overseas investment was apparently a problem.” - Sarah Pope
Have things gotten crazy with the fact the FIFA World Cup is happening?
“To a certain extent yes. South Africa is a ‘Soccer Nation’ so people are very excited. Personally I feel that having the world cup here is not entirely a good thing. It’s more about trying to prove to the world that we can do it rather than anything else. We’ve spend millions on new stadiums. This money could be spent on basic needs and poverty alleviation. But I think now that the world cup is almost upon us I’ve come to accept that it is happening and am finding the positives. It is uniting the country so to speak and giving us something to celebrate. It’s created jobs and a great vibe which I’m sure will only get better.” – Sarah Pope
“There is just a lot of hype around it. There are lots of TV adverts and promotional things. There has been a lot more infrastructure work, our roads are being widened and a lot of hotels are being built.” – Bradley Lund
Friendly Trade Partners Score:
Scale - 0 = access to unlimited friendly trade partners, 10 = cut off from wold markets, plagued by sanctions
I would now give South Africa a 1 on the Friendly Trade Partners Scale. They are coming back strongly after being shut out from the world trade circle for a while. They have already made strong ties with Canada, many European countries, and China. South Africa is fortunate in the fact that they, and other Sub-Saharan countries, hold minerals (like gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas) that the rest of the world badly wants/needs. This creates a strong need for countries to trade with South Africa. It is also the richest country in Sub-Saharan Africa so the other countries have it in their best interest to have South Africa succeed and bring money into the area. As long as the country keeps showing that the government is treating their people decently, and their resources continue I believe that South Africa will still have access to friendly trade partners. One chance they are having to show the world this is by holding the FIFA world cup. There has been great talk about how the world is giving South Africa a chance to show them that they have really changed by allowing them to host the games.
Society's Response to its Environmental Problems
Background:
There have been a few regulations and laws passed about environmental protection in South Africa. There was one regulation on air pollution in 1965. Then there were some more Environmental management and protection laws put into place in 1989 and 1998. Most deal with air pollution one of the biggest problems in the region. There are a few more regulations put into place, as well as many Programs and Projects by the Department of Environmental affairs. In 1990 South Africa signed the Montreal Protocol, which tried to limit the emissions from harmful substances into the ozone layer. South Africa however is still considered a developing country so the regulations and expectations put on the country are much lower than most. Since it is a developing country it has very little money to use towards protecting their environment and so it is up to the citizens not to destroy it.
South Africa also has many National Parks and game reserves. However when looking them up they have turned into big tourist attractions and therefore most websites found focus more on trying to get people to come visit vs. actually trying to save the animals and the environment. The upside is at least those areas will stay undeveloped since the country is making money off of the animals that live there.
Interviews:
What attitude do South African's have towards the environment? How responsible are they to protecting the environment? Are there any laws or policy about environmental problems?
“We do have lots of good laws and policies. They are, however, not always implemented. This is due to lack of money! There are various programs and initiatives in SA which are focused on environment issues. The things is, that they are often over shadowed by the need to alleviate poverty. I think that most South Africans are aware that they need to protect the environment and some do it on a small scale (e.g. recycling), but it certainly isn’t the biggest issue we face so it’s often pushed aside.” – Sarah Pope
“We have a lot of game reserves in our country where the environment is totally natural and has no human influence, so I like to believe that a lot of south africans protect and enjoy our environment.” - Bradley Lund
Society's Response to its Environmental Problems:
Scale - 0 = Robust, effective interventions to environmental problems, 10 = No environmental policy intervening in pervasive problems.
I would have to give South Africa an 8 on the Society's Response scale. Although there are some laws and regulations they still are not doing much to stop their effects on the environment. There looks to be little to no evidence of the country wanting to look into energy sources other than fossil fuel. South Africa is a huge producer of green house gasses compared to the rest of the continent, and they have major air pollution problems. They also do not seam to be putting into effect any water protection policies, as that is the resource that is the most rare. However they country does have some laws put into place which is better than some countries. Also you hear in the news about individuals doing little things to help. So over all the country seams to be dealing with greater problems, like poverty to really do much about saving their environment, yet some individuals are doing things to help.
Official name: Republic of South Africa
Table of Contents
Government type: a Republic
Capital: It has three - Pretoria the administrative capital, Cape Town the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital
Size: 1,219,090 sq km (or a little smaller than two times Texas)
Population: 49,052,489 people
Life expectancy average: 48.98 years
GDP per capita: $10,000 (2009 est.) - in US dollars
Time line of major events: BBC Timeline
Map:
One source that I had the wonderful chance of having available to me are friends who live in South Africa. Therefore I sent them some of the key questions that I am trying to answer to see what a South African's view on them were. So through out this page there will be quotes from Sarah Pope and Bradley Lund who both live in Johannesburg giving a slightly skewed view of this vast country yet still insightful as Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa.Sarah Pope and Bradley Lund
Environmental Damage
Background on South Africa's Environment:
The total area is 1,219,090 sq km with only 4,620 sq km of that being water.It is known to be a semi-arid climate, however there is a vast variation in the climate and topography throughout the country. (see map below) It is subtropical on the east coast and very lush. In contrast there is the Kalahair desert in the north-west, which is very dry in the summer and can be icy in the winter.
South Africa has many resources though, which include: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas.
Environmental issues:
According to the National State of the Environment Report - South Africa "South Africa is sensitive to climate change, and contributed about 1.2% to global warming in 1990." The major cause for this is the air pollution that is produced in the country. There is an increase in the burning of fossil fuels and it is only expected to raise as South Africa is a developing country and more of its population is wanting access to energy. Much of this pollution is in major cities and towns and caused mostly by carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The air pollution is creating health problems,predominately respiratory, for the people of South Africa.Here are two tables from the National State of the Environment Report - South Africa to show the impacts of this air pollution.
And a graphic of how the urban population is dispersed throughout South Africa (from the 1996 census)
Another big problem for South Africa is the fact that it is very susceptible to drought. The average rainfall is around 19.5 inches, that is about half of the worlds average. Most of the rainfall also occurs in the summer. Although South Africa is mostly bordered by water their access to freshwater is limited which is what is stunting their development as a country. There are only two major rivers in South Africa and very little of the total area is made up of water. The water sources are then depleted from water pollution and effects of both agriculture and mining. The cost of South Africa is mostly made up of cliffs so the rise in ocean level will not effect the country as fast in terms of flooding, it will however cause problems with the mixing of salt and fresh water. This mixing would be one major cause of South Africa collapsing from no longer having enough fresh water.
Interviews:
When looking around South Africa how much environmental damage is there? If there is what kind of damage is there?“There is a fair amount of environmental damage. Air pollution is a problem. Our main electricity source is coal which creates a lot of damage. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be moving towards cleaner methods. Development in the nuclear industry is minimal. Gold mining is also a cause. Our high levels of poverty don’t help in creating environmental awareness. Over grazing, soil erosion, water pollution and litter are hard to control. Environmental damage is definitely very area specific in SA.” – Sarah Pope
“Quite a lot of pollution in the towns and the townships. There are also a lot of building projects currently on the go, which means habitat loss.” - Bradley Lund
Environmental Damage score:
Scale - 0 = in perfect environmental health, 10 = in complete environmental damage that will be nearly impossible from which to recover.South Africa receives a 6 on that scale. It would not be impossible to recover from the Environmental Damages that occur in South Africa, however it would involve great effort and many regulations put into place. South Africa would need to start investing in clean energy sources that would then help to decrease the air pollution and stop greenhouse gasses from rising ocean levels. This however would be hard to do since most of the country is in deep poverty and fossil fuels are the cheapest source of fuel. South Africa would also need to start figuring out a better way of collecting water in order to handle the rising demand. Their rivers are not going to be able to support the whole population and they are not helping the matter by polluting the few resources they do have.
Climate Change
Background:
South Africa is said to be sensitive to climate change. There can be major shifts in how much rainfall there is year to year, decade to decade. There are even major differences in rainfall through out the country. For example this bar graph shows how in Cape St lucia it get much less rain than every where else most of the time except in 1991, proving that the amount of rainfall is totally dependent on where one is and how the wind is blowing.Temperature tends to fluctuate a little less than the rainfall does but it still varies.
Interviews:
How fast is your climate changing? It is totally stable? or are there huge changes in climate conditions that negatively impact life/physical landscape.“I’m not really aware of climate change in SA. We haven’t been told about any major changes and it really isn’t seen as a major issue here.” – Sarah Pope
“The climate isn't really changing. (If you're talking about weather patterns).” – Bradley Lund
Climate Change Score:
Scale - 0 = a completely stable climate, 10 = large/violent swings in climate conditions that negatively impact life and physical landscape.I would have to give South Africa a 4 on the Climate Change scale. Although there are not large and violent swings in the climate conditions there they are still having issues with rainfall and drought. Many of the major cities no longer really experience much change in the climate since they have access to all the resources they need. However in the outer towns where the poor live they experience the change in the amount of rain brings to them. They do not have enough water to grow crops and to water their animals. They also do not have enough safe drinking water for themselves which has caused a raise in Malaria in the country. Malaria is now surviving in more parts of South Africa and because not everyone has access to clean drinking water there are greater cases of the illness.
Hostile Neighbors
Background information:
South Africa shares its borders with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and the Ocean. They have good relations with their neighbors since South Africa is a key player in keeping those countries alive since they are the richest in the area. South Africa has a developed system of roads and rail ways that are key to the trade routes of the other countries. Even when there were sanctions on the South African trade many countries depended on them to survive. South Africa has been a major helper in projects through out Africa giving them a good name. South Africa is also trying hard to create even stronger ties between countries as a way to try and lift all of them out of their deep poverty.Interviews:
How well does South Africa get along with the countries that surround it?“Very well. We have good relationships.” – Sarah Pope
“I'm not too sure about that one.” – Bradley Lund
Hostile Neighbors score:
Scale - 0 = no hostile neighbors, 10 = surrounded on all sides by hostile neighbors.I would have to give South Africa a 2 on the Hostile Neighbors scale. Although right now there are no agruments going on between the countries, many of the bordering countries are extremely poor and none of them have a ton of resources. The lack of resources could easily start a feud between countries and cause problems. Although right now South Africa is helping to take care of the other countries so until they can no longer do that the country is pretty safe from having hostile neighbors, at least towards them, there are some problems in neighboring countries.
Friendly Trade Partners
Background:
South Africa was pretty much shunned by the rest of the world, totally cut off from all global trade because of the way they were treating their people and the segregation that was happening. This made it hard for South Africa. In 1990 trade sanctions were lifted and South Africa began to trade again. The trade relations have grown strong over a short amount of time with many different countries around the world.Here are some graphs of the export and Import to and from different countries into South Africa:
Here is a graph of the commodities that South Africa exports. Notice that most of it is minerals and very little food gets exported, since they have barely enough food for their own people. South Africa however mines a good portion of the minerals we need for our different tech toys.
South Africa has many Industries that consist of mining, car assembly, metal work, food, different machinery, textiles, fertilizer, and ship repair.
Canada Expanding Trade Relations With South Africa
This article discusses the trade relationship between South Africa and Canada. The two Ministers have traveled to meet with each other and they had decided to strengthen their partnership. They are trying to make traveling between the two countries easier by providing direct flights between the two. Canada is also going to help South Africa build rail ways to increase the trading. South Africa is Canada's second largest Sub-Saharan trade partners and they want to increase the trade even more.
SouthAfrica.info
Here is a nice website that gives information about the trade happening within South Africa. According to this source the production of wine has really taken off in South Africa, along with the exportation of cars. Although South Africa exports many high quality goods around the world, they also import many things from all over. This website talks about what is being imported and the trade relations South Africa has with the rest of the world.
Interviews:
How good is South Africa's access to friendly trade partners?“SA has good trade relationships with most of the countries in Southern Africa. We are lucky to have many resources and are one of the most advance countries in Africa so many countries are dependent on us. Despite the political trouble around us (mainly in Zimbabwe) we continue to trade with everyone and perhaps because of history we are unlikely to impose sanctions. Our president seems very friendly with our neighboring country leaders. Judging by what I have in my house we import things from China and other Asian countries but other than that my knowledge of SA’s trade isn’t great.” - Sarah Pope
When shopping how much of the products are from South Africa vs the rest of the world? especially food.
“Most of the basic, everyday food items are produced locally. Especially fruit and veg. Luxury food items are often imported.”- Sarah Pope
“Shopping: a lot of our foods are supplied from south African producers. During the off season for food production, like winter when not much grows, the upper class shops like Woolworths Import food from other countries.” – Bradley Lund
How has things changed since South Africa has been allowed to trade with the world again on the world trade market?(if you can remember)
“I can’t really remember but I asked my mom and she says that not that much was different. A few things cost a bit more (I guess because they were harder to get) Access to overseas investment was apparently a problem.” - Sarah Pope
Have things gotten crazy with the fact the FIFA World Cup is happening?
“To a certain extent yes. South Africa is a ‘Soccer Nation’ so people are very excited. Personally I feel that having the world cup here is not entirely a good thing. It’s more about trying to prove to the world that we can do it rather than anything else. We’ve spend millions on new stadiums. This money could be spent on basic needs and poverty alleviation. But I think now that the world cup is almost upon us I’ve come to accept that it is happening and am finding the positives. It is uniting the country so to speak and giving us something to celebrate. It’s created jobs and a great vibe which I’m sure will only get better.” – Sarah Pope
“There is just a lot of hype around it. There are lots of TV adverts and promotional things. There has been a lot more infrastructure work, our roads are being widened and a lot of hotels are being built.” – Bradley Lund
Friendly Trade Partners Score:
Scale - 0 = access to unlimited friendly trade partners, 10 = cut off from wold markets, plagued by sanctionsI would now give South Africa a 1 on the Friendly Trade Partners Scale. They are coming back strongly after being shut out from the world trade circle for a while. They have already made strong ties with Canada, many European countries, and China. South Africa is fortunate in the fact that they, and other Sub-Saharan countries, hold minerals (like gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas) that the rest of the world badly wants/needs. This creates a strong need for countries to trade with South Africa. It is also the richest country in Sub-Saharan Africa so the other countries have it in their best interest to have South Africa succeed and bring money into the area. As long as the country keeps showing that the government is treating their people decently, and their resources continue I believe that South Africa will still have access to friendly trade partners. One chance they are having to show the world this is by holding the FIFA world cup. There has been great talk about how the world is giving South Africa a chance to show them that they have really changed by allowing them to host the games.
Society's Response to its Environmental Problems
Background:
There have been a few regulations and laws passed about environmental protection in South Africa. There was one regulation on air pollution in 1965. Then there were some more Environmental management and protection laws put into place in 1989 and 1998. Most deal with air pollution one of the biggest problems in the region. There are a few more regulations put into place, as well as many Programs and Projects by the Department of Environmental affairs. In 1990 South Africa signed the Montreal Protocol, which tried to limit the emissions from harmful substances into the ozone layer. South Africa however is still considered a developing country so the regulations and expectations put on the country are much lower than most. Since it is a developing country it has very little money to use towards protecting their environment and so it is up to the citizens not to destroy it.South Africa also has many National Parks and game reserves. However when looking them up they have turned into big tourist attractions and therefore most websites found focus more on trying to get people to come visit vs. actually trying to save the animals and the environment. The upside is at least those areas will stay undeveloped since the country is making money off of the animals that live there.
Interviews:
What attitude do South African's have towards the environment? How responsible are they to protecting the environment? Are there any laws or policy about environmental problems?“We do have lots of good laws and policies. They are, however, not always implemented. This is due to lack of money! There are various programs and initiatives in SA which are focused on environment issues. The things is, that they are often over shadowed by the need to alleviate poverty. I think that most South Africans are aware that they need to protect the environment and some do it on a small scale (e.g. recycling), but it certainly isn’t the biggest issue we face so it’s often pushed aside.” – Sarah Pope
“We have a lot of game reserves in our country where the environment is totally natural and has no human influence, so I like to believe that a lot of south africans protect and enjoy our environment.” - Bradley Lund
Society's Response to its Environmental Problems:
Scale - 0 = Robust, effective interventions to environmental problems, 10 = No environmental policy intervening in pervasive problems.I would have to give South Africa an 8 on the Society's Response scale. Although there are some laws and regulations they still are not doing much to stop their effects on the environment. There looks to be little to no evidence of the country wanting to look into energy sources other than fossil fuel. South Africa is a huge producer of green house gasses compared to the rest of the continent, and they have major air pollution problems. They also do not seam to be putting into effect any water protection policies, as that is the resource that is the most rare. However they country does have some laws put into place which is better than some countries. Also you hear in the news about individuals doing little things to help. So over all the country seams to be dealing with greater problems, like poverty to really do much about saving their environment, yet some individuals are doing things to help.
Bibliography
"CIA - The World Factbook -- South Africa." Welcome to the CIA Web Site Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html"The Dti/SA Economy/Trade." The Dti/Home. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. http://www.dti.gov.za/saeconomy/trade.htm
Lund, Bradley. "History Questions." Message to the author. 22 Mar. . Web.
Pope, Sarah. "History Questions." Message to the author. 23 Mar. . Web.
"State of the Environment - South Africa: Climatic and Atmospheric Change: Overview." South African Government Department of Environmental Affairs. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. http://www.environment.gov.za/enviro-info/sote/nsoer/issues/climate/index.htm
South Africa's Official Gateway - Investment, Travel, Country Information - SouthAfrica.info. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. http://www.southafrica.info/