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An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa

Bibliography: p. 105-107.

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Main Author: Weinronk, Eileen
Other Authors: Fuggle, Richard Francis
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Environmental and Geographical Science 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author Weinronk, Eileen
author2 Fuggle, Richard Francis
author_browse Fuggle, Richard Francis
Weinronk, Eileen
author_facet Fuggle, Richard Francis
Weinronk, Eileen
author_sort Weinronk, Eileen
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description Bibliography: p. 105-107.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
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publisher Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15961 An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa Weinronk, Eileen Fuggle, Richard Francis Environmental Science Environmental protection - Law and legislation Environmental policy - South Africa Urban ecology Bibliography: p. 105-107. The imminent promulgation of the Environment Conservation Act, No. 73 of 1989, which made provision for the devolution of responsibility for environmental matters to the third tier of government authority, was the primary motivation for this research, conducted throughout South Africa between 1988 and 1990. Local authority officials were concerned that they did not have the knowledge, manpower and infrastructural resources to accept this responsibility. This concern was reinforced by the rapid urbanization of predominantly disadvantaged communities for whom little provision had been made. A stratified selection for study purposes of urban areas from the whole of South Africa and all its population groups ensured a reasonable sample of metropolitan regions, regional centres, principle towns and smaller outlying urban areas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of government authorities, Non-Government and Community Organizations and practitioners, either implementing or interacting with environmentally related legislation at the local level. With the permission of all participants, the interviews were recorded on audio-cassettes and later transcribed by the interviewers using a word processing programme. Out of these transcriptions, approximately 1000 problem-and-solution groupings were identified and classified. The most widely held perceptions of factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level were subsequently compared to the provisions of the Environment Conservation Act. It was found that these perceptions of factors requiring attention for the resolution of urban environmental problems are strongly linked to the establishment, maintenance and improvement of environments which contribute to a generally acceptable quality of life. This accords with only one of the four explicit provisions of the Environment Conservation Act. There is a widespread perception that until human needs (Maslow, 1968) are either satisfied or at least addressed, and the whole population incorporated into a more equitable legal framework, the successful implementation of environmental conservation in South Africa will be severely impaired. Furthermore, that the South African ' Government's adherence to the political ideology of separate development constitutes an abuse and exploitation of scarce resources. Recommendations are that the human needs of the whole population of South Africa must be addressed and environmentally destructive legislation repealed in order to truly resolve urban environmental problems, that the participation of the public in matters relating to the effective protection and controlled utilization of the environment be required, that administrative, natural and functional boundaries need to be aligned, and that the structure and responsibilities of bureaucratic hierarchies responsible for environmental management in urban areas need to be set out clearly. 2015-12-28T06:02:16Z 2015-12-28T06:02:16Z 1992 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15961 eng application/pdf Department of Environmental and Geographical Science Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Environmental Science
Environmental protection - Law and legislation
Environmental policy - South Africa
Urban ecology
Weinronk, Eileen
An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
title_full An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
title_fullStr An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
title_short An investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in South Africa
title_sort investigation into the factors constraining the resolution of urban environmental problems at local authority level in south africa
topic Environmental Science
Environmental protection - Law and legislation
Environmental policy - South Africa
Urban ecology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15961
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