Sustainable development and the prospects of fracking for shale gas in the Karoo: can we have it both ways?
Since the turn of the 20th century we have seen how human endeavour to achieve economic growth has caused irreparable damage to the environment. The environment crises have led to irreparable damage to the environment and the suffering of billions of people in the least developed countries. Amongst the environmental crises, the depletion of the ozone layer, climate change and climate variability have caused economic loss and social despair on an unprecedented scale. The consequences of economic march of progress have resulted in environmental anomalies such as cyclones, droughts, desertification, flooding; and the poorest people of sub-Saharan Africa have been the hardest hit.
The environmental crisis compelled the need to “reconcile� the concepts of development and the environment. Development is about meeting the material needs (jobs, income, shelter, food, education, health etc.) of our people. While environmental protection is our moral obligation to future generation and other species with which we share the Earth’s environment. This is particularly true of sub-Saharan Africa which is touted as the cradle of mankind and nature. Sustainable development seems to be the reconciler of competing interests and views.
What promise does sustainable development hold for the inhabitants of the Karoo and South Africa in general?
Perhaps let me start by drawing your attention to the normative and operational definitions of sustainable development.
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs�
· “the concept of ‘needs’, in particular, puts an emphasis on the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
· the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs�
The operations definition of sustainable development makes it unequivocally clear that, in essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.�
Operational principles of sustainable development include: 1) reviving growth; 2) changing the quality of growth;3) meeting essential needs for jobs, food, energy, water, and sanitation; ensuring a sustainable level of population; 4) conserving and enhancing the resource base; 5) re-orientating technology and managing risk; 6) and merging environment and economics in decision-making; 7) and re-orientating international economic relations.
The core principles of sustainable development are 1) normative principle, 2) equity, 3) integration and 4) dynamism principle.
A step towards the answer to the challenge in the Karoo dwells within the definitions and principles of sustainable development. Before going further, it is worthy to mention that post-apartheid South Africa is party to the global agreements on sustainable development and climate change. This is evident from the hosting, in 2002, of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and the recent UNFCCC COP17/CMP7 in Durban. So, the world is watching our decisions with keen interest.
Under each principle of sustainable development we can ask or answer some of the questions about the value of the environment (Karoo) and development (jobs, schools, food, water etc.). I do not present these concepts as polar opposite or “alternatives�; rather, I present them so we can find a “common ground�.
Under the normative principle, we have to ask ourselves about the aesthetic, heritage and cultural value of the Karoo, and what that means to the landscape of South Africa and its inhabitants. Our values are abstract ideals which evoke emotional reactions and are typically expressed in terms of good or bad, better or worse, desirability or avoidance. They define or direct our goals, frame our attitudes and views, and provide standards which human behaviour can be judged.
Within the equity principle, we have to remember that sustainable development is about development, and that we have to deploy technology to the full exploitation of the natural resources to develop our present people without compromising the people of the future. We also have to consider the species of the Karoo as part of a complex social-ecological system that might not be understood immediately especially when there is a rush to cash-in on the spoils of exploration. Systems thinking (holism) is important in the decision making processes of the key role players. Do the inhabitants of the Karoo have a voice? Perhaps, they do, through Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG), but their power of influence is also limited by technical knowledge on fracking and other resources.
Perhaps it is this principle of dynamism that captures the fear of concerned South African about the uncertainty of the technology to be deployed. The dynamism principle is shaped by the interaction between society and the environment which is in constant state of change and dynamism. Dynamism brings about uncertainties and (potential) risks due to unpredictable evolutions and unanticipated effects, underlying the need for precaution. Precaution requires respecting uncertainty, avoiding even poorly understood risks of serious or irreversible damage to the foundations for sustainability of the environment. Therefore designing for surprise and managing risk is important. Allow me to draw your attention to this example:
The Medupi power station in Lephalale in the Limpopo Province, once completed, will meet 10% of the country’s electricity demand increasing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouses, thus aggravating climate change.
We, South Africans, allowed it to continue because of the value it will add to our economy. But it is also poses a dilemma for environmentalist who rather we opted for alternative sources of energy.
Lastly, development (meeting needs for jobs, food, water etc.) is the primary objective of sustainable development and environmental protection is a secondary objective. Finding the balance between development and the environment is a delicate process and requires extensive consultation with experts, locals and concerned groups about the viability of the proposed project. Impact assessment on the environment and the economy are equally important, and none outweighs the other.
Personally, I applaud the minister for taking time to consult on this tricky but promising issue. Promising in the sense that no matter how it ends, it would have added value to our society either through better consideration for our environment or energy self-sufficiency (in an energy insecure world) or both. I would prefer sustainable development, which realises both goals (environmental protection and energy self-sufficiency) in South Africa.
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Article source: http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Development-is-not-about-the-environment-20120110