5.2 Profiles of the community-based organisations in K waMashu
5.2.3 Discussion
This entailed visiting each household to explain the importance of waste management, and highlighting the link between the problem of flooding in the area and poor waste management. This initiative was followed by an open-day workshop where infomlation brochures were distributed to the community.
Participation in the project was open to all members of the community that were willing to participate. The KDI, together with the communities, named the clean-up day" the Shanela Day" (sweeping day). The clean-up targeted the stream, open areas, and the street (see plates 5-6). Community members who participated in the initial project were divided equally into four groups. The groups were to continue cleaning the stream each Sunday thereafter on an altemating basis. This study's respondent, Sibiya (Refer Appendix 3) explained that after the clean-up, people displayed a sense of responsibility and willingness to continue with participation, even though the sponsors had withdrawn from the project.
the need for development has shifted attention to environmental issues. However, at this stage, there are very few programmes in place to address these problematic issues.
Long and Amold (1995) assert that the people who participate in a partnership, through their efforts and shortcomings, determine whether the partnership wi 11 succeed, partially succeed or fail. Partnership implementation requires a leadership to champion the partnership and help the other participants towards achieving the goals of the project. A partnership requires a set of committed individuals who:
(a) have a sense of vision, (b) are committed to success;
(c) and have strong teamwork skills and a willingness to change course when cUITent strategies are not working (Long and Amold 1995).
In the interviews that were conducted with two leaders of the KDA, the researcher observed a disinclination to respond to certain questions, such as those relating to funding, political alliance and criteria used to allocate local resources. A number of factors might have been behind this reluctance such as fear that the researcher might misuse the information, political mistrust, and a lack of understanding of the importance of the study to the community. The two KDI leaders who were interviewed were open and dynamic and offered further assistance as required. They provided a business plan and a proposal that was submitted to the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs for approval and information about funding for the open area upgrade project.
5.3 Environmental status 5.3.1 Environmental perceptions
Community action in preventing pollution depends on the impulse, interest, and understanding the environment at grassroot levels. Oelofse (1998) states that understanding the position of people in the environment is important in resolving conflict over environmental problems. To be able to assess the sustainability of a community partnership, it has become necessary in this study to evaluate how different people perceive the environment and the position they assume in relation to the
environment. Question 3 in the questionnaire, provided the respondent with a list of issues and three criteria on which these could be rated (Refer Appendix 1)
Table 5. Environmental Perception
OF SOME
ISSUES VERY IMPORTANT NOT IMPORTANT
IMPORTANCE
Partnerships A B A B A
Clean water in rivers 8 14 0 0 0
Quality soil for planting 5 10 2 0 0
Open spaces for recreation 8 14 0 0 0
Crime control 8 14 0 0 0
Employment opportunities 8 14 0 0 0
Provision of service 8 14 0 0 0
Home vegetable gardens 8 8 0 3 0
Refuse removal 8 14 0 0 0
Provision of housing 8 14 0 0 0
Communication with local
8 14 0 0 0
authorities
Local participation in local
8 11 0 0 0
programmes
A total of 88% of the respondents in partnership A rated all (except soil quality) the environmental issues as highly important, whereas in Partnership B only 57% rated these issues as highly important. An environmental awareness education programme was conducted by the KDBA in 2001 for the respondents of Partnership B which was not the case with Partnership A. This implies that environmental awareness education did not have much effect on the way this group perceives its environment, although their participation was high in implementing the project.
To further assess whether the respondents had an understanding of environmental issues, they were asked to explain the term environment by mentioning three factors that would describe the term (Refer Appendix 1, Section 1).
B
0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0
0
I
Table 6. Definition of Environment
DEFINE ENVIRONMENT KDA PARTNERSHIP KDI PARTNERSHIP
Cannot define 0 0
Bio-physical aspects only 8 5
Biophysical and social aspects 0 9
All respondents in the KDA partnership defined only the biophysical components of the environment. There is a general understanding of the environment, although most people still focus on the biophysical aspects when referring to the environment. A total of 66% in the KO! partnership were able to relate the environment to social and economic aspects. A definition of the environment, which integrates social, biophysical, economical and political aspects, can be traced to the evolution of the concept of sustainable development. The reason for the respondents in the KDI partnership being able to link the environment to social issues was that an environmental awareness programme had been conducted, introducing them to the appropriate management of waste. Although the awareness programme did not have an effect on the perception of environmental importance by respondents, it did improve their knowledge about the environment.
Differences in defining the environment were assessed and it was found that females were able to integrate social and environmental aspects (see Figure 8). The field observations revealed that more females engage in gardening than males. Although males were involved in cleaning, very few participated in a continuous management of the catchment through gardening.
100%
88%
90%
80% 74%
70%
'" Q,j 60%
'"
=
Q 50%o
malesc.
'"
~ 40%
o
females30% 26%
20% 12%
10% 0%
J
biophysical biophysical & social
environment
Figure 8. Males and Females defining the environment