The study focuses on the gap in the public consultation process in South African environmental planning through the case study of the iLembe Environmental Management Framework (EMF), located in KwaZulu-Natal. The study undertakes a case study approach of the EMF for the iLembe District Municipality (IDM), with a focus on the processes for creating awareness and public participation in a community within the Ndwedwe Local Municipality (NLM).
Preamble
Background
The environmental responsibilities referred to here represent strategic planning and protection of the environment using tools such as the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) (Marais, 2010: 2). Rural Development Task Team and DLA, 1997:1) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa obliges municipalities to satisfy basic needs and to promote the social, environmental and economic development of local communities.
Motivation for the study
While EMFs are becoming well established in South Africa, there are significant gaps in the public consultation process (Marais, 2010: 3). The study therefore focuses on the gap in the public consultation process in South African environmental planning through the case study of iLembe EMF.
Aim
Objectives
Chapter sequence of study
Conclusion
Introduction
Planning theory
The modernist approach to planning
This is particularly relevant to the revival of strategic spatial planning in the 1990s and 2000s, which has seen a renewed emphasis on the strategic and spatial dimensions of planning, arising from the need to ensure sustainable development (Ferreira et al Todes). Such shortcomings in planning practice in South Africa provide reasons to explore the theories of sustainability science, environmental justice, indigenous knowledge and rural voice.
Strategic Environmental Assessments versus EIA
- Environmental Management Frameworks
State of the Environment (SSE) reporting is used to highlight changes in the environment, the causes of these changes and to identify appropriate responses. The EMF Regulation of June 2010, Regulation three states that the Minister or MEC with the consent of the Minister may initiate an EMF for an area (Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development-DAEARD, 2011: 10).
Sustainability Science
- Environmental justice
- Livelihoods approach
- Indigenous people and indigenous knowledge in environmental planning
- Climate and Development Needs
Distributive justice and procedural justice form the essential components of the environmental justice framework (Neimanis et al. Dove further explains that much of the interest in indigenous knowledge has focused on natural resources and the environment, which was reflected in the emergence of the concept of indigenous environment.
Stakeholder theory
- Public participation in planning
- Public participation in environmental assessment
- Voice and the rural voice
- Vulnerable Groups
Design science is used to illustrate the cycle of the public participation process in Figure 2.4 (Bryson et al. Reasons for including public participation in IEM include the following (Aregbeshola et al.
Conclusion
Overall observation found that it is the youngest and the oldest who experience the most difficulties in being able to speak and be heard (Brocklesby et al. From the review of the literature it is clear that the voice of many people in South Africa is still suppressed.
Introduction
Geographical orientation and study area description
To this day, the Ndwedwe area is not only a multicultural village, but also an area strongly influenced by Shembe religious beliefs, symbolized by the mythological "Sacred Mountain of Nhlangakazi". 50 Figure 3.1: Location of study area within South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal (inset) and within iLembe District Municipality (source: Royal HaskoningDHV, 2013a: Appendix A).
Socio-economic profile
The eastern parts of the municipality have been designated for agricultural development that suits the agricultural potential in the area. KwaDukuza is the most urban of the four local municipalities as it includes both Stanger and the rapidly developing coastal town of Ballito.
Service Backlogs
Furthermore, the study shows that rural communities expect social upliftment and expressed feelings of relative deprivation (Shotshongaye and Moller. The authors further argue that the upliftment of rural communities can shift some of the burden of addressing development delays from municipalities, thus promoting confidence and the basis of development (Shotshongaye and Moller.
Biophysical profile
- Topography
- Climate
- Hydrology
- Geology and soils
- Vegetation and land use
- Selection of study area
- The iLembe EMF
- The NLM
- The iLembe District EMF
To the east and northeast, a band of flat to undulating low-lying topography is part of the coastal plains; The iLembe EMF outlines the legal context applicable to EMFs, provides a background to the areas of study and lists the objectives of the EMF (Royal HaskoningDHV, 2013a: 7). The EMF Desired State Framework identifies the development objectives of the iLembe region.
Conclusion
This is attributed to reasons such as erosion, soil loss, field degradation, loss of agricultural land to development and high potential agricultural land earmarked for urban development (Royal HaskoningDHV, 2013a: 92). Yet the Department of Agriculture maintains the objectives of the Act on the Subdivision of Agricultural Land, Act 70 of 1970 in the preservation of agricultural land, advocating that Ndwedwe be targeted as prime agricultural land (iLembe EMF Project Steering Committee, 2013). In this regard, it is important to note that while local residents desire development, agriculture as a land use is still favored due to the fact that it is the primary skill of the local population (iLembe EMF Project Steering Committee, 2013).
Introduction
Case Study Approach of the iLembe District EMF
Quantitative Methodologies
According to this perspective, two fundamentally different perspectives of the world underlie quantitative and qualitative research (Mujis, however, there are advantages to combining methods (Swart et al. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used for this study, as it allows for adequate data analysis and a better presentation of the results. However, as pointed out by Swart et al, quantitative data were supplemented with qualitative data in order to better capture other factors, such as those factors contributors to the study, who were not prevented from reviewing the relevant literature.
Research Instrument Design
Household Questionnaires
A meeting with these researcher facilitators was held in February 2014 to explain the objectives of the study and discuss logistics. The questionnaires were completed by the supervisors and the researcher in May 2014 through personal interviews with the heads of households. 71 The aim of the questionnaire was to determine the level of awareness of spatial planning in the study area and, based on the answers to the question, to what extent these communities have a voice in terms of the planning of the land on which they live.
Key Informant Interviews
Section B focused on questions guided by planning theory and asked for answers related to community development needs, awareness of the iLembe EMF, participation in the EMF public participation process, and whether environmental conservation is considered an important issue or not. The components of the research used in the KII were as follows: .. ii) Section B: Environmental Management Framework; and iii). The latter seems important to the researcher as aspects of the study focus on indigenous knowledge.
Open ended questions versus Close ended questions
In the later stages of the questionnaire design, open-ended questions can be used to explore divergent responses to the closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions were used significantly more in the EMF team survey with the aim of gaining an understanding of the experiences of the iLembe EMF. Open-ended questions in the official and stakeholder surveys were mainly used for recommendations to improve the public participation process.
Data Collection
Sampling Framework
In addition, purposive sampling is an intentionally non-random method of selecting participants for research that allows individuals to be selected because they have knowledge relevant to the research. The sample for this study was therefore selected through purposive sampling in Ndwedwe selection and then stratified random sampling to select households within the wards defined by the selection criteria. Purposive sampling is particularly exemplified by the key informant technique as implemented in this study.
Ethical Considerations
Secondary data
These criteria resulted in the selection of departments three, twelve and seventeen for the study area. These included journal articles, books, internet resources, policies, green papers, white papers, gazettes, legislation, published articles on research carried out in the field, submitted theses and dissertations.
Data Analysis
Limitations and Challenges of the Study
Many respondents refused to fill in the open questions in the questionnaires, as a result of which they lost the opportunity to analyze qualitative data. This has to do with the rural culture of women who are less inclined to express their opinion. Additionally, community members refused to participate because they believed the survey was related to recent political campaigns.
Conclusion
While the duration of fieldwork was limited, time was also a challenge, as data collectors often had to wait for family members to return from prayer meetings, shopping, work, etc. Responses to open-ended questions were one-word answers or individual points that could be grouped into themes and therefore did not provide useful opinions and explanations that could significantly contribute to the study. Finally, a challenge to the study was that some women refused out of respect for their husbands, and a recurring response to the request for participation was that the female student would return when her husband was home to complete the questionnaire.
Introduction
Socio – Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Selected Wards in NLM
Approximately 88% of the respondents belonged to the age group considered to be economically active, yet a high level of unemployment was shown (74%) (see table 5.5). This indicates a loss of opportunity to use local knowledge in environmental planning of the study area. A relatively low 0% of respondents speak English as their first language and 2% of respondents stated that Xhosa was their first language.
Planning Theory within the context of the EMF
The graph clearly shows that most of the respondents did not receive the notification about EMF and therefore did not know about EMF iLembe. The figure above shows that 23% of respondents attended the PoD held for iLembe EMF and 77% did not attend. KI, who attended the meeting, stated that it was a status quo assessment presentation.
Planning and Stakeholder Theory
Transparency or lack thereof is a commonly identified deficiency in the public participation process (Aregbeshola et al. The deficiency may be in the execution of the methods used to implement this approach. This testifies to the needy nature of the Ndwedwe area ( Hulley, 2014) ), and is primarily the reason why the areas of Ndwedwe and Maphumulo that are behind in services were repeatedly raised as focus areas for the iLembe EMF at the project management meetings (Hulley, 2014).
Conclusion
This raises questions about how the situation can be rectified through careful and responsive planning, and in studying the case of the iLembe EMF; it seems likely that planning takes place in a top-down approach, underpinned by scientific and academic knowledge, and in the absence of indigenous knowledge. Firstly, it is likely that there is a lack of interest or fatigue in the community, secondly, it is clear that the level of representation, notification and information exchange for the iLembe EMF was insufficient and thirdly, it appears that the conditions and methods used is for information exchange was unsuccessful. The household respondents and key informants provided recommendations to improve the above, although in the case of the former, the focus was again on infrastructure, work and service needs.
Introduction
Salient Research Findings
The findings of the research show that the needs and concerns of the community have been reflected to a certain extent in the EMF (the third objective of this study). The research findings clearly show that most of the respondents have not received notice about EMF and have received. Various aspects can be attributed to the shortcomings of the iLembe EMF public participation process.
Recommendations
Recommendations for further study
The problems with public participation suggest the need to review the institutions and processes of participation to ensure functionality, articulation with effective representation and the capacity to address shortcomings in the delivery and overall outcomes of governance. Although this research explains the mechanisms of public consultation used in the EMF, it would be interesting to determine the exact cause of reduced effectiveness in the methods of public participation, focusing on how and why there is a discrepancy between South Africa's sound legislation and what is going on in practice.
Conclusion
Public participation and integrated development planning: The case of Limpopo Province, Journal of Public Administration. Public participation and the integrated development planning processes in South Africa, Journal of Public Administration. Public Participation and Ward Committees: The case of the Tshwane Municipality, Journal of Administratio Publica.
Public Participation: A Case Study of Neighborhood Committees in Buffalo City Hall, Journal of Public Administration. Department of Public Participation or Communication Questionnaire: Public Consultations in the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) Process: A case study of the rural voice in the iLembe EMF.
