Food security in South Africa: Looking through the food-energy-water nexus lens Ms Manisha Gulati. Director: Center for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, SU 61 Photovoltaic Technologies – Perspectives for South Africa Prof. Jurgen Werner. Center for Materials and Process Synthesis, Wits 79 Carbon Capture and Storage in South Africa Dr. Tony Surridge.
This symposium on technological innovations for a low-carbon society was jointly organized in October 2012 by the National Academies of Science of South Africa and Germany, ASSAf and Leopoldina, respectively, as one of many initiatives during the German-South African Year of Science. Technological aspects were not necessarily found to be the most important factors to consider in the transition to a low carbon society in South Africa. The use of poor quality coal in South Africa presents challenges in improving combustion efficiency.
South Africa can be seen as something of a 'playground' for finding innovative low-emission solutions to the challenges of climate change. The benefits of low-carbon economic interventions should be argued in their own terms, and the issue of job creation should be argued in relation to the time frames. Significant progress has been made in South Africa in terms of technological innovations as well as policy towards a low carbon society.
In order to realize the potential of technological innovations for a low-carbon society, resource efficiency, renewables and path-breaking technologies, it is essential to address the "pain of transition", describing the move from "dirty". Currently half of R&D spending comes from the government and the other half from international sources in the private sector. In South Africa and other countries with comparable economies, R&D investment does not correlate with outcomes in terms of innovation.
Nexus Management for a Low Carbon Future Prof Mike Muller, NPC Scientific collaboration must explicitly seek mutual benefits between collaborating parties, recognize their conflicts of interest and identify and narrow areas of uncertainty. The history of cooperation between South Africa and Germany includes uranium enrichment, which Germany required to break various other countries' stranglehold on the fuel market, and South Africa being required to build nuclear weapons in the 1960s. meanings, the connection is not a new concept as the integration of water and the links between energy, food and water were raised at the United Nations Water Conference in Mar del Plata in 1977 and at the South African Commission of Inquiry on Water Issues in 1970, which represented best practice at the time.
Globally, there has been a shift to drinking water and sanitation issues, and natural resource issues have been neglected, as highlighted at the World Economic Forum in 2008. The commercial interests of several companies in water management have helped to link and integrate water back to nature. on the agenda. This was demonstrated in 2002 when South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique signed an agreement on cooperative water use, which resulted in the European Union funding a fairly large irrigation project that currently supports around 10,000 people.
Mr Dhesigen naidoo, wrc
For this purpose, until 2030, water endangered areas of the world have been determined. This illustrates the interaction in the nexus around climate change as a megaforce and the flows between different components of the nexus. A review of the country's imports of unprocessed and processed agricultural products shows that rice (721,415 tonnes), poultry (117,629 tonnes) and sugar (both raw and refined) (103,454 tonnes) are among the top seven imported products in terms of volume (NAMC, 2010).
Furthermore, the reasons can be found either at the production level or through the different stages of the food value chain. Because South Africa is a net importer of potassium and imports approximately 40% of its nitrogen needs, South Africa's fertilizer prices are heavily influenced by international oil prices, as well as shipping costs. Some studies criticize biofuels as one of the factors responsible for the 2008 food crisis.
The other aspect of the food-energy-water nexus that will impact food security is water. Because energy is needed at all stages of the water use cycle, any energy shortage will impact the water supply to the food sector. The final dimension of the food-energy-water nexus that affects food security in terms of the water connection is that of water quality.
Water pollution caused by mining activities will threaten food security because water is used at every step of the food production chain. Risks to Food Security from the Impact of Climate Change on the Nexus The threat posed by climate change will exacerbate the challenges in addressing the food, water and energy needs of the world's growing population. Climate change will have a significant impact on food availability, food accessibility and food system stability in many parts of the world.
South Africa has 80% of the world's platinum, but many of the patents eliminate platinum from fuel cells. In 2007, most of the world's population lived in cities for the first time in history. A recent literature review commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation (Martin-Breen and Anderies, 2011) identifies three categories of resilience currently in the discourse.
Proposition (4) is that cost-effective and feasible low-income, low-carbon energy solutions exist to mitigate some of the externalities of domestic energy consumption. Statement (6) is that the obsession with imposing solar boilers on RDP houses is a distortion of the development needs of this sector. Proposition (4) is that cost-effective and feasible low-income, low-carbon energy solutions exist to mitigate some of the externalities of domestic energy use.
In 2000–2001, cholera deaths were reported in the outlying areas as well as in the city center. The backlog in sanitation provision in 2007 due to urban migration was approximately 203,000 households in informal settlements and 21,500 households in traditional rural areas. In principle, humans consume enough nutrients to be excreted, so the excreta should be used to grow the crops needed to create a sustainable livelihood.
Harold Annegarn: We involved poor communities to be part of the process and to work to change behavior. The challenge to reinvent the toilet is a different way of looking at how to have sanitation on site and has attracted the attention of the leading universities in the world. It is necessary to develop social incentives that encourage people to get value from the nutrients in the excreta.
This will be one of the topics of discussion at the Faecal Sludge Management Conference to be held in Durban later in October 2012. Located in the heart of the Green District, Menlyn Maine occupies 165,000 m2 of land, consisting of space for offices, shops, homes and hotels, and will transform the Pretoria skyline by 2020. Intelligent design has been used in relation to water consumption, carbon emissions, lighting and air conditioning systems and material selection, ensuring sustainability and energy efficiency and reducing the building's carbon footprint.
Renewable energy resources and research base in South Africa, Prof JL van Niekerk, Director of the Center for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, SU.
Source of bioenergy: The potential for bioenergy is concentrated on the east coast of the country. The cost of electricity in Germany is about 12 cents per kWh, depending on the size of the PV system, and about R1/kWh in South Africa. This presentation attempts to apply some of the results of this study to the situation in South Africa.
The design of the CSP systems will also depend on the relevant power purchase agreements and the demand. Perhaps South Africa should start projects in collaboration with these companies to gain access to the technology and then define the rules in the context of the South African market. In terms of research collaboration between academia and industry, I am of the opinion that R&D spending in South Africa should be increased, and industry can help in this regard.
Development of new technologies, however, requires assistance that will contribute to the country's development. Postgraduate chemical engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand discussed possible ways to address this challenge in the following context. New ideas will be able to be incorporated into later modules to increase the effectiveness of the technology.
The relationship between energy and the environment began at the beginning of the 20th century. This is followed by constant monitoring and verification of the location and captured CO2. Given the nature of the coal used in this country, it is highly unlikely that South Africa will be able to meet European carbon emission standards.
The reserves and resources of this country are in the process of being republished and I am one of the reviewers of the document. If there is an opportunity, we do not know what will drive the economic recovery. It is important to consider which opportunities are worth seizing from the perspective of the country's economic imperatives.
Annegarn Harold University of Johannesburg Aye Sylvester University of Pretoria Badenhorst Heinrich University of Pretoria. Falcon Lionel University of the Witwatersrand Falcon Rosemary University of the Witwatersrand Govender Niveshen Innovation Center Management.
