3.4 Analysis
91
This indicates that the respondents are not only defining the concept of green and
ecological infrastructures within the frame of a ‘raw realism’, but they also view the
concept in relativistic terms, as defined by the local and specifically constructed and
co-constructed realities (Lincoln et al. 2018). That said, these framings fall within
the structural and measurable epistemology and ontology of biodiversity.
When Respondent 1 was asked about his understanding of the concept ‘green
infrastructure’, he gave a bit of his history, before answering in the following way:
I started my career in catchment management… Then I went into rivers and storm-water
systems in built-up areas and then into the coastal side… So, for me green infrastructure
or ecological infrastructure would be, from a storm-water point of view, all those natural
systems—everything from percolation areas, to wetlands, to reed beds.
When I asked Respondent 2, a researcher at the Oceanographic Research Institute
(ORI), about her understanding of a green infrastructure, she immediately answered
by saying:
I think it depends on the context. I mean, an ecological infrastructure is fairly straightforward,
in my mind, in that we are talking about natural resources or natural habitats that provide
protection. However, a green infrastructure could be interpreted as the infrastructure that we
put in place so that man-made infrastructures are designed in an environmentally friendly
and sustainable manner to improve or support ecosystem functioning for the purpose of
protection.
Although at first she mentioned the context, she was quite sure about her own
conceptualisation of ecological infrastructures, and agreed with the meaning that
other researchers have given to the concept. Since Respondent 2 works at the ORI,
I also pulsed her about the green coastal infrastructure and said that I had not heard
much talk of this being a type of green or ecological infrastructure. Her opinion was
as follows: ‘I think it is because the inland systems [mountains, wetlands, rivers,
streams and flood reduction] are better understood’. Respondent 1 also referred to
the city’s estuaries, because for him, estuaries are part of a green infrastructure. He
noted that:
…[storm flows] come down to river systems and flood plains and one of the big issues for
us is that guys just want to build on the flood plains. We try and keep them out because they
are part of the green infrastructure. We need those flood plains, right down to the estuaries.
We must teach people how to protect them and get them to work properly. Estuaries are
heavily impacted—we’ve got sand mining in our rivers, which impacts the estuaries. We’ve
got pollution, which is a big issue. We’ve got quite a lot of alien invasive species, which
are in the estuaries because of nutrient levels, and the nutrient levels are there because of
sewerage pollution in the main.
Respondent 2 indicated that she often collaborates with Respondent 1 on coastal
protection matters. This informs her understanding of coastal systems like estuaries,
and their importance as green and ecological infrastructures.
From this, we see a bias towards inland ecological infrastructure systems, which
are linked with the structuralism and measurable benefits of biodiversity, at the
expense of coastal ecological infrastructures, like estuaries. A likely reason for this
predisposition is the emphasis that South African academia place on wetlands and
91
This indicates that the respondents are not only defining the concept of green and
ecological infrastructures within the frame of a ‘raw realism’, but they also view the
concept in relativistic terms, as defined by the local and specifically constructed and
co-constructed realities (Lincoln et al. 2018). That said, these framings fall within
the structural and measurable epistemology and ontology of biodiversity.
When Respondent 1 was asked about his understanding of the concept ‘green
infrastructure’, he gave a bit of his history, before answering in the following way:
I started my career in catchment management… Then I went into rivers and storm-water
systems in built-up areas and then into the coastal side… So, for me green infrastructure
or ecological infrastructure would be, from a storm-water point of view, all those natural
systems—everything from percolation areas, to wetlands, to reed beds.
When I asked Respondent 2, a researcher at the Oceanographic Research Institute
(ORI), about her understanding of a green infrastructure, she immediately answered
by saying:
I think it depends on the context. I mean, an ecological infrastructure is fairly straightforward,
in my mind, in that we are talking about natural resources or natural habitats that provide
protection. However, a green infrastructure could be interpreted as the infrastructure that we
put in place so that man-made infrastructures are designed in an environmentally friendly
and sustainable manner to improve or support ecosystem functioning for the purpose of
protection.
Although at first she mentioned the context, she was quite sure about her own
conceptualisation of ecological infrastructures, and agreed with the meaning that
other researchers have given to the concept. Since Respondent 2 works at the ORI,
I also pulsed her about the green coastal infrastructure and said that I had not heard
much talk of this being a type of green or ecological infrastructure. Her opinion was
as follows: ‘I think it is because the inland systems [mountains, wetlands, rivers,
streams and flood reduction] are better understood’. Respondent 1 also referred to
the city’s estuaries, because for him, estuaries are part of a green infrastructure. He
noted that:
…[storm flows] come down to river systems and flood plains and one of the big issues for
us is that guys just want to build on the flood plains. We try and keep them out because they
are part of the green infrastructure. We need those flood plains, right down to the estuaries.
We must teach people how to protect them and get them to work properly. Estuaries are
heavily impacted—we’ve got sand mining in our rivers, which impacts the estuaries. We’ve
got pollution, which is a big issue. We’ve got quite a lot of alien invasive species, which
are in the estuaries because of nutrient levels, and the nutrient levels are there because of
sewerage pollution in the main.
Respondent 2 indicated that she often collaborates with Respondent 1 on coastal
protection matters. This informs her understanding of coastal systems like estuaries,
and their importance as green and ecological infrastructures.
From this, we see a bias towards inland ecological infrastructure systems, which
are linked with the structuralism and measurable benefits of biodiversity, at the
expense of coastal ecological infrastructures, like estuaries. A likely reason for this
predisposition is the emphasis that South African academia place on wetlands and