148
3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
is caused by solid waste in informal settlements, sewer leaks and ‘illegal industrial
effluent discharge’, is particularly challenging in this regard (SANBI 2020).
We can conclude from this that the relationship between eThekwini and the epistemic community shows an over-reliance on the internal (eThekwini) and external
(SANBI and UKZN) epistemic communities to infuse eThekwini’s green and
ecological infrastructure as water security-related policies informed with scientific
evidence. This over-reliance points to a structural-functional reasoning.
Functionalism is an explanatory problem-solving device (Callicot 1998). We
see it operating in the framing of problems, such as adaptation and biodiversity,
through green and ecological infrastructure initiatives and, more particularly, ecological infrastructures in the UEIP. Wellstead et al. (2013) argue that this ‘structuralfunctional’ reasoning in eThekwini, ‘…presents a false sense of what is possible,
and proper, in terms of policy processes and outputs’. The logic presents management and policy innovations as ‘quasi-automatic responses’ to climate change- and
water security-related challenges and do not sufficiently acknowledge the political
factors that impact the policy-making and policy results (Wellstead et al. 2013). A
fallacy of structural-functionalism is that its ‘input-output’ methodologies disregard
the propensity of environmental governance systems to support the status quo in
management options and policy outcomes (Wellstead et al. 2013). This is evident in
the three projects, where instrumentalism, in the form of the rehabilitation of natural
systems, is the order of the day. However, there is no mention of the governance structures that are responsible for the deplorable state of the rivers and the dam, in the
first place. Wellstead et al.’s (2013) study found that positivism dominates within a
structural-functionalist discourse. In other words, a positivist-orientated liberal intuitionalism infuses the logic behind the UEIP’s ecological infrastructure initiatives by
ignoring the policy processes in their entirety and the possible influence of traditional
leaders (Amakhosi) (p. 127) who want to maintain the current status quo.
Green Corridors
Green Corridors (p. 124) is an organisation that aims to see communities thriving
and in balance with their surrounding habitats. The organisation describes itself as a
‘social-purpose and impact-focused’ entity. The organisation was established in the
uMngeni River Valley in 2009 and it later fostered a partnership with eThekwini.
Green Corridor establishes hubs across rivers, the ocean and the ecosystems within
Durban. These centres act as incubators for social and environmental initiatives. The
projects emanating from Green Corridors highlight youth and sport development,
open space management and restoration, as well as eco-tourism and learning. Furthermore, these projects focus on local sustainability, balanced habitats and community resilience. The philosophy that underpins Green Corridors rests on eco-system
thinking and the community’s interdependency with nature (Green Corridors 2020),
which relates to WESSA’s mission and objectives.
Water funds
The TNC is an American organisation that is funded by philanthropy and that has
a global reach that establishes water funds throughout the world. At the time of the
3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
is caused by solid waste in informal settlements, sewer leaks and ‘illegal industrial
effluent discharge’, is particularly challenging in this regard (SANBI 2020).
We can conclude from this that the relationship between eThekwini and the epistemic community shows an over-reliance on the internal (eThekwini) and external
(SANBI and UKZN) epistemic communities to infuse eThekwini’s green and
ecological infrastructure as water security-related policies informed with scientific
evidence. This over-reliance points to a structural-functional reasoning.
Functionalism is an explanatory problem-solving device (Callicot 1998). We
see it operating in the framing of problems, such as adaptation and biodiversity,
through green and ecological infrastructure initiatives and, more particularly, ecological infrastructures in the UEIP. Wellstead et al. (2013) argue that this ‘structuralfunctional’ reasoning in eThekwini, ‘…presents a false sense of what is possible,
and proper, in terms of policy processes and outputs’. The logic presents management and policy innovations as ‘quasi-automatic responses’ to climate change- and
water security-related challenges and do not sufficiently acknowledge the political
factors that impact the policy-making and policy results (Wellstead et al. 2013). A
fallacy of structural-functionalism is that its ‘input-output’ methodologies disregard
the propensity of environmental governance systems to support the status quo in
management options and policy outcomes (Wellstead et al. 2013). This is evident in
the three projects, where instrumentalism, in the form of the rehabilitation of natural
systems, is the order of the day. However, there is no mention of the governance structures that are responsible for the deplorable state of the rivers and the dam, in the
first place. Wellstead et al.’s (2013) study found that positivism dominates within a
structural-functionalist discourse. In other words, a positivist-orientated liberal intuitionalism infuses the logic behind the UEIP’s ecological infrastructure initiatives by
ignoring the policy processes in their entirety and the possible influence of traditional
leaders (Amakhosi) (p. 127) who want to maintain the current status quo.
Green Corridors
Green Corridors (p. 124) is an organisation that aims to see communities thriving
and in balance with their surrounding habitats. The organisation describes itself as a
‘social-purpose and impact-focused’ entity. The organisation was established in the
uMngeni River Valley in 2009 and it later fostered a partnership with eThekwini.
Green Corridor establishes hubs across rivers, the ocean and the ecosystems within
Durban. These centres act as incubators for social and environmental initiatives. The
projects emanating from Green Corridors highlight youth and sport development,
open space management and restoration, as well as eco-tourism and learning. Furthermore, these projects focus on local sustainability, balanced habitats and community resilience. The philosophy that underpins Green Corridors rests on eco-system
thinking and the community’s interdependency with nature (Green Corridors 2020),
which relates to WESSA’s mission and objectives.
Water funds
The TNC is an American organisation that is funded by philanthropy and that has
a global reach that establishes water funds throughout the world. At the time of the