2
1 Green and Ecological Infrastructures and Water Security …
influenced by the prevailing normative, cognitive and regulative societal systems,
which guide the relationship between society and nature …’ Our decisions, laws and
policies are, in many instances, aberrations, whether they be based on empirical or
interpretivist scientific results.
During these environment-society associations, green and ecological infrastructures become an important element for offsetting or at least mitigating, the negative
consequences of regulative and technological improvements, such as flooding and
pollution, which, in turn, influence the water systems unfavourably. This shows an
exceedingly positive association between the infrastructure types and their influence
on development-related negative consequences. Taking the regulative advances into
consideration, green and ecological infrastructures contain inherent normative and
cognitive structures that influence such initiatives. Regulatory structures do not only
come about through empirical scientific innovations, but they are also constituents
of a wider social process, where inter-subjective elements, like ideology (Schidler
2020a, b), play a central role. This means that these infrastructure types are not
immune to the vagaries of the invisible elements relating to cognitive processes.
To explore these cognitive, development and regulatory associations further, let
us consider Durban, which is located in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
(Fig. 1.1). Here, flooding and pollution (Figs. 1.2 and 1.3) are major concerns, not
only for residents in low-lying areas, but also for the transport infrastructure, in or
near the port of Durban (Fig. 1.4). In October 2017, Durban was hit by a violent storm,
which resulted in eight fatalities (Wolhuter 2017) and the Durban South roads being
closed, due to local flooding (Singh 2017). In April 2019, another enormous rainstorm
ravished the city, leaving 85 dead and infrastructure damage costing millions of rands
(Somdyala 2019). According to Head (2019), more than 200 mm of precipitation fell
overnight in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal during this tempest. He went on to say
that several portions of Durban received more than 100 mm of rain in 24 h, while the
average April rainfall for the city, under normal conditions, is about 71 mm (Head
2019).
What became apparent in the aftermath of both of the abovementioned events
was that tons of municipal solid waste (Figs. 1.5 and 1.6) were washed up on the
city’s beaches and in the port (Somdyala 2019). According to the news reports, the
Transnet Port Authority (TPA), which operates the harbour, could only open the
facility after the flood had subsided, but large volumes of solid waste continued to
affect the movement of ships (Singh 2019), which had a knock-on effect on the port’s
daily operations and on the costs by shipping companies operating large vessels in
and out the port.
With this context in mind, I will review the nature and role of green and ecological
infrastructures in this chapter. I will begin by outlining how scholars define them,
before reviewing the role of municipalities in implementing such enterprises. Thereafter, I will discuss the nature and extent of water security, as a concept, as well as
the role of local governments in water resources management, bearing in mind their
constitutional and democratic mandates. In conclusion, I will outline how the rest of
the book will unfold.
1 Green and Ecological Infrastructures and Water Security …
influenced by the prevailing normative, cognitive and regulative societal systems,
which guide the relationship between society and nature …’ Our decisions, laws and
policies are, in many instances, aberrations, whether they be based on empirical or
interpretivist scientific results.
During these environment-society associations, green and ecological infrastructures become an important element for offsetting or at least mitigating, the negative
consequences of regulative and technological improvements, such as flooding and
pollution, which, in turn, influence the water systems unfavourably. This shows an
exceedingly positive association between the infrastructure types and their influence
on development-related negative consequences. Taking the regulative advances into
consideration, green and ecological infrastructures contain inherent normative and
cognitive structures that influence such initiatives. Regulatory structures do not only
come about through empirical scientific innovations, but they are also constituents
of a wider social process, where inter-subjective elements, like ideology (Schidler
2020a, b), play a central role. This means that these infrastructure types are not
immune to the vagaries of the invisible elements relating to cognitive processes.
To explore these cognitive, development and regulatory associations further, let
us consider Durban, which is located in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
(Fig. 1.1). Here, flooding and pollution (Figs. 1.2 and 1.3) are major concerns, not
only for residents in low-lying areas, but also for the transport infrastructure, in or
near the port of Durban (Fig. 1.4). In October 2017, Durban was hit by a violent storm,
which resulted in eight fatalities (Wolhuter 2017) and the Durban South roads being
closed, due to local flooding (Singh 2017). In April 2019, another enormous rainstorm
ravished the city, leaving 85 dead and infrastructure damage costing millions of rands
(Somdyala 2019). According to Head (2019), more than 200 mm of precipitation fell
overnight in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal during this tempest. He went on to say
that several portions of Durban received more than 100 mm of rain in 24 h, while the
average April rainfall for the city, under normal conditions, is about 71 mm (Head
2019).
What became apparent in the aftermath of both of the abovementioned events
was that tons of municipal solid waste (Figs. 1.5 and 1.6) were washed up on the
city’s beaches and in the port (Somdyala 2019). According to the news reports, the
Transnet Port Authority (TPA), which operates the harbour, could only open the
facility after the flood had subsided, but large volumes of solid waste continued to
affect the movement of ships (Singh 2019), which had a knock-on effect on the port’s
daily operations and on the costs by shipping companies operating large vessels in
and out the port.
With this context in mind, I will review the nature and role of green and ecological
infrastructures in this chapter. I will begin by outlining how scholars define them,
before reviewing the role of municipalities in implementing such enterprises. Thereafter, I will discuss the nature and extent of water security, as a concept, as well as
the role of local governments in water resources management, bearing in mind their
constitutional and democratic mandates. In conclusion, I will outline how the rest of
the book will unfold.