3.4 Analysis
173
Table 3.6
(continued)
Risk
Expressed during the interview
Individual risk Collective
risk
Characteristic of a risk Society
Loss of goods
and services
The D’MOSS does not protect eThekwini from the insidious
erosion of the goods and services caused by “development”’
(Respondent 11)
X
Initiated by:
Human activities that have an adverse influence on the natural
environment when humans over-exploit ecosystem goods and services
Affecting:
Both humans and the bio-physical environment alike
Temporality and spatiality:
Temporally loss of goods and services can
either be immediate or incremental, for instance, when alien invasives take
over an indigenous forest. Spatially, this can be localised or widespread
Poor water
quality and poor
river health
eThekwini is implementing ineffective city-wide storm-water
management projects (Respondent 11)
‘People do their washing in the Palmiet River and develop rashes
when coming into contact with the water. The conservancy higher
up is of a relatively good quality, but then it degrades quite
drastically in the last couple of kilometres’ (Respondent 15)
‘The idea was that if you build the reconstructed wetland
downstream of the [Quarry Road] informal settlement then all the
water sort of dis-surface and flows into the receiving waters of the
uMngeni. So, the uMngeni is the focus and not the communities, to
ensure that the uMngeni is not filthy’ (Respondent 15)
‘[P]eople throwing nappies down the sewer lines. In the Aloe River,
they have the nappy project which collects nappies by providing
skips for them. They collect tens-of-thousands of nappies’
(Respondent 15)
‘Our mean interest in the UEIP is the fact that we are downstream
from these municipalities’ dysfunctional wastewater treatment
works. For instance, the water that we re-treat is of a much better
quality that the water we receive into the Inanda Dam in the
Umgeni catchment because of the malfunctioning wastewater
treatment works’ (Respondent 15)
X
Initiated by:
Littering (people disposing of soiled nappies in rivers and
streams), sewer pollution from blocked sewer lines and dysfunctional waste
water treatment works, as well as the littering of general household waste in
rivers and streams (Fig. 3.14)
Affecting:
Humans, with adverse impacts on human health (skin rashes), as
well as eThekwini, since it is located downstream from the pollution sources
Temporality and spatiality:
Temporally, these have a more long-term
impact because the project has a lead time of months or years. Spatially,
should the municipality realise one system across Durban, it could have
ramifications across the entire city
Poor service
delivery
‘“Sexy Projects”: The current projects gets votes and “appear” to
address service delivery, while they tend to deal with the symptoms
by using unsustainable reactive measures’ (Respondent 11)
X
X
Initiated by:
By a range of local governance and political aspects like
mismanagement, corruption, skills shortages, the shortage of financial
resources and other capacity constraints
Affecting:
The poorer communities of eThekwini
Temporality and spatiality:
The temporal and spatial dimension of risks
emanating from ‘sexy projects’ depend on their temporal length (days,
weeks, months or years) and the geographical extent
(continued)
173
Table 3.6
(continued)
Risk
Expressed during the interview
Individual risk Collective
risk
Characteristic of a risk Society
Loss of goods
and services
The D’MOSS does not protect eThekwini from the insidious
erosion of the goods and services caused by “development”’
(Respondent 11)
X
Initiated by:
Human activities that have an adverse influence on the natural
environment when humans over-exploit ecosystem goods and services
Affecting:
Both humans and the bio-physical environment alike
Temporality and spatiality:
Temporally loss of goods and services can
either be immediate or incremental, for instance, when alien invasives take
over an indigenous forest. Spatially, this can be localised or widespread
Poor water
quality and poor
river health
eThekwini is implementing ineffective city-wide storm-water
management projects (Respondent 11)
‘People do their washing in the Palmiet River and develop rashes
when coming into contact with the water. The conservancy higher
up is of a relatively good quality, but then it degrades quite
drastically in the last couple of kilometres’ (Respondent 15)
‘The idea was that if you build the reconstructed wetland
downstream of the [Quarry Road] informal settlement then all the
water sort of dis-surface and flows into the receiving waters of the
uMngeni. So, the uMngeni is the focus and not the communities, to
ensure that the uMngeni is not filthy’ (Respondent 15)
‘[P]eople throwing nappies down the sewer lines. In the Aloe River,
they have the nappy project which collects nappies by providing
skips for them. They collect tens-of-thousands of nappies’
(Respondent 15)
‘Our mean interest in the UEIP is the fact that we are downstream
from these municipalities’ dysfunctional wastewater treatment
works. For instance, the water that we re-treat is of a much better
quality that the water we receive into the Inanda Dam in the
Umgeni catchment because of the malfunctioning wastewater
treatment works’ (Respondent 15)
X
Initiated by:
Littering (people disposing of soiled nappies in rivers and
streams), sewer pollution from blocked sewer lines and dysfunctional waste
water treatment works, as well as the littering of general household waste in
rivers and streams (Fig. 3.14)
Affecting:
Humans, with adverse impacts on human health (skin rashes), as
well as eThekwini, since it is located downstream from the pollution sources
Temporality and spatiality:
Temporally, these have a more long-term
impact because the project has a lead time of months or years. Spatially,
should the municipality realise one system across Durban, it could have
ramifications across the entire city
Poor service
delivery
‘“Sexy Projects”: The current projects gets votes and “appear” to
address service delivery, while they tend to deal with the symptoms
by using unsustainable reactive measures’ (Respondent 11)
X
X
Initiated by:
By a range of local governance and political aspects like
mismanagement, corruption, skills shortages, the shortage of financial
resources and other capacity constraints
Affecting:
The poorer communities of eThekwini
Temporality and spatiality:
The temporal and spatial dimension of risks
emanating from ‘sexy projects’ depend on their temporal length (days,
weeks, months or years) and the geographical extent
(continued)