244
4 Discussion
The South African Constitution informs the self-organising system in which the
eThekwini Municipality operates as an autonomous actor that is capable of structurally coupling and strategically coordinating with a host of international actors to
co-evolve the green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape.
We have seen this co-evolution, when several respondents mentioned that the
policy landscape started in the mid-1980s with D’MOSS. Over the years, the policy
landscape has evolved, with Durban being one of the hosting cities for events like the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2010 Soccer World Cup
and the 2011 COP17 conference (Respondent 12).
A practical effort informs these international relations that supply order and
welfare maximisation by those who frame the green and ecological infrastructures
(Hobson and Seabrooke 2007; Meissner 2017), as well as those who collaborate with
the municipality, in the name of the environment. For instance, the Bremen twinning
arrangement acts not only as an international relations conduit, but also as a mechanism for gaining access to scarce resources by certain municipal officials, in an
environment that is characterised by actors who are competing for valuable financial
resources (e.g. the different departments within the municipality) (Respondent 6).
At the time of writing, the municipality has also been in the process of establishing a water fund with the TNC. This translates into considerable autonomy for
the municipality, because the water fund’s establishment is not dependent on the
national fiscus. Considerable rationality influences the initiative to get the water fund
off the ground. In this sense, we see a structural coupling between the municipality,
TNC and the idea of generating funding for green and ecological infrastructures,
using private sector capital. Furthermore, this indicates the ecological dominance of
financial innovation (Jessop 2009) in the name of biodiversity, in particular, and for
the natural environment, in general.
4.5 Conclusion
What have we learned about eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure
policy landscape? What finer nuances can we discern that could help the relevant
stakeholders to achieve a deeper understanding?
Although paradigms and theories are cognitive instruments, they highlight various
unique aspects in the analysed data. As noted by Reus-Smit and Snidal (2008),
theories and paradigms are simultaneously empirical and normative, at their most
fundamental level, they instantaneously illuminate ‘what is’ and ‘what ought’ in an
issue area. We now know ‘what is’. It is a limited epistocracy that promotes green
and ecological infrastructures, with the focus on biodiversity protection, climate
change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable development and water security. Other
aspirations that are linked to green and ecological infrastructure enterprises include
socio-economic development through job creation. ‘What ought’ to be is that the
eThekwini Municipality needs to include the public, as well as the critical voices, to
add to its knowledge and understanding of the various initiatives.
4 Discussion
The South African Constitution informs the self-organising system in which the
eThekwini Municipality operates as an autonomous actor that is capable of structurally coupling and strategically coordinating with a host of international actors to
co-evolve the green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape.
We have seen this co-evolution, when several respondents mentioned that the
policy landscape started in the mid-1980s with D’MOSS. Over the years, the policy
landscape has evolved, with Durban being one of the hosting cities for events like the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2010 Soccer World Cup
and the 2011 COP17 conference (Respondent 12).
A practical effort informs these international relations that supply order and
welfare maximisation by those who frame the green and ecological infrastructures
(Hobson and Seabrooke 2007; Meissner 2017), as well as those who collaborate with
the municipality, in the name of the environment. For instance, the Bremen twinning
arrangement acts not only as an international relations conduit, but also as a mechanism for gaining access to scarce resources by certain municipal officials, in an
environment that is characterised by actors who are competing for valuable financial
resources (e.g. the different departments within the municipality) (Respondent 6).
At the time of writing, the municipality has also been in the process of establishing a water fund with the TNC. This translates into considerable autonomy for
the municipality, because the water fund’s establishment is not dependent on the
national fiscus. Considerable rationality influences the initiative to get the water fund
off the ground. In this sense, we see a structural coupling between the municipality,
TNC and the idea of generating funding for green and ecological infrastructures,
using private sector capital. Furthermore, this indicates the ecological dominance of
financial innovation (Jessop 2009) in the name of biodiversity, in particular, and for
the natural environment, in general.
4.5 Conclusion
What have we learned about eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure
policy landscape? What finer nuances can we discern that could help the relevant
stakeholders to achieve a deeper understanding?
Although paradigms and theories are cognitive instruments, they highlight various
unique aspects in the analysed data. As noted by Reus-Smit and Snidal (2008),
theories and paradigms are simultaneously empirical and normative, at their most
fundamental level, they instantaneously illuminate ‘what is’ and ‘what ought’ in an
issue area. We now know ‘what is’. It is a limited epistocracy that promotes green
and ecological infrastructures, with the focus on biodiversity protection, climate
change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable development and water security. Other
aspirations that are linked to green and ecological infrastructure enterprises include
socio-economic development through job creation. ‘What ought’ to be is that the
eThekwini Municipality needs to include the public, as well as the critical voices, to
add to its knowledge and understanding of the various initiatives.