Search

This paper analyses climate-smart agricultural (CSA) policies and strategies in sub-Saharan Africa, using a case study of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in South Africa. It is argued that the development and implementation of coherent policies is one of the approaches to offering effective responses to adaptation and to mitigating the influences of climate change. The results of the study, which drew on qualitative data gathered through participatory research, showed that 30%, 70%, 50%, and 60% of the community members, farmers, NGOs, and government participants were unaware of or did not understand climate-smart agriculture practices. Additionally, this study highlighted the absence of awareness and knowledge of CSA policies across all participants, indicating a significant gap in information dissemination and education on sustainable agricultural practices. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted education and awareness initiatives to promote climate-smart agriculture in the region. Without a proper understanding and implementation of CSA practices, communities in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality struggle to adapt to the changing climate and its impacts on agriculture. The results emphasise the necessity of raising awareness among different stakeholders in order to enhance the efficacy of agricultural practices' adaptations to climate change. In order to ensure sustainable agricultural practices in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, it is imperative that practices like collaboration, CSA technology, integration, financing, increased private sector involvement in CSA promotion, and sector-specific policies foster an environment that is favourable to CSA practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a review of the methodological approaches associated with solid waste management (SWM) in the context of sub-Saharan African (SSA) cities. Using Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a case study, the paper proposes a new way of looking at solid waste in the bid to come up with alternative methods to improve the plight of SWM. A combination of qualitative research methods and system analysis have been employed to evaluate the causal relationships observed in contemporary SWM systems in Kinshasa. This paper argues that there is an absence of coherent and broad-based approaches to SWM in Kinshasa as is common in other SSA countries. Empirical evidence suggests that contemporary SWM strategies and approaches developed on a global scale which have increasingly been adopted by the Congolese national and local government authorities have proven inadequate to address the SWM realities on a local level. Using system thinking and system dynamics, this paper attempts to develop a feasible methodological framework focusing on the formulation of an appropriate approach to improve SWM in Kinshasa. It is argued that new ways of approaching the complexity that exists in SWM will facilitate the adoption of technologies and innovative ways of thinking and managing solid waste in a more sustainable, socially, and environmentally accepted manner. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the concept of environmental justice (EJ) in solid waste management (SWM) in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It evaluates the extent to which EJ occurs in SWM and discusses the factors accounting for this state of affairs. The paper examines the relevant theoretical framework(s) and mechanisms that would facilitate the attainment of EJ in Kinshasa. It is argued that solid waste (SW) often ends up in the poorest and least powerful communities in the cities of the DRC. A qualitative research methodology, which includes exhaustive critical review of the literature, system analysis, reflections from best practices through case studies and discussion with stakeholders, was used for this study. Findings revealed that SWM in Kinshasa is a duty entrusted to publicly-funded municipal authorities. There are evidences of a clear divide between the rich and poor neighbourhoods in the manner SW is managed. This is an inequality that has only recently begun to be recognised as injustice practices in SWM. It is argued that a politico-cultural mechanism on remedying SWM inequities could enable changes that will address EJ in Kinshasa. Such a solution will go directly against the prevailing notion “some happy, others sad”. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates social and environmental injustices in solid waste management in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The urban poor in most parts of Kinshasa bear a huge encumbrance of the solid waste burden and face multiple challenges associated with poor management of solid waste. This situation has resulted in poor and unhealthy living conditions for the majority of the urban residents. The problem of solid waste management in Kinshasa has further been compounded by rapid urbanisation which has occurred in the face of poor urban governance, civil conflict and weak institutional set-up. The combination of these challenges has resulted in increased overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, lack of water and an unprecedented accumulation of solid waste which have triggered a myriad of urban problems. The worst affected are the poor urban who reside in locations that receive little or no socio-economic services from the Kinshasa Municipal authority. Using secondary data collected through a desk study, this paper argues that the poor solid waste situation in Kinshasa is not only a health risk, but also presents issues of both social and environmental injustices. These issues are analysed within the context of evolving arguments that focus on the need to develop a pro-poor approach in solid waste management that may present an opportunity for achieving both social and environmental justice for the urban poor in Kinshasa. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The argument that "one in every two urban resident is poor" in cities of the developing world can be articulated in the discussions of social and environmental inequalities occurring in the management of solid waste, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. This paper discusses environmental justice in the context of solid waste management (SWM) in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is argued that the urban poor in most parts of Kinshasa face serious consequences of poor solid waste management and bear a huge proportion of the environmental burden. It is further argued in the paper that the plight of the poor people in Kinshasa has been worsened by the accelerated rate of urbanisation which has occurred in the presence of bad urban governance, increased civil conflict and weak institutional framework. A combination of these challenges have resulted in increased injustices in the management of solid waste with poor suburbs poor being exposed to living conditions that are inhumane and demeaning. Using secondary data and other archival records, this chapter argues that solid waste in Kinshasa is not only a health risk, but it also presents issues of environmental injustice. These issues have been analysed within the context of evolving arguments that focus on the need to develop pro-poor approaches in the management of urban solid waste in order to promote urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]