Evaluating Environmental Security in Cape Town: Water Crisis Impact

This report delves into the environmental security challenges facing Cape Town, primarily focusing on the ongoing water crisis. It highlights that the crisis stems from years of inadequate water management, exacerbated by social, cultural, and environmental factors. The literature review examines the impact of climate change, infrastructural issues, and unsustainable agricultural practices on water scarcity and food security. It emphasizes the importance of environmental governance and sustainable development to address these issues. The report also addresses the complexities of food security in urban areas, noting that economic disparities and reliance on market-based food systems contribute to household food insecurity. The document concludes by stressing the need for integrated approaches to mitigate environmental risks and ensure the sustainable availability of essential resources for the population.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY IN CAPE TOWN
ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY IN CAPE TOWN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
The Effect of the Different Factors..................................................................................................8
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15

2ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY IN CAPE TOWN
Introduction
In the current scenario the city of Cape Town is facing one of the greatest threats of
draught known to mankind in recent times. The water crisis in Cape Town is a result of years off
ill water management prevalent in South Africa. The environmental problems along with the
different social and the cultural issues in the society lead to a great disparity in the availability of
the water in the South African society. The water crisis in the city is a result of a number of
problems that has affected the general population in the city (Harris, Goldin and Sneddon 2015).
The growth and development of the society needs strong measures to be undertaken to mitigate
the issues faced by the general population in the society. The water issues have reached
monstrous proportions as in the current scenario the city lacks the water resources to sustain
itself for the first quarter of 2018. The draught faced by the city is due to the different man made
and the natural factors plaguing the African nations and leading to one of the largest draughts of
the country. The water resource of Africa is very unevenly distributed and the sub Saharan
countries face a relatively low access to the water resources in the country. the lack of clean
water along with the lack of sanitation facilities leading to a water crisis in the country causes a
large number of problems in the country.
There are a number of problems in the south African society related to the pollution and
lack of the general facilities in the country. in the recent times there has been a rise in the issues
relating to accessibility of the life sustaining resources among the general population. For the
sustainable society to develop in South Africa the environmental security issues are the
important factors that are to be heeded for the growth and development of the society (Mekonnen

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and Hoekstra 2016). To achieve a sustainable society in the future South Africa needs to devise a
number of approaches which will help in the growth and development in the country.
The main problem that the South African Society faces in the modern scenario is one of
the sustainable developments and the protection of the environment so that the society has the
necessary resources to sustain itself in the society.
Literature Review
The environmental security is one of the major issues that is plaguing the globe but the
situation is much worse in the underdeveloped and the developing countries which do not have
enough access to the pollution mitigation problems. The literature review includes the different
factors affects the sustainable development in the environment and the environmental security.
There are a number of issues that are to be heeded in the society for the sustainable development
of the environment. The difference in the required resources for sustenance and the available
resources in the society should be considered for the proper usage of the resources so that they
last for the later generations. The different issues that are to be considered in the situation of
environmental security are the problems regarding the different factors affecting the environment
in the society.
According to Conway et al. (2015), the water level in the southern African nations is
depleting constantly and the nations face a challenge in meeting the requirements of the citizen.
The different issues that have been pointed out in the research are the ones affecting the climate
and the social scenarios in the city one of the major issues affecting growth and the development
of the general population in society. Water is one of the most important resources for the
sustenance of the people in the society and it is evident from the different uses of the resource

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that it is the most important environmental entity and it is continuously depleting (Cook and
Bakker 2012). The constantly changing environment along with the different infrastructural
issues evident in the South African society leads to the different environmental issues in the
society. The environmental security of the country seeks to avert a number of risks that pose a
threat to the society of South Africa. Evidently, in the current situation the city of Cape town
does not have resources to sustain itself for another quarter given its depleting resources of the
water reservoir and the large dependent population in the city. The economic conditions of the
country along with the infrastructure problems and the sanitation issues lead to extreme pollution
harming the overall environment. As pointed out by Reynolds et al. (2015), the crop growing
methods along with usage of the different pesticides and insecticides also has a negative impact
on the environment and the environmental balance is hampered. The numerous water problems
of the ground water contamination are also the result of the faulty irrigation and the farming
methods. The loss of the soil quality leading to soil erosion is also one of the major reasons of
the environmental issues and the ground water depletion. The lack of the soil quality leads to the
decreasing number of trees in the area, the trees hold the ground water with roots and the lesser
number of trees in the environment leads to more water seepage causing a scarcity of clean
water. The different problems that society faces in the recent times are majorly due to the
different problems in tapping to the ground water resources and saving the residual clean water
from being polluted due to the lack of the infrastructure in the country. The environmental
security need to outline the threats being faced by the country and take the mitigation measures
of solving the problems for a better sustainable development of the environment. The different
approaches need to be taken to counter the water issues in the city.

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The environmental governance is the involvement of the governing bodies of an area in
the field of involving the different measures to govern the economy of the country so that the
environment of the place is used ethically and sustainably. There are various perspectives that
the environmental governance takes into account for the different perspectives of the government
to take care of the factors affecting the environment such as water pollution, water scarcity, air
pollution deforestation and climate change. According to Gaspari et al. (2016), the extensive
deforestation of the land of South Africa for the usage in the soya bean plantation across the
country. The extensive deforestation causes a major problem in the environmental balance bay
affecting the climate, soil and the ground water levels of the place (Scholtz 2013). There are a
number of issues that are to be heeded to take care of the water and the climatic problems in
South Africa. The extremity of the climate change in the country can be understood by the
different measures that are being taken by the different governing bodies to control the
environmental pollution in the city. The overuse of the land for agricultural purposes needs to be
governed ethically to address the different problems in the country. the different environmental
scenarios to take into account the different problems that are faced by the societies in the
governance and looking out for the economic development in society. The governance is the
society depends on a number of factors such as the water usage and conservation, afforestation,
usage of the natural resources sustainably to maintain the natural balance of the city. The
different environmental factors to take in account after the urbanization is to maintain the
ecological balance and the biodiversity of the city intact to avoid the problems from taking over
the overall growth and development of the city. Moreover, the governance patterns of the city
need to be improved so that the environment of the city is not disrupted due to the daily
operations of the city. The situation in the city of cape town where the environmental problems

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have reached a new high as the water levels in the city keeps on dropping (Pahl-Wostl et al.
2013). As of January 2018, the water reservoir giving the city water has hardly enough water to
meet the needs of the city for another 2 months. The government has deployed strict water
policies to meet the needs of the city.
The environmental security in the country not only focusses on the overall environmental
factor which are stereotypical but the complete sustainable development of the country. the
environmental security also takes into account the providing of food to the population. The
sustainability of the resources in the country takes in to account the factor that the food should be
available to the urban and rural population of the country. According to Battersby (2012), the
food security is one of the major issues in the constantly urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa. The
urban population is on the rise in the African and the Saharan countries so procuring a
sustainable food resource for the country is one of the major challenges for the nations. The
urban society is dependent on the outside resources for meeting the demands of the society
(Mehta 2012). It is important to notice that the economic divide is majorly responsible for the
rising urban population as the poor people urbanize much faster than the rich. The different
issues that have been pointed out in the research include the lack of the availability of food as a
resource among the major population in the urban society. The need of food as a resource in the
society is constantly affected by the growing population and lack of the resources to fulfill the
needs of the urban population. The research also points out that fact that the food crisis is not just
a problem of the availability of the food but the utilization and the dispersion of the available
resources. One of the major problems in addressing the food security issues in the country is the
fact that even in the modern society this issue is generally perceived as a rural problem. The food
security problem in the country is more of an issue based on the individual households in the

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country. since the majority of the urban house holds depend on the food available in the markets
the food security is affected by the economic stability of the households. The research points out
that the government data shows the rural areas to be more food insecure but they fail to take into
account the different food variables and the necessities to meet the daily human requirements.
The research takes into account 1060 household sample survey to test the food insecurity in the
area and found out that as many as 80% of the households in the country are food insecure. The
food security in the urban South Africa is also fueled by a number of factors such as the problem
that the supermarkets though selling food at a lower rate than the local shops, sell in bulk making
it unaffordable for the urban poor. The poor opt for the smaller shops as they sell the required
items in smaller qualities and even give items on credit to the customers.
According to De Cock et al. (2013), the food security in the rural and the urban areas
depend on the economic factors that affect the population in the area. The different factors
affecting the food security are the sustainable availability of the food resources along with the
disposal and the marketing of the products to the general population. The issue is greatly
accentuated by the fact that the lack of education leads to lack of awareness of the ways to
counter the food security issues within the country. the personal choices of the people are greatly
affected by the individualistic perspective of the people and their sense of security within the
country (Brown 2012). The different issues of the food security also have a negative impact on
the environment as it leads to the underdevelopment which leads to undereducation affecting the
overall environmental development of the society.
According to Pasquini et al. (2015), the urban areas that are going through constant
development constantly threaten the environment. The climate change in the urban areas are
greatly caused due the pollution resulting from the industrialization and the urbanization of the

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area. The urbanization also faces a major dilemma in aligning the developmental goals with the
environmental sustainability of the area. The research points out that the environmental crisis in
the city greatly affected by the different developmental measures in the city. It is also important
to notice that the local governance authorities of the different municipalities are deploying plans
for the environmental governance so that the climate change and the scarcity of the natural
resources do not happen. The worst scarcity that the city of Cape Town faces is water scarcity
and the different parts of the city and the households in the city have taken it upon themselves to
mitigate the factors affecting the water scarcity in the city (Gosling and Arnell 2016). The cost
plays a very important role in managing the environmental security and governance in a
developing nation as the primary focus of the governments are focused on ensuring the
development within the states. The dearth of the knowledge about the climate change among the
decision and the policy makers is the reason of the lack of the governmental support in planning
an environment friendly economy. The constant industrial growth and urbanization of the
country is further aggravating the problem of overuse of the environmental resources affecting
the overall climate. The research points out the importance of the involvement of the political
bodies in the environmental governance for the overall development in the field of
environmental governance in the city. Overall, the research shows in the role of the lack of
awareness in the political governing bodies and the development planners as the chief cause of
the environmental decadence in South Africa. The environment in the modern context has
reached its tipping point and the lack of the water to meet the needs of the city and the climate
change are important indications of it.

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The Effect of the Different Factors
The environment is one of the most important factor that affects the population of the
city and it is affected by a number of factors. As it is seen in the above discussion the developing
countries undergo a major problem in aligning their growth and industrialization to the
environmental needs of the country. the environment is a very delicate entity and the constant
industrialization of Cape Town has caused the balance to tilt leading to a number of issues in the
city. The problems that the city faces varies from the water scarcity to the lack of the daily
resources that are required to sustain the population in the city. The different factors that affects
the environment need to be mitigated by developing a balance between the development goals
and the environmental objectives in the city. The partnership between the communities,
government and the industrialist are necessary to achieve this. The climate change in the country
of South Africa is evident as it is seen that the country faces a major issue of desertification and
water scarcity. The water scarcity issues have a major problem in the city of Cape Town which is
days off from being completely dry (Méndez-Barrientos et al. 2018). The water scarcity has
reached a level where the government and the military had to intervene for proper rationing of
water. The rationing of water and the lack of the water resources have caused a major problem in
the overall lifestyle of the people living in the city. The country needs to address these issues as
soon as possible so that they do not bring the life of the city to a stand still as water is the most
important raw material and the entity for the survival of people. On the other hand, the
desertification is a major issue that plagues the country as it causes the decadence of the fertile
land the flora fauna of the country affecting the overall environment.
The overall environmental factors that affect the rise of desertification in the area is the
fact that the urbanization and the industrialization has affected the overall environmental

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balance. The global warming and the lack of rainfall that the city faces are a part of the
environmental change that the area is undergoing in the recent times (Pahlow, Snowball and
Fraser 2015). Environmental governance is one of the ways to mitigate the situation but they
cannot be implemented easily in the society given the current scenario. The cost of cutting down
on the pollution at a country wide level will need strategies that will not be economically viable
for the country. the choice of economic development as a competitive rate with the global
economies cause the governments to ignore the environmental factors that are adversely affected
in the due process. It is now that they have started showing strong interest in the environmental
aspect of the industrialization. The scarcity of water resources in the country is greatly affects the
growth and development of the country as it has a strong effect on other factors as well (Hering
and Ingold 2012). The lack of water has affected the crop cycle as the agricultural production of
the country because of which there is food scarcity. The food scarcity and the inflation in the
prices of the objects of basic necessity of sustenance affects the overall development of the
society (Gulati et al. 2013). The lack of the water resource also affects the education and the
work quality of the population in the city of Cape Town. As the major part of the population in
busy in collecting water and other basic resources for sustenance their daily life is hampered and
the overall growth of the country is affected. The majority of the population affected by the
aftermaths of the water scarcity are the urban poor who cannot afford the overprices amenities.
The resource scarcity is also caused due to the decadence of the irrigable land in the
country as the slow desertification due to the degradation of the soil quality along with the lack
of rainfall due to the climate change in the country. The resource availability often measured by
the food security of the society is also gravely affected by the climate change. The desertification
of the different parts of the country has caused a major scarcity of the resources in the country

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(Falkenmark 2013). The scarcity of the water in the city has also caused a threat to the social
security as the agitated people may go to any levels to ensure their sustenance. The lack of the
basic resources of survival is also threatening the social balance of the society as the competition
for the basic necessities increases in the society. The excessive deforestation for the urbanization
and industrialization of the various parts of the country affect the overall environment as the
excessive focus on the development negates the importance of the environment as the depending
factor on which the society needs to survive (Anseeuw et al. 2012). Moreover, the modern
agricultural practices focusing the high yielding variety of crops along with the chemical usage
to increase the productivity also affects the water quality of the area as the chemical seep into the
ground water and pollute it. The chemicals also affect the soil affecting its nutritional value and
the moisture content which again causes desertification. The decrease in the soil quality along
with the water pollution in the area has wrecked a havoc in the South African society where the
environment is succumbing under the pressure of rapid industrialization and the political
mobility focused towards competitive social development.
The corporate development of the city has led to major problem in the city due to which
the majority of the water in the city is polluted and there is severe scarcity of the water and other
resources in the city (Kummu et al. 2012). The privatization of the different sectors has
decreased the government control over the different sectors of the organizational operations. The
issues can be controlled by the environmental governance working together with the Corporate
Social partnership to increase the efficiency of the different plans of maintaining a sustainable
environment. the water crisis in south Africa and specially Cape Town is a result of prolonged
overutilization of the natural resources. The government and the society in this moment of crisis
needs to understand the importance of the use of the different parts of the depleting resources.