UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Law
⋄
PUB2606 PORTFOLIO
May/June 2026
⋄
Module Code: PUB2606
Module Name: Environmental Affairs
Assignment: Portfolio (May/June 2026)
Due Date: 19 May 2026, 8:00 PM
Total Marks: 100
Examiners: Prof NI Makamu; Prof C Alers
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for PUB2606: Environmental Affairs
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
Question 1: Ten Environmental Issues in Southern Africa
Southern Africa faces a suite of interlocking environmental crises that, taken together, threaten
the ecological integrity of the region and the livelihoods of millions of people (Mutanga et al.,
2024). This question discusses ten such issues, each illustrated with specific, grounded exam-
ples drawn from countries across the region.
1.1 Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
No environmental issue shapes Southern Africa quite like climate change. The region’s vul-
nerability is not primarily about emissions, since most countries here contribute very little to
global greenhouse gas totals. The problem is what arrives on their doorstep. Average tempera-
tures in the region have been rising at roughly twice the global average rate, and precipitation
patterns have become increasingly erratic (Banze, Guo and Xiaotao, 2018:1095).
The practical consequences are visible and painful. Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Zim-
babwe and Malawi in March 2019, killing over 1,000 people and destroying crops across a vast
area. Cyclone Freddy followed in February 2023, affecting the same corridor with extraor-
dinary intensity. South Africa, meanwhile, recorded its worst flooding in over sixty years in
KwaZulu-Natal in April 2022, with over 430 deaths and damage to infrastructure running into
billions of rands (De Wet-Billings, 2022:810).
Implementation Insight
Southern Africa contributes less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet con-
sistently ranks among the regions most exposed to climate impacts. This asymmetry
between contribution and consequence is one of the central injustices in international
environmental policy.
1.2 Deforestation and Forest Degradation
The loss of tree cover in Southern Africa is happening at a rate that alarm most forest sci-
entists. Between 2001 and 2019 alone, Mozambique lost approximately 3.8 million hectares
of forest, while Zimbabwe shed around 224,000 hectares over the same period (Mutanga et
al., 2024). The Miombo woodlands, a sprawling warm, dry forest system covering roughly
2.7 million square kilometres across the region, loses more than 1.27 million hectares per year
(Chatham House, 2023).
Page 1 of 12
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
The drivers are not complicated to identify. Fuelwood collection accounts for a significant
share, particularly in countries where rural households have no access to electricity. Agricul-
tural expansion, timber harvesting and charcoal production make up the rest. In Mozambique,
households dependent on the Miombo for their income have faced up to a 92% loss in liveli-
hood value as the woodland retreats (Chatham House, 2023).
Critical Consideration
Deforestation does not merely remove trees. It disrupts water cycles, accelerates soil
erosion, reduces carbon storage and pushes wildlife out of their habitats. These sec-
ondary effects compound over time and are far harder to reverse than the loss of the
trees themselves.
1.3 Biodiversity Loss
Southern Africa is among the world’s most biodiverse regions. The Cape Floristic Region
alone contains over 9,000 plant species, more than 70% of which are found nowhere else on
earth. The Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier area supports the largest remaining population of
African elephants. Yet the forces pressing against this biodiversity are relentless.
Land-use change, agriculture expansion and the overutilisation of wild species have driven
a measurable decline over time. Scholes and Biggs (2005), cited in Mutanga et al. (2024),
recorded a roughly 16% decline in wild species populations across the region relative to the
pre-colonial baseline. Botswana and Namibia, whose economies depend heavily on wildlife
tourism, have both recorded concerning trends in certain species, including lions and wild
dogs, which are under sustained pressure from human-wildlife conflict at the boundaries of
communal lands.
1.4 Water Scarcity and Deteriorating Water Quality
Southern Africa is naturally an arid and semi-arid region, but climate change is making water
stress considerably worse. South Africa’s National Water Resource Strategy has long acknowl-
edged that the country is water-scarce, yet industrial discharges, acid mine drainage from
old and active mines, and inadequate wastewater treatment have compounded the scarcity
problem with a quality problem.
Cape Town’s "Day Zero" crisis in 2018 was a stark demonstration. The city came within
Page 2 of 12
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
weeks of exhausting its urban water reserves, requiring Level 6 water restrictions that limited
households to 50 litres per person per day. The Limpopo and Zambezi river systems, shared
by multiple countries, face growing competition between agricultural, domestic and industrial
users, with no comprehensive binding agreement governing how that competition should be
managed (Mutanga et al., 2024).
Implementation Insight
The Vaal Dam in South Africa, which supplies Gauteng’s 14 million residents, regularly
drops below 50% capacity during dry seasons. Industrial effluent from surrounding
mining operations further threatens the dam’s water quality.
1.5 Land Degradation and Desertification
When soil loses its productive capacity, the consequences reach all the way from the farm
to national food security budgets. In Lesotho, soil erosion has been described as a national
emergency, with some estimates suggesting that the country loses around 40 million tonnes
of topsoil each year (Mutanga et al., 2024). In Botswana and Namibia, the expansion of bush
encroachment, where certain woody species take over grasslands due to changes in grazing
regimes, reduces the carrying capacity of land for cattle and wildlife.
Desertification at the edges of the Kalahari is gradual but consistent. The interplay between
droughts, overgrazing and removal of perennial grasses creates feedback loops that are difficult
to interrupt once established.
1.6 Air Pollution and Poor Urban Air Quality
South Africa ranks among the top twenty carbon dioxide emitters globally, despite represent-
ing a relatively small share of world population (Death, cited in Roodt, 2024:1). South Africa
was placed 116th out of 180 states in the 2022 Environmental Performance Index, a notably
poor ranking for a middle-income country (Roodt, 2024:1). The Highveld, in Mpumalanga and
Gauteng, is one of the most polluted air quality zones on earth, largely because of coal-fired
power stations clustered in that corridor.
The health impacts are significant and fall disproportionately on poor communities. Commu-
nities surrounding Eskom’s Hendrina, Komati and Lethabo power stations experience elevated
rates of respiratory illness, and activists in the area have brought legal challenges against Es-
Page 3 of 12
, UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
kom using the right to a healthy environment under Section 24 of South Africa’s Constitution.
Quality Assurance
South Africa has consistently failed to meet its own ambient air quality standards for
sulphur dioxide and particulate matter in the Highveld Priority Area. The gap between
regulatory frameworks and actual enforcement is wide and well documented.
1.7 Solid Waste Mismanagement and Plastic Pollution
Rapid urbanisation, combined with underfunded municipal services, has produced a solid
waste crisis across Southern African cities. In Harare, Zimbabwe, formal waste collection ser-
vices cover only a fraction of the city’s population, and open dumping is common in peri-
urban areas. In South Africa, the National Waste Management Strategy of 2020 acknowledged
that the country generates roughly 54 million tonnes of general waste annually, of which only
about 11% is recycled (Roodt, 2024:3).
Plastic pollution is reaching aquatic systems, coastal areas and even marine environments at
the Cape. Studies at South African beaches have confirmed the presence of microplastics in
filter-feeding organisms, indicating that plastic contamination has entered food chains.
1.8 Energy Insecurity and Dependence on Fossil Fuels
South Africa generates roughly 85% of its electricity from coal, making it the continent’s
largest single-point source of carbon emissions. Load-shedding, which refers to the sched-
uled rolling blackouts that South Africans have endured for over a decade, reflects both an
energy capacity problem and a governance failure. The knock-on environmental effects include
increased reliance on diesel generators, more charcoal burning and the deferral of renewable
energy investment.
Zambia and Zimbabwe depend heavily on hydropower, which makes them extremely vulnera-
ble when droughts reduce lake levels. Kariba Dam, shared between the two countries, dropped
to critical levels in 2019, forcing rationing that disrupted industry and households for months.
Key Distinction
South Africa’s energy problem is structural, rooted in coal dependence and State
capture within Eskom. Zambia’s is climatic, driven by drought. Both lead to environ-
Page 4 of 12
College of Law
⋄
PUB2606 PORTFOLIO
May/June 2026
⋄
Module Code: PUB2606
Module Name: Environmental Affairs
Assignment: Portfolio (May/June 2026)
Due Date: 19 May 2026, 8:00 PM
Total Marks: 100
Examiners: Prof NI Makamu; Prof C Alers
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for PUB2606: Environmental Affairs
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
Question 1: Ten Environmental Issues in Southern Africa
Southern Africa faces a suite of interlocking environmental crises that, taken together, threaten
the ecological integrity of the region and the livelihoods of millions of people (Mutanga et al.,
2024). This question discusses ten such issues, each illustrated with specific, grounded exam-
ples drawn from countries across the region.
1.1 Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
No environmental issue shapes Southern Africa quite like climate change. The region’s vul-
nerability is not primarily about emissions, since most countries here contribute very little to
global greenhouse gas totals. The problem is what arrives on their doorstep. Average tempera-
tures in the region have been rising at roughly twice the global average rate, and precipitation
patterns have become increasingly erratic (Banze, Guo and Xiaotao, 2018:1095).
The practical consequences are visible and painful. Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Zim-
babwe and Malawi in March 2019, killing over 1,000 people and destroying crops across a vast
area. Cyclone Freddy followed in February 2023, affecting the same corridor with extraor-
dinary intensity. South Africa, meanwhile, recorded its worst flooding in over sixty years in
KwaZulu-Natal in April 2022, with over 430 deaths and damage to infrastructure running into
billions of rands (De Wet-Billings, 2022:810).
Implementation Insight
Southern Africa contributes less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet con-
sistently ranks among the regions most exposed to climate impacts. This asymmetry
between contribution and consequence is one of the central injustices in international
environmental policy.
1.2 Deforestation and Forest Degradation
The loss of tree cover in Southern Africa is happening at a rate that alarm most forest sci-
entists. Between 2001 and 2019 alone, Mozambique lost approximately 3.8 million hectares
of forest, while Zimbabwe shed around 224,000 hectares over the same period (Mutanga et
al., 2024). The Miombo woodlands, a sprawling warm, dry forest system covering roughly
2.7 million square kilometres across the region, loses more than 1.27 million hectares per year
(Chatham House, 2023).
Page 1 of 12
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
The drivers are not complicated to identify. Fuelwood collection accounts for a significant
share, particularly in countries where rural households have no access to electricity. Agricul-
tural expansion, timber harvesting and charcoal production make up the rest. In Mozambique,
households dependent on the Miombo for their income have faced up to a 92% loss in liveli-
hood value as the woodland retreats (Chatham House, 2023).
Critical Consideration
Deforestation does not merely remove trees. It disrupts water cycles, accelerates soil
erosion, reduces carbon storage and pushes wildlife out of their habitats. These sec-
ondary effects compound over time and are far harder to reverse than the loss of the
trees themselves.
1.3 Biodiversity Loss
Southern Africa is among the world’s most biodiverse regions. The Cape Floristic Region
alone contains over 9,000 plant species, more than 70% of which are found nowhere else on
earth. The Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier area supports the largest remaining population of
African elephants. Yet the forces pressing against this biodiversity are relentless.
Land-use change, agriculture expansion and the overutilisation of wild species have driven
a measurable decline over time. Scholes and Biggs (2005), cited in Mutanga et al. (2024),
recorded a roughly 16% decline in wild species populations across the region relative to the
pre-colonial baseline. Botswana and Namibia, whose economies depend heavily on wildlife
tourism, have both recorded concerning trends in certain species, including lions and wild
dogs, which are under sustained pressure from human-wildlife conflict at the boundaries of
communal lands.
1.4 Water Scarcity and Deteriorating Water Quality
Southern Africa is naturally an arid and semi-arid region, but climate change is making water
stress considerably worse. South Africa’s National Water Resource Strategy has long acknowl-
edged that the country is water-scarce, yet industrial discharges, acid mine drainage from
old and active mines, and inadequate wastewater treatment have compounded the scarcity
problem with a quality problem.
Cape Town’s "Day Zero" crisis in 2018 was a stark demonstration. The city came within
Page 2 of 12
,UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
weeks of exhausting its urban water reserves, requiring Level 6 water restrictions that limited
households to 50 litres per person per day. The Limpopo and Zambezi river systems, shared
by multiple countries, face growing competition between agricultural, domestic and industrial
users, with no comprehensive binding agreement governing how that competition should be
managed (Mutanga et al., 2024).
Implementation Insight
The Vaal Dam in South Africa, which supplies Gauteng’s 14 million residents, regularly
drops below 50% capacity during dry seasons. Industrial effluent from surrounding
mining operations further threatens the dam’s water quality.
1.5 Land Degradation and Desertification
When soil loses its productive capacity, the consequences reach all the way from the farm
to national food security budgets. In Lesotho, soil erosion has been described as a national
emergency, with some estimates suggesting that the country loses around 40 million tonnes
of topsoil each year (Mutanga et al., 2024). In Botswana and Namibia, the expansion of bush
encroachment, where certain woody species take over grasslands due to changes in grazing
regimes, reduces the carrying capacity of land for cattle and wildlife.
Desertification at the edges of the Kalahari is gradual but consistent. The interplay between
droughts, overgrazing and removal of perennial grasses creates feedback loops that are difficult
to interrupt once established.
1.6 Air Pollution and Poor Urban Air Quality
South Africa ranks among the top twenty carbon dioxide emitters globally, despite represent-
ing a relatively small share of world population (Death, cited in Roodt, 2024:1). South Africa
was placed 116th out of 180 states in the 2022 Environmental Performance Index, a notably
poor ranking for a middle-income country (Roodt, 2024:1). The Highveld, in Mpumalanga and
Gauteng, is one of the most polluted air quality zones on earth, largely because of coal-fired
power stations clustered in that corridor.
The health impacts are significant and fall disproportionately on poor communities. Commu-
nities surrounding Eskom’s Hendrina, Komati and Lethabo power stations experience elevated
rates of respiratory illness, and activists in the area have brought legal challenges against Es-
Page 3 of 12
, UNISA | PUB2606 Environmental Affairs Portfolio
kom using the right to a healthy environment under Section 24 of South Africa’s Constitution.
Quality Assurance
South Africa has consistently failed to meet its own ambient air quality standards for
sulphur dioxide and particulate matter in the Highveld Priority Area. The gap between
regulatory frameworks and actual enforcement is wide and well documented.
1.7 Solid Waste Mismanagement and Plastic Pollution
Rapid urbanisation, combined with underfunded municipal services, has produced a solid
waste crisis across Southern African cities. In Harare, Zimbabwe, formal waste collection ser-
vices cover only a fraction of the city’s population, and open dumping is common in peri-
urban areas. In South Africa, the National Waste Management Strategy of 2020 acknowledged
that the country generates roughly 54 million tonnes of general waste annually, of which only
about 11% is recycled (Roodt, 2024:3).
Plastic pollution is reaching aquatic systems, coastal areas and even marine environments at
the Cape. Studies at South African beaches have confirmed the presence of microplastics in
filter-feeding organisms, indicating that plastic contamination has entered food chains.
1.8 Energy Insecurity and Dependence on Fossil Fuels
South Africa generates roughly 85% of its electricity from coal, making it the continent’s
largest single-point source of carbon emissions. Load-shedding, which refers to the sched-
uled rolling blackouts that South Africans have endured for over a decade, reflects both an
energy capacity problem and a governance failure. The knock-on environmental effects include
increased reliance on diesel generators, more charcoal burning and the deferral of renewable
energy investment.
Zambia and Zimbabwe depend heavily on hydropower, which makes them extremely vulnera-
ble when droughts reduce lake levels. Kariba Dam, shared between the two countries, dropped
to critical levels in 2019, forcing rationing that disrupted industry and households for months.
Key Distinction
South Africa’s energy problem is structural, rooted in coal dependence and State
capture within Eskom. Zambia’s is climatic, driven by drought. Both lead to environ-
Page 4 of 12
