Climate Change Awareness in South Africa

In South Africa, I felt more like a student than a teacher about climate change. There are many articles referring to it in the local papers and magazines. The museums have educational material, as well as literature from the national parks. It is a topic on school curriculums. I haven't noticed the naysayers we hear at home.

For the African continent the most serious effect of rising temperatures has been drought. Water rationing is in effect. ( for example no hosing of the boats in the marina). In some areas the town water supply is shut down for some hours each day. These measures are accompanied by public education messages.

There was an interesting article in the SA National Parks newsletter regarding the effect of rising temperatures on the animals they are trying to protect. Biologists predict losses of birds and other animals from the conservation areas. This happens as species shift their distribution to cooler areas. Temps recorded in the 13 parks in SA over the last 50 years show trends closer to worse-case global-warming predictions. Another article discussed water quality and distribution to prevent the death of animals. Both inside and outside the parks fire is becoming an issue. One group, The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, is responsible for wildfire risk assessments. Other engineering groups are working on efficient ways to keep the farming and wine businesses irrigated.

When we visited Hermanus on the south coast, we enjoyed a few hours sitting by the bay. Our B and B host said that most tourists come to their city to see whales. Even 10 years ago, you could always see some in the bay from the shore. Today, that is not as likely. Even some of the tour boats have trouble finding any. Locals debate whether this is because there are so many more tour boats, or the Chinese whaling industry, or warmer waters.

Many of the educational programs developed are aimed at school age children. The hope is that they will develop good habits and share their knowledge with their communities. The Durban museum's presentation on climate change was impressive. It brought in the behaviours of staff and those visiting the exhibits. In a newspaper in Cape Town, I read about a secondary school forming an environmental club. They are learning about climate change, pollution,recycling, and biodiversity. Part of the educational activities is to disseminate information to their communities. Extra funding is being provided by the National Park system. These are good ideas but probably too isolated.

Thinking back to our visit to Rodrigues, the government there was serious about having legislation to protect their island. No plastic bags are allowed at all. You will receive a fine if using one. People head to the market with their baskets. There are biodegradable ones for meat. Even garbage is not bagged. The school children take the public buses to and from school. On Sundays everything is shut down. There are free classes taught on sustainable fishing and farming methods for those in the traditional jobs. It is one of the rare islands where we saw no one begging, despite being relatively poor. A small island with big ideas.