President’s comment

Ecology and infrastructure NEED TO BE IN BALANCE

Within South Africa’s recent flood-ravaged zones, the work of rebuilding has begun. It’s a mammoth task and our thanks go out to all the municipal engineering and allied personnel nationwide who are tirelessly working to restore damaged pipeline, transportation and power distribution networks, alongside other affected infrastructure.

The aftermath of the storms within eThekwini alone has meant that some residents have had to experience weeks without electricity or working water connections. In addition, thousands of displaced persons are currently housed in temporary shelters. The lessons learnt will certainly help to shape future disaster management planning, and flood minimisation.

Man-made disasters

There are some who argue that climate change is a natural occurrence, but the scientific evidence shows conclusively that industrialisation, urbanisation and an ongoing global population explosion have contributed to a significant rise in global warming.

To underscore the point, the UN states, “Three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment have been significantly altered by human actions.”

These and other pressing issues are the motivation behind the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity, held on 22 May 2022, with the theme ‘Building a shared future for all life’. The core message is that there’s an urgent need to restore and protect endangered ecosystems, such as lakes, rivers, forests, agricultural zones, wetlands and catchments. These ecological systems sustain us; their healthy existence is crucial for our future water security and the prevention of soil erosion that contributes towards land degradation.

Pollution

One of the most appalling examples of environmental pollution were the tonnes of river-borne plastic waste that ended up on Durban’s beaches during the April 2022 storms. Plastic and other flotsam also clogged rivers, weirs and stormwater systems, and exacerbated the floods.

This plastic finds its way into our habitats due to illegal dumping and irresponsible littering, compounded by poor waste management within both formal and informal settlements. However, as with every scenario, there’s an upside where waste collection and the recycling of plastic products becomes a job creator, and a catalyst of the circular economy. The latter is a major driver in reversing biodiversity losses and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and we must strive collectively as a society to ensure safe disposal or reuse.

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA

Annual Conference on track

Environmental stewardship and sustainable urban design will be among the key themes at the upcoming 85th IMESA Annual Conference in Gauteng, being held between 2 and 4 November 2022. (For further details on exhibitor, delegate and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.imesa.org.za.)

We’re pleased to confirm that we received 41 abstract submissions in the first round of selecting the final list of confirmed speakers. These abstracts have now been evaluated in terms of criteria that include innovation, thought leadership, business value, interest and conformance to the conference theme, which is ‘Adapting to our Changing World’.

We really appreciate the interest and support from all those who submitted abstracts. Across the board, they reflect the depth, experience and expertise of South Africa’s multidisciplinary infrastructure implementation teams, ranging from engineering, construction and project management, to finance, law and public administration.

Cutting the red tape

Well before the Covid-19 lockdowns, the issues that impeded infrastructure implementation were hot topics of debate at our IMESA conferences. This has become an even more burning issue in 2022 as South Africa attempts to rebound from the Covid-19 socioeconomic impacts, the July 2021 unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and now billions in infrastructure flood damage.

At this year’s conference, there will be a concerted focus on ways to clear the procurement and funding bottlenecks, with the participation of key implementation stakeholders that include National Treasury and the South African Local Government Association.

Immediate and renewed social infrastructure investment within municipalities is essential for South Africa’s economic recovery. It’s also vital for protecting and preserving our ecological infrastructure.