1 THEEWATERSKLOOF GREEN ECONOMY A renewable energy and green business opportunities scoping study [email protected]1 1 Anton Cartwright is an independent economist and a researcher with the African Centre for Cities. Jacqui Boule and Joanna Dibden of Theewaterskloof provided invaluable support to this scoping study and comments on early drafts. Lisa Constable from ERM (Pty) Ltd provided valuable comments on an earlier draft of this strategy.
67
Embed
THEEWATERSKLOOF GREEN ECONOMY - TWK.GOV.ZA · Figure 2a: TWK Gross Value Added (2000-2008) Figure 2b:Sectoral contributions to TWK economy 2008 Economic growth in Theewaterskloof
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
THEEWATERSKLOOF GREEN ECONOMY
A renewable energy and green business opportunities scoping
In the green economy, renewable energy and low carbon technologies substitute fossil
fuels.
A green economy makes better use of resources
The green economy involves more sustainable urban living and low carbon mobility
A green economy grows faster than a brown economy (over time) while maintaining the
value of natural capital.
Behind these statements is the assertion that, “The green economy is not only the best economy
of the future, but the only economy” on the grounds that developing economies no longer have
the option of pursuing the extractive and resource intensive industrial development pathways
used by current-day OECD countries in the 20th Century (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Over the past 30 years growth in global GDP has outpaced population growth and a $ of global GDP has become less material intensive. Resource extraction, however, has grown at a similar pace as global GDP and contributed to growing pollution, environmental degradation and growing resource constraints (UNEP, 2011)
South Africa has picked up on the emerging green economy discourse, most notably in recent
State of the Nation addresses (Presidency, February 2010 & February 2011) and via the newly
formed Ministry of Economic Development.4 For South Africa the green economy offers the
hope of redressing the capital-labour ratios and spatial forms that constrain the prevailing
4 At the opening of the Green Economy Summit in Sandton 2010, Minister Ibrahim Patel said, “Government is
working on a new growth path that seeks to be more labour absorbing, less carbon intensive and that connects the
significant scientific and technological capacities of the society with the challenges of jobs and economic growth,”
5
economy. South Africa certainly has the legislative instruments to participate in such an
economy. Post 1994, South Africa‟s policy makers drew eclectically on international best
practice to craft the National Water Act (NWA) (1998), the National Environmental
Management Act (2008), the White Paper on Energy (1998) and hastily signed United Nation‟s
conventions to fight desertification (UNCCD), biodiversity loss (UNCBD), atmospheric
pollution (Montreal Protocol), wetland destruction (Ramsar Convention) and climate change
(UNFCCC). Implicit in much of this legislation was the understanding that a functional
environment was necessary for economic growth and poverty alleviation and that a reform of
environmental rights was a component of the reform of human and economic rights. Good
policies on their own, however, do not ensure change. At a national level the difficult structural
decisions that would have ensured a departure from the business as usual and particularly the
“mineral-energy complex” (Fine, 1999) have never been confronted in South Africa. Instead of a
green economy, South Africa has pursued a series of projects and programmes with distinct
economic, social and environmental objectives. The result has been a collection of economic
contradictions:
The National Water Act (1998) is internationally acclaimed but is undermined by a series
of perverse incentives for the water misallocation, not the least of which is price
protection for the sugar industry that absorbs disproportionate volumes of water
relative to the income and employment that it creates.
Employment hope is placed in eco-tourism, but pristine habitats are repeatedly
compromised by the extension of mining rights.
The President has proposed strident cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and Cabinet has
approved a “carbon tax”, but State Owned Companies continue to be amongst the most
greenhouse gas intensive in the world and are expanded in the interests of
developmental government.
The natural environment provides valuable services, especially to the most poor, but
many of these services are compromised by the manner in which infrastructure and
houses are built.
A carbon tax has been levied on all new vehicles, but the statutory guidelines on diesel
and petrol quality are outdated and do not permit the type of fuel quality that would
allow fuel-efficient vehicles to be introduced onto South Africa‟s roads.
The “minerals energy complex” that defines so much of South Africa‟s economic
structure, has remained in-tact, in spite of its negative implications for the environment,
employment creation, energy security and economic diversification.
A certain level of contradiction is perhaps inevitable. Resources are limited, the legacy of past
decisions endures, needs are varied and trade-offs are an unavoidable part of development. But
6
the extent of the contradiction in the national economy is testament to the danger of pursuing
projects without principles. In South Africa‟s national discourse the green economy is seen as an
add-on, an annex to the real economy with the potential to create a few additional jobs5 and
revenue streams if it succeeds. In this way the green economy is seen much like Local Economic
Development (LED) as something distinct from the mainstream economy. If the green economy
is to fulfil its potential for job creation, investment attraction and the enhancement of economic
competiveness in Theewaterskloof then the green economy needs to be seen not as a distinct
sector, but as a way of taking economic decisions that acknowledges the principle that all
economic activity is dependent on natural resources, the flow of economic services and
environmental stability.
The green economy theory and principles that inform this scoping of programmes and projects
in Theewaterskoof align closely with UNEP‟s latest position (UNEP, 2011) and are presented in
more detail in Appendix A of this report.
2. THE NATURE OF THE THEEWATERSKLOOF ECONOMY Theewaterskloof is a diverse municipality: humid in the west, arid in the east; accommodating
both intensive-irrigated and extensive-dryland agriculture; it is a centre of excellence for the
country‟s fruit industry and home to a number of leading enterprises while also containing a
growing level of informal business and housing. Urbanisation into rural towns has increased,
but much of the municipality remains rural, agricultural and sparsely populated.
It is ironic for a rural, hinterland municipality such as Theewaterskloof that its sustainability
success is likely to be determined by its towns. The agricultural sector will continue to provide
the mainstay of the Theewaterskloof economy until 2030, but the key changes and arising
challenges will be result of migration to the municipality‟s towns from farms, from Cape
Town‟s peri-urban settlements and from elsewhere in the sub-Continent. The ability to
accommodate and service up to 240,000 people (a more-than-doubling of the 2010 population)
by 2030 in a manner that supports local markets, facilitates the extension of services so as to
improve living standards and does not destroy the environmental resource base that supports
all economic activity in Theewaterskloof, will ultimately determine how sustainable
Theewaterskloof is in 2030. The municipality‟s towns are faced with the challenge of extending
accommodation and services, maintaining existing infrastructure and simultaneously re-
inventing themselves as economic hubs and places to live, rather than agricultural service
depots. 55
South Africa’s governing party believes the green economy can create 300,000 new employment opportunities
by 2020. The green economy in National Government’s analysis is depicted as a sector, and the anticipated
employment creation is greater than any other single sector.
7
Figure 2a: TWK Gross Value Added (2000-2008) Figure 2b:Sectoral contributions to TWK economy 2008
Economic growth in Theewaterskloof has been above the national average over the past decade.
The economy relies heavily on the agricultural sector which, although growing, is unable to
generate sufficient employment to address the unskilled labour surplus. The rate of economic
diversification into construction, agri-processing and manufacturing accelerated between 2000
and 2008, but even if this trend is extrapolated these sectors are unlikely to meet the extent of
the demand for employment, services, housing and infrastructure. What the trends do reveal is
that supplying sufficient water, housing, refuse removal and employment, while still
supporting local markets, will require a structural break from “business as usual” in terms of
service delivery (TWK, 2010). Outlining how to achieve this without destroying the existing
economy or the natural resources that provide the bedrock of the municipality‟s economy is
central to Theewaterskloof‟s 2030 Strategy.
8
Figure 3: Aerial photograph showing most of Theewaterskloof Municipality, the major towns and roads. The water catchment in the west and the drier grainlands of the east.
That the Theewaterskloof economy is undergoing rapid flux is undeniable. The rate of change
requires difficult decisions, especially if it is acknowledged that a simple replication of past
development is neither possible nor capable of delivering on the socio-economic need. The
proposed Caledon Casino and golf estate development, for example, will bring an estimated R6
million worth of rates to the Municipality every year and enhance the purchasing power in the
region, but the associated housing estate and petrol station is in many ways inconsistent with
the notion of densifying and investing in the centre of Theewaterskloof‟s towns so as to create
mixed-use public spaces, while the private sector investment in water infrastructure that forms
part of the development will complicate water governance for the Catchment Management
Agency.
To its great advantage, the municipality is home to a large number of established and
innovative agri-processing businesses and business leaders and is the target location for
aspirant renewable energy and energy technology companies. It is also pioneering a number of
sustainable development initiatives and programmes through the Municipality, the
Development Bank of South Africa, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and local NGOs.
Understanding the operations, needs and strategies of local companies and their people is
essential in understanding and supporting the emergence of a green economy in
Theewaterskloof. Based on interviews conducted as part of this study, Appendix B contains a
description of some of the pioneering and innovative companies and programmes that are
underway or being considered within Theewaterskloof. From Annex B it is clear that:
9
i. The extent of existing capacity (management, innovation and industrial) and activity in
Theewaterskloof is remarkable. This provides the foundation for future green economy
activity and permits a level of ambition that is not justified in many other municipalities.
It is important that the ideas proposed in this study succeed or fail on their intrinsic
merit, and not simply due to poor implementation. In the words of the Municipal
Manager6, “Theewaterskloof seeks to be a reliable guinea-pig”. Certainly
Theewaterskloof has the capacity to pilot programmes and innovations that could find
application elsewhere.
ii. Existing practise in Theewaterskloof contains both good and problematic precedents,
both of which are able to inform future decisions so as to allow for the consistent
management of existing and imminent trade-offs.
iii. There is potential for symbiotic relationships between Theewaterskloof‟s innovators, so
as to enhance the flow of materials, energy and benefits throughout the local economy.
For example (based on Appendix B) WWF‟s existing “water neutral” programme could
include the Palmiet River; combustible solid waste from the Municipality‟s landfills
could be transported to energy co-generators instead of Overstrand; energy intensive
industries could purchase “green” wind energy from the wind farm in wheeling
agreements; the Caledon Casino and large farming enterprises could benefit from the
broad-based BEE participation of the Community Trust; the Elgin Learning Foundation
and the GSDI could partner with Electricall in establishing mini-grids; eco-estates could
procure renewable energy from the proposed “green” business park; local industry
could collaborate to address the common problem of increasingly expensive road
freight; Appletiser and the Melsetter Group could share ideas on re-using “waste”
water; the findings of Colors biochar experiment could be used to benefit the entire
industry; in general there are a multitude of learning opportunities if the
Theewaterskloof innovators were to share ideas in the interests of a local knowledge
economy.
That Theewaterskloof has a number of Municipal, civil society, business leaders and companies
that are already active in their pursuit of the green economy, does not negate the need for
principles and guidelines that reduce uncertainty and manage expectations. Some of the
existing policy uncertainty is a function of national policies and it would be wrong to assume
that a local municipality such as Theewaterskloof could, on its own, create the definitive
enabling environment for a green economy; but it can be expected to play its part. A green
economy strategy, in conjunction with the 2030 Strategy, provides the framework required to
manage social, ecological and economic trade-offs in a consistent manner.
6 Mr Stanley Wallace, addressing the Stellenbosch University Council 31 March 2011.
10
Central to the approach adopted in this document is the understanding that investments in
ecological capital have multiple positive spin-offs for the economy and for people. This notion is
supported by a form of Endogenous Growth Theory (Romer, 1986; Romer and Rivera-Batiz,
1990) in which investments in ecological capital create self-perpetuating spirals of growth
driven by improved human capital, greater resource efficiency and fewer market failures and
associated poverty traps. An Endogenous Growth model involving ecological capital depends
on the effective management (or governance) of the “commons” (the atmosphere, biodiversity,
water resources, soil fertility) so as to prevent productivity collapse and ensure more efficient
and equitable access to resources (Ostrom, 1990 & 1994; Williamson, 2000). Ostrom cautions
against a reliance on global institutions to solve the problem of coordinating and marshalling
work against environmental destruction, and points out that key management decisions should
be made at the local level and based on local conditions. This formed part of an idea that saw
Ostrom win the Nobel Prize for Economics, and one that fits neatly with the idea of a
Theewaterskloof green economy.
Identifying and selecting the type of investment opportunities that will lead to better
governance of the “commons” and support endogenous growth is the focus of this scoping
study. It is useful to assess opportunities within central themes. The ideas discussed below are
presented under the headings (i) carbon, (ii) water, (iii) the built environment and space
economy, (iv) industrialisation and energy security, (v) biodiversity and sustainable agriculture
and (vi) the knowledge economy.
3. THEEWATERSKLOOF GREEN ECONOMY OPTIONS
3.1 CARBON
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Measure Greenhouse gas inventory Identification of key greenhouse gas sources and planned reduction
Tourism Carbon Voluntary off-set market functioning in TWK
TWK tourism reduces its carbon footprint and revenue invested in RE &EE projects
Soil Carbon Soil carbon:nitrogen restored to pre-degradation levels
Less GHG emissions and greater soil fertility and water absorption.
SWH and energy efficient technologies
Installation of SWH on every house in TWK. Energy efficient lighting
Demand side management as the cheapest source of “energy creation”. Carbon liabilities reduced.
11
and insulation as standard in all houses.
Gloally, the burning of fossil fuel currently emits 9 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
(CO2e) greenhouse gas per annum and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have increased from
280ppm in 1850 to 390 ppm. As a result, mean atmospheric temperatures have increased 0.74°C
over the past century and an increase of 2.2°C by the end of this century is now unavoidable
(Parry, 2009)7. The real danger is that the 9 billion tons emitted annually catalyses much greater
emissions as warming climates release greenhouse gases from vaults in the permafrost, tundra
and oceans - a scenario referred to as “run-away climate change”.
Figure 4: Temperature increases by continent. Source IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, 2007.
South Africa‟s is a greenhouse gas intensive economy. Each megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity
produced in South Africa results in just over one ton of CO2 equivalent being released into the
atmosphere, and for every $1,000 of GDP produced in South Africa almost 1.4 tons of CO2
equivalent greenhouse gas is released (Cloete, 2010). Theewaterskloof is no different. Half the
7 Martin Parry heads the IPCC’s Working Group 2 and was addressing a group at SwissRe’s Centre for Global
Dialogue in Switzerland, July 2009.
12
electricity consumed in Theewaterskloof is purchased by the Municipality from Eskom for
forward sales to urban consumers. The balance is purchased by industry and rural consumers
directly from Eskom. In both cases the low grade of coal used as a feedstock, transmission losses
as the electricity is transported from the East Rand to Theewaterskloof and energy intensive
applications and activities in Theewaterskloof combine with land use practices to release an
estimated 877,000 tCO2 in the municipality annually (based on 2010). Unchecked this could
increase three-fold by 2030 as population and the economy grow (TWK, 2010). There is
mounting international pressure, however, to curtail emissions and although South Africa (as
an “Annex 2” developing country signatory to the Kyoto Protocol) does not currently face a
legally binding emissions reduction target, the Presidency has provisionally committed the
country to a 34 per cent reduction in emissions relative to “business as usual” by 2020 and 42
per cent by 2025. Many municipalities and cities, seeking a presence in international markets,
are forging their own climate change mitigation strategies (see Amman, Vancouver, Curitiba,
Cape Town, Durban, New York, London).
Figure 5: Carbon intensity of economies with GDP greater than US$ 200 billion (2008). Source: Cloete (2010)
In late 2010 National Treasury published a discussion paper exploring options for
implementing a carbon tax in South Africa (National Treasury, 2010). The proposed carbon
taxes were approved by Cabinet in December 2010. Treasury considers a carbon tax of R75 per
ton of carbon dioxide (tCO2), increasing to R200/tCO2 over time to be “feasible and
appropriate” to induce behavioural changes and achieve reduction targets. A domestically
raised carbon tax would avoid the alternative of this levy accruing to South Africa‟s export
markets in the form of “border adjustment taxes” levied by countries seeking to manage their
13
own emissions. As a phenomenally carbon intensive economy (see Figure 3), South Africa‟s
commitment to the global need to reduce emissions will have a disproportionately negative
impact on the country‟s economy, relative to many of our competitors. The production and
export of a kilogram of fruit from Theewaterskloof, for example, results in 2.0 kilograms of CO2
being emitted on average.8 A carbon tax of R100 per ton of CO2 would add R 0.20 to the cost of
each kilogram of export fruit. Significantly the same tax levied on Chilean fruit would add only
R0.06 – R0.11 per kilogram of fruit.
A carbon-constrained world will affect the competitiveness of all Theewaterskloof sectors. The
solution lies in better managing the municipality‟s greenhouse gas emissions, and using this
process as a means of introducing a suite of production efficiencies so as to gain an economic
advantage over other South African municipalities and competitor regions outside of South
Africa. The planned installation of utility-scale wind turbines is unlikely to reduce the carbon
intensity of the municipal economy, given that the carbon credits from these projects have
already been sold. There are, however, a number of potential actions listed below that
Theewaterskloof could readily pursue in preparing its economy for carbon constraints.
Measure:
The chief greenhouse gas, CO2, is for the most part, colourless and odourless and
invisible. Yet the Stern Review (2007) estimated that each ton of CO2-equivalent costs
society ZAR 770.9 This is a cost worth managing, but management is only possible if a
clear indication of the volume and source of emissions is available. As a signatory to the
UNFCCC South Africa is required to submit a national greenhouse inventory, but this is
a compliance measure not a management tool and it provides little information at the
local scale. A regularly updated Theewaterskloof greenhouse gas inventory would
enable local awareness and management of emissions. A local inventory, compiled to
international standards, would give Theewaterskloof credibility in its efforts to reduce
its emissions and allow the municipality to promote its carbon management efforts with
credibility on the national and international stage.
Tourism Carbon:
The global carbon market attempts to channel investment in renewable energy and
energy efficiency to regions and technologies with the lowest “marginal abatement cost”
8 Citrus: 1,22 kg CO2e/kg, Topfruit: 1,70 kg CO2e/kg, Stonefruit: 2,58 kg CO2e/kg, Grapes: 2,33 kg CO2e/kg, Easy
Peelers: 1,33 kg CO2e/kg fruit, Oranges: 1,17 kg CO2e/kg
9 TruCost, the UK NGO put the “marginal social damage cost” at US$ 31 per ton.
14
– those which achieve the greatest reduction in emissions for the least money. The
market, which operates through the Clean Development Mechanism and various
voluntary market standards, has become hampered by high transaction costs and an
inability to accommodate small developmental projects, most notably in Africa. It is,
however, possible for regions and sectors within regions to operate their own carbon
markets. A precedent for this has been established by the “Kruger2Canyons Community
Carbon Trading Project” in the South African Lowveld, and a similar programme is
proposed for Theewaterskloof‟s tourism sector.
The Lowveld project operates on a voluntary basis. Tourists are given the option of off-
setting the emissions associated with a typical bednight and during game drives. The
required payment amounts to just under R15 per person per bednight (based on typical
consumption of Eskom energy during a bednight) and the revenue gathered is used to
support local development projects to introduce renewable energy and energy efficient
technologies and forestry and agricultural projects that sequestrate carbon. All
transactions are recorded in a central registry and off-setters are issued which credit
certificates when they check out of their accommodation.
Such a programme would allow Theewaterskloof to market itself as a “low carbon”
tourism destination, but also position it for a time when mandatory restrictions are
required of the municipality or the tourism industry. In addition money would be
generated for use in renewable energy and energy efficient projects. Where effectively
managed, this money can be used to supplement the Municipality‟s indigent energy
budget and create community development projects that tourists themselves may visit.
Soil Carbon:
Theewaterskloof‟s commercially successful agricultural sector has, in conjunction with
the local forestry sector, depleted much of the municipality‟s soil carbon reserves over
many years. Soil carbon represents a sink for atmospheric carbon. When depleted, soil
carbon contributes to global warming – globally roughly 25 per cent of the increase in
atmospheric CO2 since the industrial revolution is the result of land use changes and the
associated depletion of soil carbon (IPCC, 1998). Soil carbon is further important in
controlling the impact of erosion and enhancing water infiltration. We know that in
semi-arid climates, rainfall events exceeding 10 mm tend to result in run-off, some
erosion and soil carbon losses (Boardman et al., 2010). The extent of erosion increases
dramatically as rainfall increases and where soil has been predisposed to erosion by
overgrazing, compaction or organic material depletion.
15
A Theewaterskloof programme that committed farmers to periodically restoring and
maintaining pre-degradation soil carbon:nitrogen ratios would sequestrate greenhouse
gases, improve water infiltration and nutrient cycling and reduce erosion thereby
contributing to a more sustainable agricultural sector. It would also secure considerable
acclaim for the municipal agricultural sector. The Melsetter Group is, in conjunction
with Stellenbosch University, already undertaking such a programme. Soil carbon is
relatively easy to measure and soil carbon levels can be restored through judicious crop
rotation and the addition of either biochar, nitrogen fertilisers, treated municipal sludge
or the ploughing-in of alley crops and weeds. The proposed concept would be similar to
maintaining what the water sector refers to as the “ecological reserve” – a critical
minimum amount of water in each catchment so as to maintain hydrological functions.
A soil carbon reserve would maintain the long term fertility of the region‟s land.
The recording and managing of soil organic carbon within the municipality is
compatible with the ongoing effort to identify the region‟s “terroir” locations for the
production of quality wines (see below) and the compatibility is itself symptomatic of
the type of value-addition that the green economy frequently yields.
In discussion the University of Stellenbosch‟s has committed its Department of Soil
Sciences to conduct an experiment involving the use of biochar, alley cropping and
inorganic nitrogen fertilisers to gauge the relative merits of each approach to improving
soil carbon:nitrogen ratios.
Solar water heaters and energy efficiency technologies:
Solarwater heater (SWH) roll-outs are already a component of the national energy
strategy. The national programme offers (at best) a 90 per cent rebate on the cost of
installation (Worthman, pers comms)10 and the most successful programmes are those
supported by their local municipalities in order to cover the balance of funding and
maintenance. The cost of SWHs is coming down, the quality is improving, the cost of
Eskom electricity is increasing. The trends combine to give a current pay-back on a
solarwater heater installation to private houses of between 2 and 4 years. The payback is
quicker if the Eskom rebate is accessed. A 150 litre SWH heater saves roughly 2 tons of
CO2 per annum per household of four people. Trading this carbon could contribute
roughly R160 per annum per unit to the revenue streams available for installation and
maintenance, provided suitable voluntary carbon market outlets can be secured.
Regardless of carbon revenue, a SWH saves domestic users up to 25 per cent of their
monthly electricity bill.
10
Cedric Worthman is in charge of the low cost solarwater heater roll-out at Eskom
16
The same increasingly favourable cost-benefit trends apply to a suite of demand-side
management technologies such as Low Emission Diode (LED) building and public
lighting, geyser insulation sleeves, ceilings in houses and solar passive design of
buildings. These technologies are set to become a feature of all South African
municipalities regardless of how the national grid sources its energy. Supporting the
establishment of industrial capacity to either manufacture or install these technologies
within Theewaterskloof will ensure Theewaterskloof businesses a stake in a local growth
sector.
The Municipality is not responsible for housing budgets but does have a say in where
and how these projects are developed. By enforcing the use of energy efficient and
renewable energy technologies on houses at both ends of the market, the Municipality
would not only reduce the local greenhouse gas emissions, but support better quality,
more sustainable, residential development. Demand side management technologies do
reduce the amount of money that the Municipality can make by forward selling bulk
electricity from Eskom to private users. This budget short-fall would have to be
managed and should prove negligible relative to the rates and levies secured by the
Municipality once Theewaterskloof is recognised as a prosperous, sustainable and well-
managed municipality.
Crucially, demand side management technologies can be financed by banks or
mezzanine finance instruments, where the savings on Eskom electricity are used to pay-
back the costs incurred in the installation of the technologies. IDC, commercial banks,
UNEP Finance Initiative, DBSA and even some installers such as Teljoy have explored
this model with success.
3.2 WATER
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Water governance CMA functional and NWA rolled out
Water governance is closely linked to returns on water and avoiding crises. The NWA is an acclaimed piece of legislation that requires local implementation.
Water differentiation
Different qualities of water applied for different uses
Not all uses requires the same quality. Differentiating can save money and see better utilisation of resource.
Plug leaks More efficient municipal water use
Existing leaks are extensive and the cost benefit of plugging leaks is favourable.
17
Promote efficient irrigation technology
Less water used for higher yields, less soil erosion. Gap between best and worst irrigation practice narrowed.
Agriculture is the greatest consumer of water. Current wide range in gap between best and worst irrigation practice can be easily closed.
Prevent Municipal and agricultural contamination
Less sewerage and agricultural discharge. Better water quality in natural resources.
Water quality reduces the available resource.
Expand links with WWF‟s Water neutral programme
Rehabilitation of the Palmiet River and investment in hydrological infrastructure
Expanding existing links with WWF‟s water neutral programmes attracts investment, creates employment and rehabilitates existing water resources, freeing up water.
South Africa is a water scarce country.11 Theewaterskloof is fortunate to be part of the Breede
Overberg Catchment, a basin that was reported to have a small water surplus in DWAF‟s
internal strategic perspective study (DWAF, 2000). This surplus is under extreme pressure as
demand in Cape Town and locally grows, and much of Theewaterskloof is socio-economically
constrained by water shortages. The origins and economic implications of this scarcity are not
always understood. South Africa captures 79 per cent of its available water resource in large
dams – the highest proportion of capture in the world (Turton, 2010) – a status that precludes
the construction of new bulk water storage infrastructure. Accordingly, the national policy
focus has shifted to making better use of existing water. Technology has a role to play. Grey
water recycling, more efficient industrial users and agri-processors, the adoption of more water
efficient irrigation technology, residential water storage tanks, judicious use of ground water
reserves and small off-stream farm-dams could contribute to greater economic returns on the
available water resource. But technology on its own will not suffice; globally the efficiency gain
in industrial and agricultural water use between 1990 and 2004 was only 1 per cent per annum
(McKinsey, 2009). The overarching need is for better water governance. Water governance is
complicated in that water is simultaneously a social, economic and environmental asset, but
South Africa‟s National Water Act (1998) and National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS) (2003)
provide a comprehensive framework for managing the country‟s water in the face of competing
development needs.
The legislation acknowledges catchments as the unit of water governance, prohibits any private
water ownership, safeguards an “ecological reserve” for the maintenance of hydrological
systems and provides structured and progressive means of allocating the remaining water in
line with both economic and social interests (DWAF, 2003). Both the Act and NWRS have
received international acclaim, but have also proven extremely difficult to implement against
11
The country receives an average of 470 mm per annum, while the global average is 857mm per annum.
18
the backdrop of vested interests in historical water allocation patterns and an under-capacitated
Department of Water Affairs.
Water governance:
Water catchment boundaries do not align with municipal boundaries, but given that the
bulk of Theewaterskloof falls within the Breede-Overberg Water Management Area and
the Municipality has a vested interest in ensuring good water governance, the influence
of the Municipality on the Catchment Management Agency (CMA) is critical. The
Municipality is represented on the CMA‟s board, and should use this influence to ensure
that national water legislation gains local traction and serves local needs. Crucial in this
regard is the inter-basin transfer of water out of the Breede-Overberg catchment to meet
growing demands in the City of Cape Town - over 37 per cent of the surface water
resource in the Breede Basin in transferred in this way (DWAF, 2009). The CMA is the
key to managing these transfers and in ensuring that Theewaterskloof is suitably
compensated for the constraints that Cape Town‟s expansion is placing on its
sustainability and development.
A robust and proactive CMA would serve Theewaterskloof‟s green economy aspirations
in others ways too. It would, for example, become possible under the NWA to allocate
water that is realised by alien clearing and the introduction of grey-water recycling to
poor female headed households under the Act‟s Compulsory Licensing arrangement or
through General Authorisations. Such allocations would require commercial users
seeking additional water to purchase or rent water from these women, and render the
local water resource an instrument for social inclusion and equity.
Similarly a local application of the NWA would permit the marshalling of water in
support of employment creation or other mandated programmes, as opposed to locking
historical water allocations into the Theewaterskloof economy regardless of their merit.
Water differentiation:
Irrigation and stock-watering does not require residential drinking water quality. South
Africa‟s water is considered a “unitary resource” (NWA, 1998). Water can, however, be
differentiated at the local level in terms of its quality and reliability. Since different users
require different levels of quality and reliability of supply, differentiating at the local
level, can save purification costs, realise new water sources (such as grey water and
industrial effluent) and make more efficient use of existing water.
19
Plug leaks:
The cheapest source of water available to Theewaterskloof‟s expanding towns is, “The
water that is already supplied to [them]” (Turton, 2009). The figures are difficult to
establish but nationally up to 30 per cent of available water is “lost” between reservoir
and tap (IWA, 2008). Not all of this loss is leakage, some of it is due to administrative
and measurement errors, and in many instances managers already lower water pressure
during off-peak periods so as to reduce leakage. However preventing leaks through
pipeline maintenance in bulk and private infrastructure offers potential for significant
gains and is cheaper than constructing new supply side infrastructure. A programme
aimed at plugging leaks can, as with demand side management, generate some of its
own finance as water that is recovered is resold.
Promote efficient irrigation technology:
Agriculture and forestry account for roughly 95 per cent of Theewaterskloof‟s water use
(DWAF, 2009), but the gap between the best available irrigation and stock-watering
technologies and those used by most farmers in Theewaterskloof is wide, and widening
in the absence of technical demonstration days organised by the Department of
Agriculture. Uptake of more efficient irrigation technology represents a relatively easy
water demand management gain. By facilitating show-days in which farmers get to see
and learn about new technologies that are operating in Theewaterskloof, the rate of
technology absorption would be advanced and irrigation efficiency improved. The
Fruitways packshed, for example, makes use of a closed loop water system that saves
water costs and prevents the release of contaminated effluent.
Prevent contamination, especially from municipal systems and agriculture:
Contamination of Theewaterskloof‟s water resources reduces the amount of available
water, increases the cost of using water (see South African Breweries‟ efforts to purify
water from Theewaterskloof Dam in Appendix B), threatens the phytosanitary
compliance of fruit and vegetables produced in the area and causes disease and illness
for people and livestock. Water quality in certain Theewaterskloof rivers is known to be
compromised. Agricultural run-off, packshed and industrial effluent and towns that fail
to maintain patent bulk water and sewerage systems are the chief culprits. Measurement
using the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs‟ “Blue Drop” programme is a
start. Improving the impacts of Theewaterskloof‟s municipal water quality provides a
cost-effective means of reducing the economic burden of scarce water.
20
3.3 BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THE SPACE ECONOMY
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Densification More people living in TWK‟s towns in mixed use buildings
Greater purchasing power in tows, shorter commuting distances, less habitat destruction for residential sprawl
Rural residential clusters
Up-market eco-villages living off-grid and independently of bulk services.
New residential opportunities to create purchasing power. Affluent market for clean technologies supports these sectors.
Sustainable low cost housing
SWHs, ceilings and gutters to be mandatory on low cost housing.
Ease financial and environmental burden on poorest residents by building better houses, saves money in the medium term.
Greening low cost housing
Less money spent on establishing trees and shrubs in low-cost neighbourhoods.
Locals paid if they are able to sustain trees and shrubs provided with public funds.
Green MIG for ecological infrastructure
MIG used to maintain and restore ecological goods and services.
Ecological goods and services provided to all TWK residents, and functionality of services retained.
The spatial the mis-alignment between people and markets – a direct legacy of the apartheid
space economy – continues to provide one of the defining structural constraints on the South
African economy. In Theewaterskloof this manifests as low residential densities in the rural
towns of Grabouw, Villiersdorp and Caledon, people living a long way from their place of work
and spending disproportionate amounts of time and money getting to their place of work, high
transaction costs for producers in getting their goods to markets and a lack of purchasing power
concentrated in the municipality‟s rural towns. Theewaterskloof‟s low urban densities are
linked to weak “agglomeration forces” (World Bank, 2009) and insufficient local market size to
support local businesses and industries or to attract new industries and investment. The result
is that Theewaterskloof‟s towns remain stuck in an “agricultural service-town” mode, and fail
to fulfil their economic and social potential. The same spatial form means that South African
towns are inefficient in their use of energy, materials and land. Public transport, including rail,
bus and taxi services are part of the solution (agglomeration economies only work if people can
access the opportunities), but transport is not within the Municipality‟s powers or remit.12 The
12
Local industries such as SAB, KROMCO and Appletizer in partnership with the municipality might enter into
collaborative partnerships with TRANSNET rail and port facility to ensure greater and easier mobility of their goods
and people, but this is at best a partial solution for the municipality.
21
Municipality can, however, control the built environment. The built environment defines the
relationship between people and the natural environment, and is central to the creation of
sustainable markets, the management of environmental impact and the nature of economic
development.
The apartheid state used spatial planning in towns and cities extremely effectively in the 1960s
to support its socio-economic ideology. The challenge for Theewaterskloof is to use space as
effectively to reverse the apartheid legacy and support a more inclusive socio-economic system.
Densification:
The Municipality controls the allocation of development rights, building designs and
spatial planning and could use this control to influence the nature and density of
residential developments, so as to create a critical purchasing power and financially
sustainable local businesses within Theewaterskloof‟s towns. Certainly, the main roads
and central business districts of towns such as Grabouw, Villersdorp and Caledon offer
considerably more economic, real-estate and social potential than is currently utilised.
Very few people live in the town centres and development is restricted to low-density
ribbon expansion of commercial property along the major roads, and retail at the
respective taxi termini. The flow of traffic and people in these towns is controlled by the
location of petrol stations, a casino (in Caledon) and franchised retail outlets. The towns
cater for “passers through” rather than seeking to attract permanent residents and their
money. They do not have public recreation space and do not have easily recognised
town squares that combine recreation, retail and residential property. The result is that
many people who work in Theewaterskloof live and shop outside of the region, and
businesses in the major towns often struggle to attain critical scale.
A town planning approach that creates residential space in the municipality‟s town
centres in multi-storey mixed purpose buildings is to be piloted in Grabouw by the
Grabouw Sustainable Development Initiative. The potential is to reduce transport costs,
generate a critical mass of local residents for local businesses, reduce the sprawl and
associated habitat destruction of existing residential developments and lower the unit
cost of service delivery.
Rural residential eco-clusters:
Theewaterskloof offers an attractive location for middle and high income households
who either work in Somerset West or Strand or are not required to be in the City of Cape
Town for their work. Such households represent purchasing power and investment
potential, but are restricted by the lack of suitable accommodation in the municipality.
22
They are unlikely to be attracted to the region‟s towns, even if they do embrace denser,
mixed-use property development, and struggle to find land and housing outside of the
towns without purchasing a farm. Whilst some Public Works and State forestry land is
available, the process of alienating this land from State entities for private development
is protracted. Similarly the process of using private agricultural land for residential
development is restricted by the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (70 of 1970) and
its attempts to protect food security. It is proposed that the concept of food security
promoted by the Act has its origins in apartheid-era isolationist thinking, is outdated
and incorrect.13 As one farmer pointed out, he has a 12 hectare piece of land on his farm
that has no agricultural potential, is currently occupied by water thirsty pine trees but
could serve as a home for 6-8 houses with a mountain and dam view, fynbos gardens
and clean technology.
Challenging this Act and its implications represents a long-term process, but the
Municipality has the role of interpretation and application. It is proposed that clustered
developments on pockets of low-potential agricultural land be used for up-market
developments, with the intention of increasing investment and purchasing power in the
municipality. Such eco-clusters would only be possible with strong guidelines from the
Municipality. Necessarily these estates would have to exist without access to the
national electricity grid or the bulk water system, but the technologies to enable this are
available, proven, and falling rapidly in price. A combination of gas, photovoltaic energy
panels, solarwater heaters, rainwater harvesting, grey water systems and composting
toilets, can currently be installed in an upmarket house for a total of R150,000- R250,000
without any noticeable impact on services (Cohen, 2010)14. The type of houses envisaged
should be able to pay this premium.
In addition to enhancing purchasing power and facilitating investment, such
developments would generate ideas, showcase opportunities and attract the type of
industries and skills to the region that would see the formation of businesses that will
prosper when these approaches become the norm.
Sustainable low cost housing:
Making better use of existing commercial and residential property in the rural towns is a
component of the solution to Theewaterskloof‟s housing challenge, but even where this
13
While retaining food and fibre production is an important component of the Theewaterskloof economy, food
security is equally supported by the creation of viable markets and a wide number of options for accessing food.
is successful, the Provincial Government, in partnership with the Theewaterskloof
Municipality, will be required to build new low cost housing. The current approach to
building government housing requires a rethink – especially in rural areas where houses
tend to be poorly constructed from inferior products without consideration of the
natural environment or the socio-economic consequences of the lay-out or location of
these houses. More sustainable low cost housing offers multiple benefits: (i) adding
gutters would facilitate rainwater harvesting and reduce soil erosion and localised
flooding; (ii) solarwater heaters tend to last longer than electric geysers, reduce the
residents energy costs, save green house gas emissions and create a market for the local
industry; (iii) ceilings regulate internal temperature, reduce energy costs and make for a
healthier living environment; (iv) biodigesters collect sewerage from the neighbourhood
and convert this to energy and clean water, saving bulk infrastructure construction,
providing an energy source, saving water purification energy and providing a local
source of irrigation water; (v) magnesium (as opposed to calcium) carbonate cement
products save CO2 emissions in construction; (vi) designing settlements with public
spaces that are observed from the respective houses makes neighbourhoods safer.
Low-cost housing is not the place to experiment with unproven technologies, but many
of the well-proven technologies have the potential to save households money, save the
Municipality money over the long-term and deliver better services. It is incumbent on
the municipality to insist that contractors install these products. The MFMA requirement
to install “lowers cost” options in all instances need not be an impediment if the life-
cycle cost, and external costs are considered (De Visser, 2010).
Greening low cost settlements:
The need for greenery – trees, shrubs and groundcover – is a much cited need in low
cost developments. The reality is that greenery is often used as fodder, fuelwood or
building material and is expensive to irrigate and maintain. A municipal system in
which households are paid if trees that are planted by the Municipality or Province are
kept alive is more likely to succeed. Experience in Durban15 shows that where
incentivised in this way households find a variety of innovative ways to protect and
nurture greenery in their environment and that the approach is both more successful
and less costly than Municipal approaches involving water trucks and periodic
replanting.
15
Durban has run a “Tree-preneur” Programme
24
Green MIG and ecological infrastructure:
The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is the largest conditional grant from National
Treasury to local governments. In 2011/12 Theewaterskloof will receive a R21.5 million
MIG allocation and will spend this on a range of water and sewerage projects. The role
of infrastructure and the services that they deliver are understood to be central to the
functioning of “developmental local government”. The reality is that municipalities are
struggling with the “triple challenge” of building new infrastructure, maintaining
existing infrastructure and using new infrastructure to contribute to poverty eradication
(Brown-Luthango, 2010), and whilst MIG allocation and expenditure has improved
considerably over the past decade, much of the infrastructure delivered has not been
well maintained or provided adequate services. At the same time, the environment, and
the value of services and goods provided by functional environments, has been a key
oversight in the roll-out of MIG (MXA, 2003). In a rural municipality such as
Theewaterskloof, the value of services provided by the environment – pollination, water
purification, provision of food and fibre to wild harvesters, soil nutrient recycling,
carbon sequestration, emotional well-being and tourism support – is probably greater
than the value of services provided by the municipality. Just as municipal service
delivery faces a number of pressures, so too is the value of ecological services under
pressure. Balancing the roll-out of traditional municipal services such infrastructure and
solid waste disposal, with the services provided by the natural environment represents a
key challenge for the green economy.
The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) with support from the South African
National Botanical Institute (SANBI) has made the case for permitting the maintenance
and restoration of “ecological infrastructure” with MIG grants, particularly where this
infrastructure contributes to municipal services and can provide these services more
cheaply than infrastructure projects creating more jobs in the process. It is a compelling
argument, and one in which National Treasury has expressed interest.16 Grabouw
already has a sustainability initiative operating with DBSA and has the institutional
capacity to run a trial project around this “Green MIG”. The soil carbon project
mentioned above, wetland restoration programmes, the tree-preneur programme used
for greening, solid waste recycling programmes, rainwater harvesting, composting
toilets and the clearing of alien vegetation from water catchments are all examples of the
type of activity that might be funded by the Green MIG. Where such a trial was
launched it would further distinguish Theewaterskloof as a place of significance and
innovation in the global green economy.
16
Ian Palmer, Anthony Black and Dave Savage are three Treasury consultants that would be useful in advancing
this idea.
25
3.4 INDUSTRY AND ENERGY SECURITY
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Wind farmers assisted in securing PPA & RODs
Bulk wind energy produced and consumed in TWK
TWK has an excellent wind resource. Localisation of a national industry. TWK gains international profile and benefit5s form a new clean industry. Local businesses have access to clean energy.
Co-generation of energy at industrial plants
Industrial plants using waste to generate electricity and avoid landfill methane
Local manufacturing New labour intensive manufacturing and maintenance of strategic RE and EE technologies
Local markets for technologies supported by local manufacturing and expertise that will be exported when the industry grows.
Green business hub Cluster development of green economy players running business off renewable energy and material recycling. Includes a logistics hub linked to rail service
Critical mass of green economy players developing markets and providing an attractive location for businesses and industries requiring a green profile. Cement or glass depot to reduce road freight, particularly on Sir Lowry‟s Pass.
Differentiate tariffs between peak and non-peak
Cheaper electricity and more efficient use of available electricity, most notably renewable energy
Charging lower prices for off-peak electricity and higher prices for peak electricity is permitted by NERSA and would encourage companies and households to run non-essential items during off-peak, thereby smoothing the demand curve.
Net metering Allow industrial and residential electricity meters to run in two directions
Incentivise local electricity users to install localised energy generating devices so a to reduce their energy consumption
Waste to energy Landfill content used in combustion. “Excess” solid waste transported to cogeneration sites instead of Overstrand landfill. Later landfill methane used as an energy feedstock. Avoid transport of solid waste to Overstrand.
Theewaterskloof has 4 landfill sites all of which pose problems for the Municipality. South Africa‟s waste has a high energy content and burning it in a controlled environment can provide energy and reduce the solid waste burden.
26
The influence of different energy source decisions on development pathways has, in the past,
not been widely acknowledged. Yet energy choices are coming to be viewed as critical,
particularly as the consequences of fossil fuel-intensive industrial pathways become apparent in
the form of macro-economic instability and environmental impacts.
Globally the energy system is in a state of unprecedented flux: as Jeremy Bentham of Shell‟s
Global Business Environment points out, “Everybody knows that the energy system a century
from now will be very different from that of today”. There are three fundamental variables in
the global energy regime: “demand”, “supply” and the “environment” and it is the need to
simultaneously consider challenges to all of these variables that is driving change. Energy
demand in Theewaterskloof is highly correlated with population size and economic growth.
Energy is an essential component of Theewaterskloof‟s development. Theewaterskloof needs
more energy, needs to make better use of its energy and needs to ensure that its choices of
energy do not contribute to climate change and water resource depletion, and ultimately
become unviable. Theewaterskloof currently receives almost all of its electricity from Eskom.
Generation of this electricity relies on coal for 93 per cent of feedstock and incurs between 4 per
cent and 30 per cent transmission losses in being transported from the East Rand to
Theewaterskloof. The Municipality is fortunate to have considerable natural wind and solar
energy resources, and any utilisation of these resources would represent a localisation of the
national energy sector with positive employment and investment implications. A local
renewable energy sector would also allow greater surety of supply, more control over the cost
of energy (the cost of renewable energy is not subject to commodity price fluctuation) and
would avoid some of the adverse climate change and water implications associated with the
burning of fossil fuels, not to mention the safety and health issues associated with the burning
of wood and paraffin.
Bulk energy supply and bilateral agreements:
Environmentally, socially and in terms of balancing supply and demand,
Theewaterskloof needs to seek a new energy regime. Pursuing a local energy industry is
in the interest of the local economy. The supply of renewable energy represents a
strategic opportunity for Theewaterskloof. The municipality has an outstanding wind
resource and has attracted a number of registered Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
hoping to receive the attractive National Energy Regulator stipulated feed-in tariffs.
Power purchase agreements from Eskom‟s Single Buyer Office, represent the missing
key to releasing this investment, and Eskom should be expected to continue their
obfuscation and delay tactics so as to retain monopoly power. The current best case
scenario is that the first round of power purchase agreements will be issued in the third
quarter of 2011 (Jawitz, pers comms).
27
For aspirant energy providers, the choices are limited and they require as much support
from the Municipality as possible. IPPs hope to feature in the Department of Energy‟s
“Integrated Resource Plan” so as to receive power purchase contracts, but many are
simultaneously seeking off-take agreements with large industrial energy consumers.
Local industries such as SAB Maltings and Kromco seeking price stability, energy
security and reduced carbon footprints for market access may enter bilateral agreements
with energy suppliers and either lay their own electricity cables (if the distances are
short) or seek a “wheeling agreement” with the grid. Under wheeling agreements the
grid is effectively leased to relay a quantum of energy from producer to consumer.
Clearly the exact electrons consumed are not the same as those produced, but this
concept has been used by the City of Cape Town, for example, to transfer electricity in
its bilateral agreement with Darling wind farm.
Independent power producers do require an Environmental Impact Assessemnt (EIA) to
qualify for PPAs. By assisting these companies in obtaining a Record of Decision (ROD)
on their proposed developments the municipality can facilitate the emergence of this
sector.
Co-generation:
A number of Theewaterskloof industries have made use of EB Steam‟s favourable
agreement with Eskom to draw down relatively inexpensive on-sight energy. As EB
Steam‟s prices begin to converge on conventional Eskom process and carbon taxes are
levied, industrial users are beginning to look for alternatives. Local cogeneration using
cellulosic biomass is an option explored by Appletiser, SAB Maltings and Melsetter
Group. Co-generation is a feature at many of the country‟s sugar mills. Making this
energy affordable in the absence of a carbon tax is currently difficult, but the technology
is improving rapidly and costs are falling. Crucially it provides industrial users with
stable energy costs and tends to be more labour intensive than the burning of fossil fuels
technologies for which already exist), the Municipality would simultaneously achieve a
number of goals. It would create an attractive location for businesses seeking a
sustainable or low-carbon profile, create a market for local technologies at the location,
establish a collection of like-minded companies that might foster collaboration and
innovation amongst themselves and raise the municipality‟s profile as both a business
location and a pro-active participant in the green economy.
Where a hub included a glass, cement or rail depot, it would permit the use of rail
freight for the transport of these items, and reduce truck traffic on the N2 that currently
runs deliveries to the growing towns of Hermanus, Villiersdorp, Grabouw and Caledon.
Alleviating truck traffic on the Sir Lowry‟s Pass section of the N2 in particular is in the
interests of trick drivers, road engineers and motorcar drivers.
Differential energy pricing:
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) permits local authorities to
charge end-users differential rates for peak and off-peak energy. The intention with such
differentiation is to incentivise households and companies to run non-essential
appliances during off-peak periods and to reduce the extent of peak electricity demand.
Were Theewaterskloof to adopt differential pricing it would pioneer this sensible
approach in South Africa, possibly reduce expenditure on electricity (depending on how
the differential was structured) and reduce the peak that any local Independent Power
Producer would be required to supply.
Two-way metering:
Ideally everyone, from households to industrial plants would be able to purchase
electricity from the grid and supply electricity back into the grid from their photovoltaic
panel, cogeneration plant or micro-wind turbine. Managing such a polycentric supply of
energy requires clear billing and grid stabilisation policies but remains the target to
which every local authority should aspire. In the mean time NERSA has permitted some
industrial plants to run their electricity metres backwards – effectively reducing their
electricity bill when they supply electricity at the same tariff at which they purchase
electricity. The Stellenbosch wine farm, Villiera, has pioneered this approach. Adopting
this approach in Theewaterskloof would represent a first step towards a decentralised
sourcing of energy in the municipality and incentivise investments in localised energy
generation.
30
Solid waste to energy:
Theewaterskloof currently has four landfill sites only two of which are registered.
Farmers have increasingly sorted their waste at source over the past 15 years, and now
drive a regional recycling business. Municipal waste, however, continues to be a
problem. A provincial study suggests that a large portion of the Western Cape‟s solid
waste is combustible – either as compost or to generate heat and energy. Textiles have
the highest energy content (58 MJ/kg) followed by wood (24 MJ/kg) and mixed paper
(16 MJ/kg). In the long-run large solid waste sites in South Africa aim to have facilities
for methane extraction and flaring for energy. In the immediate term Theewaterskloof
could sort the high energy solid waste and use it as a supplementary feedstock in the
cogeneration plants that support local industry, or in combined heat and energy plants
at local hospitals and municipal buildings.
Certainly the current arrangement whereby 450 tons of “excess” solid waste is
transported to Karweiderskraal in Overstrand every month at considerable cost and
energy expenditure, offers scope for improvement. Even if this waste was sorted and
transported to one of the planned local cogeneration sites it would be less costly and
more productive for the Municipality.
3.5 INNOVATIVE FARMING AND BIODIVERSITY
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Disseminate best farming practice
Improved agricultural efficiency
Easy scope for improvement in narrowing the gap between best and worst practice
Generic farming compliance
Collective risk management. Less costly and time-consuming market compliance for farmers
Generic standards for Theewaterskloof farming to be documented and applied and used to
Terroir mapping Less resource intensive agriculture
Better alignment of agriculture with the natural resource and climate base so as to ensure high yields and less chemical and mechanical inputs.
Add local value Agri-processing, increasing local market, reduce transport costs and more direct links between producers and markets
Transport costs represent an increasing component of the agricultural value chain and of input costs.
31
Climate change adaptation
Climate aware farmers with adaptation options
Farmers are already adapting to warmer and more variable climates by a variety of options, knowledge and experience needs to be shared throughout the industry.
Agriculture is at the core of the Theewaterskloof economy and will remain so. The region has a
proud agricultural history having pioneered the first organic export apples, the cut flower
industry, integrated pest management and a generic carbon calculator designed for the region‟s
deciduous fruit growers. The challenge for the Theewaterskloof agricultural sector is to remain
competitive (not a given in the context of global agriculture), comply with growing pressure of
retail outlets to report on and reduce environmental impacts and generate employment. The
institutional and human resource capacities within Theewaterskloof agricultural sector make it
the ideal place to conduct biotechnology and agri-innovation pilots that, if successful, can be
rolled-out elsewhere. Equally the Theewaterskloof agricultural sector should be well-placed to
participate in provincial Department of Agriculture‟s “green farming” competition, with its R1
million first prize.
Agri-processing has become a mantra for the South African agricultural sector. Theewaterskloof
already has a measure of agri-processing and there is talk of further developments including a
cider plant and agri-tours. It can be assumed that these businesses will develop on their own, if
only because increasing transport costs will require producers to add value locally so as to
reduce the unit cost of transport.
Disseminate good practice:
The easiest impact on the municipal agricultural sector involves disseminating existing
good agricultural practice more widely. Since agricultural deregulation in the 1990s the
gap between innovators and technology laggards has grown. There is scope for the
wider uptake of water efficient technologies, integrated pest management techniques,
soil stewardship, stock feed and vaccination innovations and energy management
approaches that are already being applied on the most successful farms in
Theewaterskloof. The uptake of these technologies is an industry issue, but the
Municipality could provide platforms and opportunities for the sharing of information
and particularly exposure to new technologies and practices by poorer, smaller
survivalist farmers.
Colors (Pty) Ltd have, for example, an ongoing experiment in which they are looking at
biochar18 as a means of improving soil quality and sequestrating carbon, together with
Figure 6: Western Cape biomes as delineated from the Western Cape Bioregional Plan (2000) an example of the spatial mapping of natural resources to which terroir mapping could add detail.
Climate change adaptation:
Global mean atmospheric temperatures are 0.74°C warmer than the long-term mean
(IPCC, 2009). Cartwright (2002) showed that in the Western Cape localised micro-
climates result in some areas warming faster and others slower than the global mean,
but that the general loss of chill units already restricts the varieties of apples that can be
grown in Theewaterskloof (Cartwright, 2002). The same temperature trends adversely
affect photosynthesis and respiration rates in the region‟s grain crop. The Deciduous
Fruit Producers Trust has noted the impact of chill unit losses for bi-colour apple
growers in particular, and certain grain producers are busy experimenting with more
resilient varieties.
To ensure the continuation of a vibrant agricultural sector, Theewaterskloof like rural
economies the world over, will have to continue monitoring temperature changes and
assist growers and livestock keepers of the changes and the available adaptation
measures. Fruit growers, for example, have been able to minimise the impact of sunburn
by installing overhead irrigation. Widespread adoption of a range of affordable climate
change adaptation measures will ensure the continuation of Theewaterskloof‟s chief
economic sector.
34
3.6 INNOVATION AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Key programmes and targets
ACTION OUTCOME PROCESS & RATIONALE
Knowledge partners for innovation
Documentation of lessons learnt, introduction of new technologies, cutting edge research conducted, profile as innovative region raised
On-going research is important for solving complex problems and creating capacity.
Research partnerships for sustainability
Investment in sustainability research for TWK
Proximity to Sustainability Institute and orientation of TWK development provides for research collaborations.
Schools programme for action research
Schools conduct sustainability projects.
Awareness raised among learners
Schools link to global Earth Hour
Theewaterskloof schools promote earth hour among their learners and use it as an education opportunity
Earth Hour has become the worlds largest voluntary action campaign. Identifying with it networks children globally and allows them to learn about and understand the issue
Innovation is a prerequisite for survival in the modern global economy. Countries such as South
Korea, that have successfully harnessed innovation, have experienced sustained economic
growth. South Africa‟s Medium Term Strategic Framework states that “Science and
technological innovation and development are important sources of industrial competitiveness
and sustaining growth” (Presidency, 2009), but investment in innovation in South Africa has
not tracked the global change. Energy sector innovation in particular has lagged South Africa‟s
peer countries. South Africa currently spends 0.9 per cent of its GDP on R&D, with an unknown
but very small component of this going to items that could be considered part of the green
economy (CeSTii, 2010). Theewaterskloof cannot rely on the national innovation system if it is
going to realise green economy potential and while the municipal innovation system is
unavoidably nested within national human capital and innovation effort, Theewaterskloof
needs to shape its own innovation trajectory.
Knowledge partners for the innovation economy:
An innovative economy is dependent on long-term investments in education and the
raising of the human capital stock. Theewaterskloof cannot address the education crisis
in isolation, but it can retain and seek to retain and harness the skills it has and that it
35
develops and it can attract outside skills to the region. The municipality already has a
number of innovative companies and innovative individuals that should be encouraged
and enabled to pursue their innovations so as to initiate a process of learning by doing
(see Appendix B).
The pace of technological change and the rate of learning that characterises the green
economy places a premium on knowledge and the ability to generate and use
knowledge. Capturing the knowledge that emerges as Theewaterskloof undertakes the
“learning by doing” that characterises many of the ideas identified in this scoping study,
may be more valuable than the programmes and respective projects. Certainly it will
ensure the type of capacity that can sustain the green economy.
Documenting the process and capturing the knowledge products is typically the role of
“knowledge partners” and as such knowledge partners represent a key in converting the
existing innovations into an innovation economy. Knowledge partners may include
universities, large NGOs (such as WWF, UNEP Project 90*2030 or Sustainable Energy
Africa) or the former technical colleges (Elgin Learning Foundation), or research
programmes. Regardless of their profile they should bring a sustained input of new
ideas to the Theewaterskloof environment and represents the municipality‟s successes,
failures and learning to a peer review audience and to the international community.
There is much to interest potential knowledge partners in Theewaterskloof: the existing
agricultural innovation, the planned renewable energy plants, the challenge of
simultaneously managing ecological and social constraints, Caledon‟s warm springs and
the use of these springs by indigent people prior to the “founding” of the town 300 years
ago, the intricate water governance (and balancing) that takes place within the region,
the sustainable use of the region‟s ground water, a solarwater heater industry incubator,
the relationship between endemic plant species and the growing wine industry, the need
for spatial reform of the local towns, the documenting of energy and material flows
through the municipality with the intention of reducing these, adapting to climate
change in the municipal agricultural sector, the role of medicine and primary health care
in coping with the HIV/TB complex, foetal alcohol syndrome. All of these could (and
many already do) form the basis of internationally relevant research and be used to
attract research funding.
People working on these issues bring their research grants, their need for food and
accommodation and most importantly their knowledge to bear on the local economy.
They simultaneously raise the profile of the region in their publishing of academic
papers, technical reports and conference presentations. Singapore, for example, is
becoming recognised as a global “Hydro Hub” (McKinsey, 2009). Public sector support
36
and mobilization of private sector investments, has contributed to a research base for
environment and water solutions. The intention is to increase the returns to the
country‟s water resource by 300 per cent by 2020 and to generate 11,000 professional and
skilled jobs by 2015. On a lesser scale, but following the same rationale and principles,
municipalities such as Theewaterskloof in South Africa can distinguish themselves
within the country and seek international recognition for their proactive, novel and
successful green economy initiatives.
Establishing long-term relationships with knowledge partners is a prerequisite for
effective participation in the green economy.
Figure 7: A knowledge economy is an essential component of Theewaterskloof’s green economy. Such an economy necessarily involves partnerships with knowledge partners. Theewaterskloof already has relations with Stellenbosch University, the Elgin Training Foundation, the Sustainability Institute the International Biochar Initiative and a range of NGOs. There is much to interest these knowledge partners in Theewaterskloof’s existing and planned activities and longitudinal relationships with these partners can be used to draw key lessons from pilots, introduce new technologies, raise the profile of the region and attract investment. An effective knowledge economy contains both policy and issue engagement, includes research and publications, teaching and capacity building.
Establish a local think tank:
Theewaterskloof is proximally located to Stellenbosch University‟s Sustainability
Institute (which was involved in the National Green Economy Strategy early in 2011)
and the Grabouw Sustainable Development Initiative is already established as one of
five national pilots funded by DBSA.
As its contribution to this partnership, Theewaterskloof would do well to assist in
bringing its own human resources in the green economy together for periodic (say
37
quarterly) gatherings. The municipality is home to a community of academics, existing
and former business leaders, designers, entrepreneurs and innovative business people.
Collectively these people provide the municipality with the capacity to generate new
ideas, screen proposals and shape the trajectory of the municipality‟s green economy.
Facilitating the formation of a “think tank”/ “reference group”/ “action committee”
from amongst the existing population would be to draw on the available skills and
experience for public benefit. The type of people that would attend such a group tend to
be busy. The intention should not be to burden them with additional, open-ended
meetings, but rather to use their experience to develop focus and informed decisions –
the feedback sessions on Theewaterskloof‟s 2030 Strategy show the level of commitment
that is available in Theewaterskloof for focussed, well-managed public meetings.
Schools programme for action research:
An equally important component of Theewaterskloof‟s knowledge economy and its
linkages with the green economy involves schools. A 2030 strategy necessarily needs to
look at the type of people who will be decision-makers in the municipality in twenty
years time – current school children and to communicate key messages in a language
that they will comprehend. Project 90*203020, operates a programme in Western Cape
schools that raises awareness of climate change and challenges schools to reduce their
emissions by 10 per cent per annum while providing them with practical means of doing
this. The programme has had some success in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from
the schools in which it operates, but has been far more successful in creating climate
sensitive learners who feel capable of managing their own emissions.
4. WHAT ROLE FOR THE MUNICIPALITY? The onus is on the Municipality to provide the leadership, resources, planning permissions and
legislation that will enable other players to pursue green initiatives.
It is the intention of this document that the green economy be understood as something that is
unavoidable and affecting and involving everyone. People and companies are already coping
with environmental risk and resource scarcity in Theewaterskloof. The role of the
Theewaterskloof Municipality is to support the process and to shape “how” these solutions
unfold. Uncoordinated responses tend to be more costly and to transfer risk to the environment
or to less vocal or well resourced people that are poorly equipped to cope with this risk.
The green economy involves all sectors, many technologies and an interaction of ideas.
As a central component of its enabling role, the Theewaterskloof Municipality should
use its oversight of the municipal economy to link local businesses that would benefit
from interaction, and to link local business with ideas and businesses outside of the
municipality and country. The goal is collaborative partnerships between business,
communities and government that deliver on the complex and different needs of the
different parties. Where these partnerships involve “unequal” partners – as is often the
case in community-business collaborations – the Municipality has a mediation and
support responsibility. To this ends the Municipality has already established a
“Partnerships Officer” a post that has strategic responsibility to the region‟s green
economy.
Disseminate information, provide clear legislation, draw down subsidies:
As a minimum Theewaterskloof has a responsibility to provide clear information on its
application of national and local legislation and its strategic orientation. As Johan
Rockstrom of the Stockholm Resilience Centre points out, clear guidelines, even where
restrictive, are the key requirements of good business.
The national policy environment on energy prices, the implementation of a carbon tax,
the allocation of REFIT tariffs, the status of the “ecological reserve” contribute to
uncertainty23. Theewaterskloof would do well by seeking clarity on some of these issues
on behalf of its residents and in other instances adopting local legislation that provides
clarity.
A component of this certainty involves assisting local businesses in accessing national
and provincial subsidies for green economy activity. The national industrial strategy, as
it relates to the green economy, is perplexing. Eskom provides rebates for solarwater
heaters, but the level of rebate and the types of systems that qualify, shift and the
mechanisms for accessing the rebate are vague. The REFIT is attractive to investors, but
the process of awarding all important PPAs via the IRP process is opaque. The
Technology Innovation Fund has a large budget, but no guidelines over who or what is
eligible for support. NERSA allows reverse metering but it is not known how this is
activated. Treasury has levied a R0.02 per kWh “carbon levy” on all electricity since July
2009, but it is not known how this considerable fiscal resource is being spent at the local
23
The National Water Act has potentially transformative implications for the local economy, but its interpretation
and the schedule of its role out are unclear.
41
level so as to reduce carbon emissions. Assisting local businesses in accessing fiscal
support measures for their activities in Theewaterskloof will not only stimulate
investment but also boost these businesses.
Finance and investment:
Investment is a necessary component of the structural shift towards a green economy
and the management of existing environmental risks. Some activities and options
immediately save costs (such as behaviour changes that result in less energy
consumption), but others require lumpy up-front investments that then yields a stream
of benefits over their lifetime (such as solarwater heaters or the building of greywater
recycling plants). In the latter category of options, finance is required and the riskiness of
the market sometimes requires public finance to complement private finance – the REFIT
provides a good example. Structuring public finance without creating moral hazard is
always tricky, but the aim should be to overcome market failures, to crowd in private
investment and to generate valuable learning. As the UNEP diagram below illustrates,
the suitable financing instruments typically change over the lifetime of a programme or
a technology.
Figure 8: Typical financing sequence of sustainable energy technologies showing role of public finance
In exchange for fiscal contributions, Theewaterskloof should look to secure the
knowledge that emerges from “learning by doing” for public benefit. The fast moving
and knowledge intensive nature of the green economy will render knowledge more
42
valuable than most capital or projects. Provided the knowledge that emerges from
programmes and projects remains in the public domain, some fiscal subsidisation of
capital can be justified. For example, were the Municipality to subsidise the installation
of SWHs, it would be imperative that this be accompanied by learning with regards to
the best technologies, the best installation techniques and the extent of household energy
and budget savings that these installations permit.
Oversee the Community Trust:
A special finance case involves the Theewaterskloof Community Trust that is being
established by spirant wind farmers looking to demonstrate their commitment to Broad
Based Black Economic Empowerment. The trust represents both risks and opportunities.
The proposed financing structure of the initial wind-farming deal is potentially lucrative
but also places financial risk on the empowerment partners. The wind farming proposal
highlights two important roles the Municipality will be required to play as the trust
develops: (i) Scrutinise the financing agreements so as to secure legitimate benefits for
the trust. (ii) Oversee the effective deployment of trust funds (together with other
trustees).
A good trust deed is necessary but insufficient to ensure that the trust serves its purpose.
The history of trusts as empowerment entities in the agricultural sector illustrates that
they can become management intensive, contested and vehicles of corruption. A
community trust in Theewaterskloof could pioneer a new means of ensuring social
benefits from lucrative corporate activities, but only if it is effectively managed. As a
trustee the Municipality has a role to play in familiarising itself with some of the pitfalls
of past community trusts24 and exercising its trustee responsibilities with diligence.
Negotiate for land and space:
The constraints on available land and resulting space economy have been discussed.
What is less frequently acknowledged is that government – via its various spheres and
agencies – own considerable land in Theewaterskloof and releasing this land for
municipal use and development can be complicated as the Eikenhof Dam development
has illustrated. If the constraints of the Theewaterskloof space economy are to be
addressed, the municipality needs to continue negotiating for the land that is required to
24
The Department of Land Affairs and PLAAS at UWC have conducted research on the impact of Farmworker
Equity Share Schemes that is instructive in this instance.
43
transform Theewaterskloof into a functional and sustainable municipality. The
Constitutional obligations on local governments should form the basis of these
negotiations; they cannot be fulfilled without influence of the municipality‟s space
economy.
Communicate success, generic regional marketing, showcase at COP and Rio+20:
Theewaterskloof‟s 2030 Vision and green economy planning already distinguish it in a
world that is desperate for local-level examples of change and progress. Leveraging this
distinction to gain profile, visitors and investment is possible for Theewaterskloof. The
Brazilian city of Curitiba (population 1.7 million) has become identified internationally
as an example of green economy success on the back of one successful public transport
programme. In 2010 Curitiba received 1,100 South Korean researchers interested in
seeing and learning about the town – a small example of the tourism and research
interest that perceived success generates.
As Theewaterskloof rolls-out its 2030 vision and green economy strategy, the
Municipality should ensure that the region and its pioneers receive their due acclaim. As
a very minimum Theewaterskloof should be looking to secure an exhibition at the
Conference of Parties (COP) 17 in December 2011 in Durban so as to showcase its plans
and private sector partners. In addition Theewaterskloof should be looking to represent
at the Rio+20 (Earth Summit) in 2012 which will be dedicated exclusively to the green
economy.
Locally, Theewaterskloof should be looking to identify itself as a pioneer and national
test-bed for green economy ideas under the provincial Greencape initiative.
Communication, and particularly the communication of success, is the key to these
events and ensuring that local residents participate and take ownership of the green
economy. Table 1 outlines the means by which Theewaterskloof‟s green economy can be
communicated to different stakeholders so as to elicit their support and link them into
global networks. This communication and generic marketing is the role of the
Municipality. Clear and effective communication represents an increasingly specialised
skill with a rapidly growing support industry. The Municipality already has an
interactive web-site (with a blog spot that awaits activation), with concise information
and appealing visuals. The need is for the effective use of various media facilities,
including the internet, to communicate particularly around the success stories.
44
Table 2: Messaging, networks and platforms for communicating the Theewaterskloof green economy to different stakeholders
AUDIENCE KEY MESSAGE NETWORKS & PLATFORMS
Development community
Can accelerate growth, can use local resources, can be low cost, have a right to develop but not to repeat the mistakes of OECD countries.
ICLEI, C40 alliance, UN-Habitat, United Cities and Climate Change (UCLG)
Labour The green economy involves more jobs, new jobs, safer jobs. Green economy is necessary for the industrial policy action plan (IPAP)
Cosatu, ILO, UNEP, Economic Development Department, National Department of Economic Development
Economics community - Provincial government, treasury and LED audience
Green Economy presents a viable growth model. Not the best growth path but the only growth path. More efficient fiscal allocation – Green MIG, eco-efficiency. Not about picking winners but about constant innovation. Green economy is compatible with, and necessary for, the industrial policy action plan (IPAP)
Greencape, National Planning Commission, DBSA, trade forums, UNEP Green Economy, Rio+20.
Media Green Economy is topical and newsworthy. This is not a passing fad. Communication is essential to creating the required network and awareness.
Media industry. New media industry
Industry & business Business as usual does not exist. Green economy is the only viable growth model. Can involve a better business. Key to competitiveness and market access. Can yield efficiency gains. The green economy involves a “relatively surprise” free business model and less liability. Being involved presents the opportunity for policy capture. Getting involved presents the opportunity to build deep cultural and emotional commitments to the firm – doing the “right thing”. The world‟s leading companies are already involved.
Trade shows, Business Chambers, Human Resources training, green branding.
NGOs Green economy is about values, a more honest economics, livelihoods and savings. International donors require local NGOs in this space. Local communities require NGOs for support.
Faith based and NGO network, WWF, UNEP.
Youth Green is the next economy. It ensures a future and allows you to be part of a global network. The green economy is cool and different to the past.
Schools, social networks.
Academia The green economy is innovative and research and knowledge intensive. Green economy requires a community of learning and creates opportunities for applied research partnerships. The green economy accommodates and requires a range of disciplines.
Conferences and research products. COP 17, Rio+20.
45
5. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, AND EMPLOYMENT
POTENTIAL Whilst the Municipality has an oversight and leadership role to play in supporting a green
economy in Theewaterskloof, the success of this economy will depend on the creation of viable,
new business opportunities.
Effective businesses identify and pursue their own opportunities, but the table below highlights
some of the apparent opportunities. Crucially these business opportunities tend to be labour
intensive and generate new employment relative to existing sectors or the absence of these
sectors. In some instances the activity involves localising sectors that currently take place at the
national level, with the associated employment gains for the municipality.
Table 3: Green economy business opportunities and employment potential
SECTOR ACTIVITY EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL RELATIVE TO BUSINESS AS USUAL
Services Green design and bio-mimicry Energy and resource efficient architecture Consulting in renewable energy and demand side management Soil scientists to map terroir and sol carbon Carbon measuring and trading Conservation as a form of “ecological infrastructure”/ green MIG Energy monitoring and conservation Water governance at CMA, town and company level Riparian and river rehabilitation, alien removal Green marketing of companies, programmes and the region
Neutral Neutral High Neutral High Neutral Neutral Neutral High Neutral
Energy Photovoltaic installation and maintenance SWH installation and services Utility scale project renewable energy management Biomass collection for use in cogeneration Net metering Supply renewable energy
High High High High Neutral High
Infrastructure Low cost housing construction for sustainable communities Lay-out of public spaces, squares, pedestrian retail areas. Grey water and water harvesting systems Linking ecological infrastructure with built environment
Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral
Manufacturing SWH and demand side management appliances Photovoltaic panels Biodigesters Water efficient irrigation hardware
High High High
Materials and Carbon neutral brick manufacturing Neutral
46
construction Building ecological infrastructure Low carbon building materials (wood, MgCO3 bricks)
High Neutral
Education and research
Develop school curricula Run school and adult education courses Fieldwork and research Publications and desk-top media
Neutral Neutral High Neutral
Establishing the reasons why companies might participate in the green economy is important. A
range of motives are legitimate and if the Municipality is to support private sector involvement
it needs to support (and manage) the respective strategies of the private sector.
Table 4: Reasons for engaging the green economy (adapted from Harvard Business School)
REASON FOR GREEN ECONOMY ACTIVITY INTERNATIONAL & LOCAL EXAMPLES
Connecting employees with values so as to improve the
human resource
Marks & Spencer, Thandi Wines, SAB Maltings,
Appletiser
Anticipating major risks before competitors, shifting
resources
Swiss Re, Colours, Capespan
Best in class technology, first mover advantage First Solar, Genesys Wind
Leveraging existing assets to enter new markets Siemens, General Electric, IBM, Cisco, SAB
APPENDIX A: PRINCIPLES OF THE GREEN ECONOMY Implicitly, the green economy represents a return to founding economic principles in which
externalities are internalised and prices better reflect what people value. Green economics
represents a departure from the focus on business economics that predominated the late-
Twentieth Century at the expense of classical economic theory, with its welfarist tenets. The
transformative potential of the green economy is based on the following principles:
i. Valuing of the common property resources (air, water, space, soil fertility, biodiversity)
that underpin economic value and make a particular contribution to the social welfare
safety-net, but the degradation of which is often not charged.
ii. Prices reflect value, and social and environmental externalities are not ignored simply
because they are not priced into firm‟s ledgers.
iii. Competitive markets that function in favour of full employment and wage convergence.
iv. The relationship between people and their environment is reconfigured through an
environmentally sensitive built-environment
v. Fiscal resources are allocated to small25, decentralised, knowledge intensive enterprises
that make limited use of finite environmental resources, and which draw efficiently on
renewable resources.
vi. Uncertainty is acknowledged and accounted for. From a management perspective it is
more valuable to “know that you don‟t know than to assume you do know when you
don‟t”. Ensuring that innate uncertainty is accurately imputed into economic analysis is
central to the green economy, which necessarily adopts long-term perspectives and
values precaution when confronted with incomplete information. Uncertainty stems
from a lack of knowledge about the drivers of change today and in the future, the
response of the climate system, social and policy responses to biophysical changes and
the way impacts will manifest themselves at the local scale.
Much of what constitutes the green economy at the national and international level
amounts to ideologies and exhortations, without ever engaging with the reality of economic
machinations. At the local level, the luxury of rhetoric does not exist. Section 5 of this
document focuses on Theewaterskloof Municipality and proposes specific ideas that
25
South Africa currently relies on large companies, many of them State-owned, for much of its economic activity.
Innovation and structural reform of these firms is essential, but in general, large firms tend to be capital intensive
and employ few people relative to the capital (including natural resources) that they require. The employment that
they do create tends to be highly centralised, and dependent on high skill levels. Smaller firms have capital:labour
ratios that are better suited South Africa’s labour surplus, and smaller firms are more capable of supplying
decentralised employment (Rogerson, 1999; Berry et al 2002)
53
collectively would constitute a greener economy in the region and ensure the sustainability
of the municipal economy.
Theewaterskloof requires a green economy to give meaning to the Constitutional obligation on
local governments to “Promote the social and economic well-being of the community” (Section
153) and to “Provide a safe and healthy environment” (Section 152), both of which are
fundamental to the economic growth, resilience and competitiveness of the Theewaterskloof
region. Legislative compliance and economic growth, however, are necessary but insufficient
conditions for Theewaterskloof. A green economy must also realise new growth opportunities
and create employment. It is proposed that a green economy is the only economy that has any
chance of doing this in a world of increasing biophysical constraints, and as Dow and Downing
(2006) point out, the process of developing a green economy could also provide the catalyst to
more socially sustainable communities. For this to be the case stakeholders from a wide variety
of backgrounds and disciplines need to understand why this is the case:
Ensure better socio-economic returns on the natural resources: South Africa, and
Theewaterskloof in particular, has comparative advantage in natural resources. The
municipality has fertile soil, a relative abundance of water, high levels of solar
irradiation, a reliable wind energy resource and attractive and bio-diverse landscapes.
Converting these natural resources into sustained revenue and employment, is a matter
of economic planning. However centralised energy supply, historical water allocations
and an agricultural sector that continues to adjust from statutory single channel
marketing as well as large centralised State Owned Companies wielding either
monopoly or monopsony power over key sectors under the protection of import price
parity legislation, collectively contribute to considerable scope for improvement. A
green economy will introduce more appropriate and more efficient utilisation of the
available natural resources in Theewaterskloof, and in so doing will contribute to
growth and development.
Contribute to poverty alleviation: In many respects South Africans still regard the
environment as a “luxury good” (Martinez-Alier, 1995) to be conserved when, and only
when, other social and economic needs have been met. As a result many of the country‟s
poorest people, who depend on direct water abstraction, wild harvesting of fuel and
food and fodder, subsistence agriculture and soil fertility are trapped in a cycle of
ecological degradation and poverty precipitated by the very development process that
was intended to assist them. A Theewaterskloof development approach that
acknowledges the links between the natural environment and the livelihood options of
the poor, is better placed to deliver sustainable development and much needed against
the backdrop of South Africa‟s stumbling poverty alleviation efforts.
54
Retain and develop competitive advantage: Amidst growing pressure on global and
local natural resources and increasing costs of pollution and environmental disasters,
reducing the material throughput of the Theewaterskloof economy is not only a
prerequisite for survival but central to retaining competitive advantage in the short term
and developing new competitiveness in the medium term. Innovation and a closer
alignment between Theewaterskloof‟s ecological resources and its socio-economic
aspirations is central to the retention of export markets and competitive advantage.
Structural reform for job creation: UNEP claim, “The [economic] benefits of a transition
to a green economy could be particularly significant where existing policy distortions
are large (UNEP 2010). This is particularly relevant for South Africa. Ensuring that South
Africa‟s economic growth is more labour intensive is a necessary component of the
much vaunted “structural reform” of the macro-economy (DEDAT, 2010). Certainly the
country cannot afford the jobless growth, credit driven consumption without growth in
production and growing inequality that characterised the 2005-2007 growth period. In
Theewaterskloof, which has experienced endogenous population growth and rapid in-
migration, the structural need is for a competitive agricultural sector, economic
diversification that targets more labour augmenting activities labour and the localisation
of centralised and capital intensive sectors such as energy generation and transport. Both
the green economy and the decentralisation of large, poorly functioning utilities have
been associated with increased employment prospects (WC DEA, 2007, Patel, 201026). As
the Ren21 Report (2010) observes, “One of the forces propelling renewable energy
development is the potential to create new industries and generate millions of new
jobs.” Globally renewable energy makes up just 4 per cent of the energy mix, but
employs more people than the fossil fuel industry (UNEP, 2009). The growing need for
skilled and unskilled employees in water management, climate change information,
agriculture, insurance, natural resource management and health care, offers
employment opportunities for economies committed to the green economy (Oxfam,
2010).
Cost management: The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) requires
municipalities to be cost-aware. Attention to environmental impact and exposure is one
means of creating this awareness. The need to manage environment impacts forces the
Municipal and companies to look at its processes. Having employees examine the
efficiency of their actions can itself lead to cost savings (Porter & van der Linde, 1995)27.
26
Ebrahim Patel is Minister of Economic Development. At the Green Economy Summit he estimated that South Africa could create 400,000 jobs in the green economy.
27 In the 1995 article, Porter and van der Linde argued that “properly designed environmental standards can trigger
innovation that may partially or more than fully offset the costs of complying with them.” The authors show that
55
The same awareness can bring new insights into the origin and nature of environmental
costs. A portion of the costs incurred by municipalities are “external” to formal markets
– the transacting parties do not pay for the costs. Purchasing a kilowatt hour (kWh) of
electricity from Eskom, for example, requires the consumer to pay between R0.15 and
R1.10 depending on who they are. The process of generating that electricity from coal
imposes “external” costs of a further R0.55 per kWh in the form of acid mine drainage,
biodiversity losses, health impacts and greenhouse gas emissions and R0.93 per kWh if
the true cost of water used in electricity generation is imputed (Edkins et al., 2010).
External costs are real costs. Somebody pays them, and very often it is local authorities,
and their tax payers, who end up footing the bill via their poverty support programmes,
maintenance and operational budgets and conditional grants. Costs conscious
municipalities will find ways to reduce their externality costs. The green economy,
which expressly seeks to internalise and reduce external costs, provides a platform on
which to do this.
Avoiding disasters and poverty traps: Unprecedented floods, droughts, cyclones and
snowstorms around the world have defined the start of 2011. South Africa did not
escape the impact of flooding. While two months don‟t signal a trend, insurance and re-
insurance company payouts do reveal a trend driven by more than rising asset value
and people insured – economic losses from climate related disasters alone increased
from US$ 5 billion in 1970 to US$ 27 billion in 2010 (SwissRe 2011)28. Munich Re‟s 35
year record of extreme weather shows that the number of floods has tripled between
1980 and 2010, and the number of extreme event windstorms has doubled over the same
period (Munich Re, 2010). More intense and frequent weather related disasters are a
feature of a warmer climate and while Theewaterskloof cannot, on its own, control the
origin of warmer climates it does control the local zoning, built environment and land-
use decisions that determine the impact natural disasters.
New growth sectors: The global green economy is valued at US$5 trillion (IPAP2, 2010).
Investment in the green economy grew between 2005 and 2010. In 2009, US$162 billion
was invested globally in renewable energy (SEFI, 2010), and although investment in
renewable energy fell in 2009 relative to 2008 due to the recession, the value of
investments in new renewable energy exceeded investment in fossil fuel energy. In
tougher environmental standards can enhance competitiveness by pushing companies to use resources more productively and encourage managers to recognize environmental improvement as an economic and competitive opportunity, not as an annoying cost or an inevitable threat. 28