Abstract
National development that is anchored on the principles of green economy is that which is driven by ecological economics and resource utilization strategies for sustainable human well-being. Currently, there are global concerted efforts towards adopting and improving green economy to mitigate against global warming resulting from carbon emissions. The adoption of
green economy is imperative in order to respond to the ever increasing environmental degradation caused by carbon emissions from locomotives and industries.
South Africa is one of the major world’s producers of green-house gases from coal processing industries. Mitigation against air and water pollution is crucial for the implementation of green economy. Like in all water stressed countries, South African food industry is very sensitive to water provision, without which farming industry, which primarily rely on irrigation, cannot survive. Water is thus, a very important resource for a green economy. The aim of this project is to assess the capacity and challenges of the local government to adopt green economic practices,
and to propose responsible strategies in this regard.
The project was carried out within the context of the role of local government in the adoption of
green economy strategy. The role of the local government in promoting green economy should be both reactive and proactive. The reactive aspect of the role relates to the activities that have taken place at any point in time and need policy based corrective measures. As far as the proactive strategies are concerned, the local government sector can employ and facilitate the adoption of approaches such as waste beneficiation and renewable energy. The current study assessed the capability of local governments to effectively play the dual roles. Both qualitative and quantitative
approaches were implemented, and both national and regional data were used. Studies showed that many technical staff working in local governments have very little or no knowledge of green economy. It is expected that the findings will guide policy decisions on capacity or skill development priorities of the local government sector.
green economy is imperative in order to respond to the ever increasing environmental degradation caused by carbon emissions from locomotives and industries.
South Africa is one of the major world’s producers of green-house gases from coal processing industries. Mitigation against air and water pollution is crucial for the implementation of green economy. Like in all water stressed countries, South African food industry is very sensitive to water provision, without which farming industry, which primarily rely on irrigation, cannot survive. Water is thus, a very important resource for a green economy. The aim of this project is to assess the capacity and challenges of the local government to adopt green economic practices,
and to propose responsible strategies in this regard.
The project was carried out within the context of the role of local government in the adoption of
green economy strategy. The role of the local government in promoting green economy should be both reactive and proactive. The reactive aspect of the role relates to the activities that have taken place at any point in time and need policy based corrective measures. As far as the proactive strategies are concerned, the local government sector can employ and facilitate the adoption of approaches such as waste beneficiation and renewable energy. The current study assessed the capability of local governments to effectively play the dual roles. Both qualitative and quantitative
approaches were implemented, and both national and regional data were used. Studies showed that many technical staff working in local governments have very little or no knowledge of green economy. It is expected that the findings will guide policy decisions on capacity or skill development priorities of the local government sector.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 121 |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |