Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
This in turn creates potential problems, such as declines in freshwater
availability; decrease in crop yields; drought and fl ooding; shifts in
optimal areas for forest growth; sea-level rise; and negative effects on
high conservation-value ecosystems and biodiversity (McCray, Hammill,
and Bradley 2007). Impacts in these different areas will be felt again
more acutely by the urban poor, who are directly dependent on ecosys-
tem services for their survival.
Climate Impacts on Health and Humanitarian Emergencies
Climate
change also affects the ability of eThekwini Municipality to protect the
health of vulnerable residents in Durban and, as the IDP states, “to
promote and create a safe, healthy and secure environment” (Ethekwini
Municipality 2008, 46). The IDP underlines key strategic interventions
in this area, including the promotion of the safety, health, and security
of citizens, and the safety of municipal assets. These interventions are
more challenging for the city to realize while navigating climate impacts.
As was highlighted previously, the potential impacts of climate change
in Durban will affect the protection of people, property, and public
health. Greater incidences of extreme weather events could mean more
frequent humanitarian emergencies and increased loss of secure shelters,
assets, and infrastructure. Under these conditions, the poor are the most
vulnerable because they often live in high-risk areas (fl oodplains, unsta-
ble slopes, etc.) and in the weakest housing structures. A coastal city like
Durban is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise and to
the associated loss of and damage to homes and livelihoods along the
extended coastline.
Climate change will also trigger public health impacts, especially in a
city with a high level of HIV/AIDS infection such as Durban. This situ-
ation has resulted in a large number of immunocompromised individuals
who are more susceptible to disease and physical stresses, such as those
experienced during heat waves, fl oods, or severe storms. Adequate pro-
tection from these stressors will depend on access to services such as
sanitation, adequate housing conditions, safe drinking water, and proper
healthcare services—themselves under threat from climate change.
Other groups vulnerable to climate impacts on health include the
elderly, because their fragile health is often accompanied by chronic ill-
nesses that may increase susceptibility to infectious diseases or extreme
environmental conditions (e.g., weather events, smog, and water con-
tamination). Children and young people are also exposed to increased
temperature and smog, water contamination, and infectious diseases,
