Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
which is to be taken seriously in a city where nearly half the population
is under the age of twenty-fi ve (Corporate Policy Unit, Quality of Life,
n.d.). In sum, the city's fragile residents are already highly vulnerable,
and their vulnerability will increase under climate change conditions.
Ongoing studies analyzing the impacts of the projected climatic
changes in Durban suggest that the associated potential health-related
risks may include heat stress as well as vector- and waterborne diseases
(such as malaria and cholera). For instance, heat stress is exacerbated by
factors of age (people above sixty-fi ve years of age and children under
four years are more susceptible), lower income, informal housing, and
lack of electricity. The most at-risk residents within the city—those who
live in peripheral areas of the city without easy access to public services,
infrastructure, and health centers—will be most signifi cantly affected
by climate change-induced health impacts (Golder Associates 2008).
Similarly, an analysis of the vulnerability of the wards within the munici-
pality to cholera indicates that the poorest and most rural wards are
most at risk to outbreaks because they are often dependent on a non-
piped water supply, nonfl ush toilets, low incomes, informal housing, no
formal refuse system, and education below grade 7 (Golder Associates
2008). On the contrary, well-off residents tend to be more resilient and
have greater access to formal health and service structures.
The distribution, transmission, intensity, and seasonality of malaria
are also affected by environmental factors, most notably temperature,
rainfall, and humidity. Control measures aimed at both the malaria
vector and parasites have eliminated malaria from the city. The mainte-
nance of an effective and sustainable malaria control program is there-
fore critical in a climate-changed future (Golder Associates 2008).
Increasing economic hardship may make it diffi cult for such systems to
sustain themselves, which raises the possibility of malaria reinvading
areas from which it has been previously eradicated. Here again, the poor
and marginalized residents would be most vulnerable should government
institutions be unable to deliver a suitable malaria control service, while
well-off residents would tend to be more resilient and have greater access
to formal health and service structures.
Community Sociospatial Inequities
The IDP emphasizes the importance of protecting local biodiversity,
agricultural crops, and fi sh resources (Plan 1); creating food security
(Plan 4); and promoting and strengthening cultural diversity (Plan 6).
However, as Durban faces climatic changes, impacts at the community
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