Examples of Developments and Possible Impacts

This section is intended to provide general guidance on the types of impacts that may be associated with particular types of developments or developments in particular areas. These examples below are representative only, designed to give interested and affected parties assistance in understanding what impacts to look for in particular types of projects. However, these are examples only and a proposed development may have some or all of the impacts described below. Further, this is not an exhaustive list of environmental and social impacts. The impacts of a development will depend upon the size and type of a proposed development and the environment in which it is to be built.

Example 1: A Housing and Golf Estate

Project Description

A development converting agricultural land into a golf estate is proposed. The proposed development will consist of approximately 400 residential units, an18-hole golf course, a driving range, clubhouse, fishing facilities, two new dams, a 20 room lodge and 100 person conference centre, and staff accommodation, maintenance workshop, sewage treatment works, an irrigation reservoir, clean water reservoir, and water purification works. The entire complex will be surrounded by an electric fence. The proposed project will be located in an area that is currently grasslands and agricultural. Several streams run across the property, one of which will be dammed and trout will be introduced into the stream. <

Environmental and Social Impacts

1. Biodiversity

The development is proposed in an area of grasslands and wetlands. The construction of a golf course, homes, (which includes water, electricity and sewage pipes) and roads, will result in a reduction of the local biodiversity (plants and animals) and ecosystem functioning and services (the ability of environment to clean water etc). In addition, gardens that will be planted in the development may contain alien and invasive species that will displace indigenous species. The development could impact on local species by destroying their habitat. Grass- and wetlands are two important habitats for many endangered species. South Africa has had substantial losses of grasslands and wetlands and subsequently for example crane numbers have declined throughout their grassland range. This development will directly take habitat from the cranes as well as many endangered plant and mammal species such as oribi, and will indirectly render a large portion of land unsuitable for these species due to the increase in traffic, activity, noise and general disturbance from people.

The electric fence around the development likely will electrocute species that venture too near to it. Further, the electrical perimeter fence will restrict movement and migration of many mammal, bird and reptile species. Normal fences do not generally limit movements of small mammals and reptiles, thus ensuring a more continuous habitat for them on farmlands. The electric perimeter fence will for all practical purposes isolate the small mammal and reptile populations on the property from surrounding populations. Small, isolated populations have a much higher chance of extinction.

The introduction of a large number of trout into the local streams could potentially destroy the native fish population through replacement, disease and removal of essential prey species on which the indigenous fish feed. This could also result in changes within the ecosystem that could affect other plant and animal species. Trout move with ease up and down rivers, unless there are waterfalls preventing them from doing so. The proposed dam will not prevent trout from moving further downstream. Mitigation measures that will keep trout out of parts of the river will also prevent indigenous fish from migrating up and down the river.

2. Cumulative Impacts

In this particular example, several other developments are planned in the area. Both from an animal and plant habitat and general environmental impact point of view, these developments should not be seen in isolation, but their impact rather considered cumulatively (as required by NEMA). The main impact that all these developments will have on species is a direct loss of habitat. Indirectly developments will result in habitat fragmentation (leaving pieces of natural land too small for species to survive on). This will negatively impact on, especially threatened species, or sensitive species that require large tracts of intact habitat to survive.

3. Impacts on Water

In this example, there are three impacts on the water resources of the area. Firstly, the development poses a threat to the already strained local water supply. Golf courses require a tremendous amount of water and the water demands of the golf course, 400 new homes, and a hotel means that there may not be enough water left for other downstream households and agricultural users in the area.

Secondly, golf courses consume large amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. These substances inevitably leach into the surrounding environment, and can especially impact on water bodies by reducing water quality to a point where the fauna and flora die and it is no longer suitable for consumption. Sewage from the houses also may impact the water quality. While some sewage might be recycled as fertilizer, not all of the sewage from a development this size could be recycled. Coupled with increased storm water run-off from houses, potential leaching of fertilizers, treated sewage and pesticides from the golf course and extraction of large volumes of water, the impacts potentially can be very high and long in duration. The potential of large amounts of sediment finding its way into the watercourses during the construction phase can also not be ruled out.

Thirdly, one must look at water requirements for maintaining ecosystem functioning and how the need for water for the development was calculated. For example, if one assumes that the homes would only be used on the weekend, the estimation would be that much less water will be needed than will actually be used. Constructing a further eight weirs and a large storage dam to support the need for the development will have severe impacts that will be difficult to mitigate. Downstream water users may experience a decrease in water quality and quantity because of this development.

4. Theoretical Benefits

The developer attempts to balance some of the environmental harm caused by the development by stating that the project will have environmental benefits. For example, the developer claims that the turf grass on golf courses produces oxygen, perhaps implying that this housing development will help slow global warming. However, the same can be said for natural grassland on the property, which does so without the need of irrigation, fertilizer or pesticides. The developer also states that the turf grass filters out rainfall contaminants, yet so does natural grasslands. Considering the amounts of contaminants that the turf grass will require to grow, this will far outweigh its filtration role.

5. Other Issues

NEMA states that an environmental assessment practitioner must not have a “financial or other interest in the undertaking of the proposed activity”. In this example, the environmental assessment practitioner was not independent as it also has an agreement to perform the landscaping for the development once it is approved. As a consequence, the environmental reports cannot be used and the developer must hire a new environmental assessment practitioner.

In most projects the developer will state that the development will create a great number of jobs for the local community. However, the reality of these new jobs is often unclear. Make sure that the report explains the existing socio-economics of the area, including employment statistics, skills levels, demographics etc. and clearly states what and how many jobs will be created, the sustainability of the jobs and shows that the local population has the skills to fill the jobs.

The developer also should explain the impacts on existing social services (including medical facilities, schools etc.) as a result of both the influx of workers to the area and the new residents, the potential social effects of migrant labour including: conflict with local residents, sexually transmitted diseases, alcoholism, etc. and the potential increase in HIV/AIDS incidence as a result of migrant labour.

Example 2: Damming of a River

Project Description

A national department proposes to build a 20-story high dam outside a National Park. This dam will stop the flow of the last major undammed tributary of a river, thus devastating the already seriously impaired flow of the river now trickling through the National Park. Once constructed, the dam will flood nearly 2000 hectares of land. The area to be flooded is home to a great number of plant species that are found nowhere else on earth.

The project will also involve construction of 70 km of pipelines and pump stations to carry the water. The dam is being built so that platinum mining can be extended to the area.

Environmental and Social Impacts

1. Biodiversity

The construction of a dam will impact the area’s biodiversity – plants and animals and their habitat – in several ways.

Firstly, the flooding of the land above the dam will have direct negative impact on biodiversity of the immediate area and of areas further downstream. By flooding the land, the dam will destroy at least 20 species of plants that are found nowhere else on earth and reduce the habitat of at least 20 animal species that are already threatened with extinction.

Secondly, the construction of a dam will decrease the amount of water that flows into the National Park. This too will have direct impacts on biodiversity. The National Park is home to an impressive number of species, including 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. Apart from fish, macro-invertebrates (i.e. bugs living in the river bottom), amphibians (e.g. frogs) and other organisms that directly depend on the water resource for habitat, food, reproduction and migration, other life forms also depend on the perennial rivers in different other ways.

The dam also will have secondary or indirect effects. Changing the flow of the water will affect the river’s vegetation and that, in turn, will alter the benthic macro invertebrates (i.e. bugs that live in the river bottom) in the river habitat. While most people don’t see these bugs, they are vital to the functioning of the river. The macro invertebrates that live in the river bed are a major food source for many fish, birds, turtles and frogs and species higher up in the food chain.

The decrease in river flows, made worse in this example by the damming of other rivers in the area and by drought, has caused massive fish kills. Insufficient water means that fish lack oxygen and die. In order to reduce these fish kills, the national park must remove hippos from a number of areas, due to accumulation of organic material in the hippo pools, which in turn causes a reduction of oxygen. The removal of hippos from selected pools to reduce the input of faeces and improve the oxygen situation is an option to safeguard selected organisms, but is by no means a comprehensive and sustainable method to conserve certain parts of the rivers over the long term.

Improper management of water flow from the dam over time could result in further negative impacts on species downstream. For instance, some fish species reproduce in response to environmental cues such as increased water flow which normally occurs on a seasonal basis due to higher rainfall at certain times of the year. If water is released from the dam during a time of year that is abnormal (i.e. during a dry winter season), the increased flow could result in the release of eggs that would not survive the abnormal environmental conditions and this would result in massive die-offs and a complete loss of a generation of the species.

2. Water Quality

The damming of the river will cause serious harm to the water quality. When too much water is taken from a river, the reduced flow in the river systems causes concentration of dissolved substances to such an extent that it becomes unsuitable for some of the sensitive species. Low river flows also worsen other water pollution problems. The sewage flowing into the river and the pollution from agricultural and mining activities contribute to quality problems in the rivers. Agricultural activities (especially irrigation) have contributed to the high nutrient loads in the rivers and subsequent complete eutrophication of the system. The growth of aquatic alien weeds is also encouraged by the increase in nutrient loads. The ability of a river to handle the pollution is greatly reduced when there is less water.

3. Mitigation

In this example, the government agency acknowledges the harmful impacts of the dam but announces that all harmful impacts will be “mitigated.” However, there is no explanation of how these impacts will be mitigated and, as is evident from past experience, in most projects there is little to no oversight by the government authority to ensure that mitigation is effectively implemented. Many projects take this approach – making real environmental problems vanish by merely stating that they will be “mitigated” away. In fact, the environmental consequences are real. If a developer promises mitigation, it is up to the community to ensure that there is a serious commitment to mitigation of harmful effects. Interested and affected parties should challenge this reliance on mitigation as a cure-all.

4. Social Impacts

The influx of people into the area during construction and later for the mining will impact the services in the community. For example, the current health services are insufficient for the existing community and will be seriously stressed by the influx of new workers. The environmental reports in this example do not address how these problems will be handled. Currently there is insufficient water in this area for the existing households. An influx of new people will reduce the amount of available water.

5. Construction related impacts.

The construction activities will result in a range of impacts that are common to most construction sites. Potential impacts include dust and noise, increased traffic, the influx of people, social ills, crime, the development of informal trading areas, unnecessary destruction of valuable flora and pollution of the soil and water resources.

6. Cumulative Impacts

The government asserts that the dam will improve the economic situation of the community in the long run as it will allow platinum mining in the area. As mining has a number of significant and foreseeable social and environmental impacts, the environmental reports should consider the cumulative impacts of the construction of the dam and the resulting mining.