Oral tradition and diverse literary sources in Sesotho indicate that African peoples have for centuries been performing rituals for different purposes at the sacred sites, such as caves within their communities as well as their families. Ritual performance has served the Basotho well as a means of celebrating their religious beliefs and communication with God through ancestors (Machobane and Manyeli, 2001: 4). This study, therefore, takes its cue from this common African ritual tradition and aims to examine different rituals performed at the two sacred sites in the Eastern Free State, namely, Badimong near Rosendal and Motouleng near Clarens. These two caves were selected because of their prominence within the Basotho cultural tradition and history. The study mainly highlights the classification of rituals and the use of local language as a mode of typification of different ritual performances. The Sesotho names given to rituals and their meaning have been communicated in Sesotho and in English. Variations in the structure of rituals have been examined and highlighted including how and where as well as when the given rituals are performed. The significance of each ritual performance is also dealt with in the study. Interpretation of the Sesotho language used in ritual performance is important as interviews were conducted in Sesotho and later translated into English while still serving the purpose of the survey in classifying the major kinds and Sesotho names given to ritual performances at the two sacred sites. In this way, the study retains its aim to categorize and classify types of rituals performed at the two sacred sites specified while examining the role of language in ritual performance together with the structure and significance of rituals. The major research questions were: What is the extent and nature of rituals performed at sacred sites in the Eastern Free State? How can the rituals at the sacred sites be classified so that the local user communityâs conceptualization is fully acknowledged? The major research questions directly relate to a survey and clarification of rituals performed at the sacred sites mentioned. Notion was taken that the classification of rituals cannot be done without an exploration of the different rituals in terms of their space, time, actors, audience, structure and materials. All in all, the research design is basically an explorative survey of rituals performed at the two sacred sites mentioned in the Eastern Free State. This study, therefore, employed a qualitative-explorative approach. An increased popularity of the two caves also provided an ideal opportunity to explore a wide range of rituals within centralized geographical localities. The research findings indicates that ritual activities at the sacred sites need to be taken seriously due to their association with ancestral and religious Basotho beliefs which have been an integral and is still said to be an important part in the cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs of most local user communities of the sacred sites under study. The recommendations made are that more literary sources should be made available in which ritual activities at sacred sites are not merely elaborated upon as superstitious or traditional African dilemma but as healthy, informative, religious and valuable practice that should be acknowledged and contextualized with the respect that it deserves. It is also recommended that the two major sacred sites mentioned should be preserved and maintained as sources of African Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in the Eastern Free State.

None

Not available

The South African National Water Act adopted in 1998, is implemented by means of the National Water Resource Strategy. The NWRS provides the framework for the management of the water resources. Some of the protective measures are designated Resource Directed Measures such as the establishment of the Reserve. The NWA establishes the âReserveâ consisting of an unallocated portion of water that is not subject to competition with other water uses. It refers to both the quality and quantity of water and is made up from two distinct parts, namely the basic human needs reserve and the Ecological Reserve. The Ecological Reserve describes the quantity, quality and flow variability required to protect and maintain the aquatic ecosystems of the water resource on a sustainable basis. All other water demands are controlled by permits and licenses and met only after the Reserve is secured. The Ecological Reserve has to be set for every major river in the country to be able to comply with the NWA. Most of the rivers, except the largest rivers in the semi-arid west of southern Africa, are non-perennial with variable flow regimes, governed by stochastic events, with the highest variability in intermittent and ephemeral rivers. This variability is a key factor in shaping the biotic community structure of ephemeral or non-perennial systems. The hypothesis for the research was that the current, existing water quality methodology for determining the water quality component of the Ecological Reserve, which was developed for perennial rivers, could be used for non-perennial rivers. This hypothesis was addressed in a phased approach. The existing methodologies were identified through a literature review and from the information collected it was decided to use the holistic approach methodologies. The Proposed method described and approved by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry for use on the perennial rivers was applied to the Seekoei River, an example of a typical non-perennial river. The existing methodology could be used as it is for the water quality component of the Reserve determination. However, the fish, invertebrate and riparian vegetation components of the existing methodology had severe limitations and an alternative methodology was proposed. Six limitations were identified from the Seekoei River study for all the components and were the following: the establishment of reference conditions; suitable hydrological modeling; understanding pools and the connectivity between pools; the surface water/groundwater interactions and the extrapolation of data. When comparing the DWA Proposed methodology (Eight step method) applied to the Seekoei River and the Prototype Methodology (Eleven phase method) as applied to the Mokolo River there were several similarities for the water quality input into both methodologies: ï· An understanding of the catchment to be able to identify the water quality constituent that will be important for that specific river is required. ï· Water quality data, both historical and present day data are required â more data are better and improve the confidence in the output. ï· Standard water quality methods could be applied to both methodologies. ï· Both require input into a model where response curves were drawn based on different future catchment development scenarios. The water quality component did not change from the Seekoei River application as the basic steps were the same. The standard methods could be applied to the Mokolo River. The current methodologies were equally usable to determine the water quality component of the Ecological Reserve for non-perennial rivers as the same basic methods were used to determine the water quality component of the Reserve. The limitations identified in the Seekoei River study were also the limiting in the Mokolo River study. The key issue is the hydrological modelling. Without a suitable hydrological model the other the other limitations can also not be addressed. The lack of water quality data remains the single most challenging aspect of determining the water quality status of a river, perennial and non-perennial, especially the lack of historical data. One should be cautious in interpreting once-off sampling data or patchy historical data. The confidence in the data used for the EWA sites were low in many instances as a result of either very little data to no data or patchy historical data. This underlines the importance of systematic monitoring over time, as sampling once is not sufficient to draw credible conclusions. The only way to compensate for a lack of date is to use expert knowledge, local knowledge and catchment information (land use, potential pollution sources, soil types, land cover and geology).

This study was aimed at studying bulkflow parameters in groundwater systems at littoral zone of the Modder River. In this thesis, all the aspects were synthesised and exemplified by incorporating a multidisciplinary perspective to develop a sound conceptual framework of the alluvial stream aquifer system. Hydraulic characterisation of the near aquifer system was achieved by acquiring data from a 6-spot pattern well network from which lithological, aquifer hydrogeology, and groundwater hydrogeochemistry characterisations were comprehensively undertaken. The aquifer overburden was estimated to have the permeability of 2.42m/d when its textural classification was found on average to consist of 22% clay+silt and 77% very fine sand. The geology of the study area is typical of the Karoo geology. This was affirmed by massive mudstone bedrock of the Ecca group underlying the study domain. The unconsolidated sediments of gravel, sand and silt, overlie this Karoo mudstone. Therefore, the aquifer is a three units and unconfined alluvial stream aquifer situated in the alluvial deposits along the course of the Modder River. The main units of the system are the upper unit, middle unit and lower aquitard made up of the overbank-fine sand deposits, gravel and mudstone respectively. Groundwater is a bicarbonate type water and falls along a mixing line from sulfatechloride type water to calcium-magnesium type water. This water was found to be both unpolluted sodium enriched and chloride enriched strongly be attributed to forestation of the site where evapotranspiration rates are widespread. Groundwater plots close and parallel to GMWL indicating that recharge is primarily derived from the direct infiltration of precipitation. The δ18O and δD composition of water from the sampled wells indicates that water from all wells drilled in the Riparian or Bank storage aquifer is isotopically lighter than water from wells located on the Terrestrial aquifer. Tritium ranges are indicative of modern water suggesting that the possible influx source might have been precipitation or precipitation derived water. In other words, the groundwater gets recharged with modern rainfalls and has short circulation time in the ground indicative of short travel time. The plot of pH-Tritium indicates that the majority of the samples fall within the rage 6 to 8.5 attributed to recharges with modern and highly neutralised rainfalls. This also suggests short groundwater circulation time in the ground. The groundwater samples with the lowest nitrate concentration were the ones with the lowest tritium level indicating that, although the groundwater source lies on agricultural land, it has not been contaminated by nitrate fertilizers. Groundwater head differences yield the hydraulic gradients from terrestrial aquifer towards riparian aquifer. On average the hydraulic gradient is 0.0083. Flow direction over the entire study domain generally trend SE, sub-perpendicular to the regional surface water flow direction. The EC-profiles show the gravel unit as a major groundwater conduit as shown by a jump in EC values at this unit and this unit is the same water source for all the wells that intercepted the gravel. The transmissivity of the siteâs aquifer ranges between 0.3m2/d and 164m2/d. Highest transmissivity estimated at a maximum level are observed in wells located in the riparian aquifer. The unconfined aquifer specific yield is in the order of 0.005- 0.023. Darcy velocity was estimated at 4.16m/d for CYS1BH4 and natural flow velocity for this well was ultimately estimated at 1.81 m/d. On the other hand, Darcy velocity for CYS1BH3 was estimated at 9.01 m/d with natural flow velocity ultimately estimated at 3.92 m/d. Last in the list is CYS1BH5 whose Darcy velocity was estimated at 11.24 m/d and natural flow velocity ultimately estimated at 22.4 m/d. The estimated velocities are relatively high and this observation holds true for transmissivities so high. Baseflow calculations gave a negative value signifying no base flow contribution of groundwater in to the river. This suggests that most groundwater is used up by the riparian vegetation.

Although the countryâs legislation emphasizes the importance of waste prevention, recovery and re-use, waste disposal currently forms the basis of waste management within South Africa. Due to the lack of facilities as well as the high cost of waste disposal by incineration, the most common form of organic and inorganic waste disposal in South Africa is by landfill. Waste disposal by landfill may be cost effective and is environmentally acceptable if carried out correctly and appropriately. The prime environmental media that are affected by waste disposal by landfill are typically water and air, of which ground water forms one of the major migration pathways for contaminants. Ground water is one of South Africaâs major water resources and it is thus of utmost importance that the countries ground water resource be protected. The greatest threat posed by modern landfills to the ground water environment is the leachate that is generated at the base of the landfill disposal facility. This leachate consists essentially of water-soluble compounds that accumulate in association with infiltrating water as it percolates through the waste. The quality of this leachate is variable and due to the processes by which certain wastes are generated, may contain elements that could potentially have an adverse impact on the environment if the waste is not disposed of correctly. All waste is required to be assessed and appropriately disposed of, as currently formalized in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestryâs, Waste Management Series, Second Edition 1998 - Minimum Requirement Documents. These documents classify waste into two classes, namely general waste and hazardous waste, according to the toxological risk that the waste poses on contaminating the environment. The Minimum Requirement Documents have proposed 10 different landfill liner designs which are required to be installed at landfill disposal facilities according to the classification of the waste. The two landfill liner designs that are suitable for hazardous waste disposal are required to entail significant leachate interception and removal systems, irrespective of the site water balance or site specific conditions and are thus often unrepresentative for the specific disposal facility. Use was made of site specific parameters, such as the required site water balance, geochemical composition and analyses of the slag, physical properties of the slag material as well as the efficiency of the layers within the liner design, to determine the most optimal liner design for the slag disposal facility investigated. Slag in an inorganic metallurgical waste that is generically produced at ferrochrome producing plants in South Africa. Slag is disposed of by means of landfill as a dry aggregate material with an average grain size of 20 mm. The risk that the slag disposal facility posed on contaminating the environment was assessed in accordance with the current environmental legislation and the optimized liner design was determined. The optimized liner design for the 50 ha slag disposal facility investigated consists of 4 layers and is capable of capturing the required volume of leachate in order to optimally protect the environment from any adverse effects caused by the leachate. The liner has thus been designed according to the Best Practicable Environmental Option norm and at the most optimal cost.

Acid mine drainage is by far the most significant long term groundwater quality impact associated with both opencast and underground coal mining, in both a local and international context. The modern day geohydrologist has access to numerous tools, which can be used to determine important decant issues â issues ranging from when decanting will begin to occur, and the volumes of water that are expected to decant. The continuous development and improvement of numerical groundwater flow models is steadily leading to an increasing dependence on them. The main aim of the thesis was to determine whether there exists any correlation between modern day numerical groundwater flow models and analytical calculations, and the presentation of a toolbox of tools that may be used for decant related issues. The following conclusions were drawn after numerous numerical and analytical scenarios and statistical correlations were performed: ⢠Given the amount of uncertainty regarding aquifer heterogeneity, there do exist a good correlation between the numerical and analytical groundwater decant volume estimations, ⢠An increase in the effective porosity of the backfilled opencast pits cause an increase in the time-to-decant, as more water is required to fill the pits to their decant elevations, ⢠An increase in the effective aquifer recharge cause an increase in the decant volumes and a decrease in the time-to-decant, because more water is available to fill the pits to their decant elevations, ⢠The effective aquifer recharge is a very sensitive parameter (more so than specific yield, storage coefficient, and transmissivity), as significant decreases in the time-to-decant were simulated with an increase in the aquifer recharge, as were significant increases in decant volumes simulated with an increase in recharge, ⢠The volumes of groundwater decant are more sensitive to variations in the transmissivity of the surrounding aquifer/s compared to the transmissivity of the backfilled opencast pits, ⢠During the numerous flow model scenarios it was found that the groundwater contribution to pit water is far less compared to the recharge component. The above conclusions prove that there are still applications for analytical calculations in modern day geohydrology, despite the continuous development of numerical groundwater flow models. Based on experience in similar coal mining operations within the Mpumalanga coal fields, the results of both the analytical decant volume and time-to-decant estimations correspond well with actual figures. One must however understand and master the various equations and keep in mind that an aquifer is a highly heterogeneous system. The results of both numerical groundwater flow model simulations and analytical calculations are only as good as the understanding of the geohydrological environment and the data they are based on.

Not available

Groundwater contamination as a result of Light Non Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) releases into the subsurface is a widespread occurrence across South Africa which threatens current and future water resources within the country. Groundwater contaminant fate and transport modelling are common elements of hydrogeological investigations and remedial design methodologies in many developed countries where the models are used as management and decision making tools. In South Africa this is not the case, with contaminant flow and transport modelling rarely being employed as part of LNAPL contamination investigations. Over the last three years, the Beaufort West study area has had extensive investigative work carried out with regards to the determination and delineation of LNAPL related groundwater contaminant plumes which are present underneath a significant portion of the town. As a result, an extensive data set has been generated with regards to aquifer geometry, fracture network distribution, aquifer parameters and contaminant plume concentrations and extent. The dataset should in theory provide an opportunity to construct a groundwater contaminant fate and transport model for the area as a remedial management tool. By means of collating previously existing data through a comprehensive desktop study, and supplementing this data with a toolkit of field investigation techniques such as diamond barrel core drilling, percussion drilling, electrical conductivity profiling, fluid electrical conductivity profiling, aquifer pump testing, and low flow inorganic and organic groundwater sampling, the conceptual model of the study area was updated and refined to a point where the feasibility of constructing a groundwater contaminant fate and transport model could be assessed. Based upon the conceptual understanding of the study area as defined in the conceptual model developed in the study, a groundwater contaminant fate and transport model is not considered feasible for the study area with body of data currently available. This is attributed mainly to the high level of complexity of the observed natural environment and the challenges in acquiring acceptable quality field data such as aquifer parameters given the uncontrolled pumping environment which is present due to the high number of private groundwater users. Potentially an even greater detractor to the construction of a model is that considering the conceptual understanding of the study area, there are very few questions of significance whose answers could be provided by a model, and this would indicate that a model would not be an effective remedial management or decision making tool in the current scenario

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse the livelihood strategies of AmaZizi, and to identify the constraints preventing the initiatives of the people of AmaZizi --- which is adjacent to the Royal Natal National Park (RNNP) in the northern Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa --- from taking an active part as entrepreneurs in the local tourism economy and derive socioeconomic benefits from such participation. Using the sustainable livelihoods approach, this investigation was done by examining the capital assets people possessed that could help them become active participants as entrepreneurs in the local tourism economy instead of being limited to wage employment. In order to answer the research question, the following objectives were posited: o To analyse the livelihood strategies of AmaZizi o To contribute to the understanding of the sustainable livelihoods approach o To determine the extent to which AmaZizi participated in the local economy o To identify the constraints/barriers acting against local initiatives among the people of AmaZizi o To determine opportunities for integrating local communities into the first economy o To provide key information about the availability of resources which could be of benefit to in the area The sustainable livelihoods framework provided a tool to determine sustainability, not only of lives, but also of the production process in the study area. This framework enabled the research to be people-centered in that it enquired into the capital assets that could be used to escape poverty and unemployment. The framework proved a critical tool, because it queried the assets people possessed and the way in which they could use these assets to better themselves. Pro-poor tourism was considered, as the local people in the study area should have been able to benefit greatly from local tourism. This proved to be an elusive point, however, as many people depended on state social grants and remittances. Although handicrafts had served as a safety net,this had not really alleviated poverty. Wage employment could be obtained from time to time, but it was not sufficient; moreover, it was unsustainable as it had no long term benefits. Consequently, the poor became even more vulnerable in the long run, as the temporary jobs carried no pension benefits, for example. The research argues that pro-poor tourism as a strategy against poverty is unlikely to be of any consequence if not supported by relevant pro-poor policies. Without policies, pro-poor tourism will merely remain a poverty alleviation strategy; a mechanism to provide a safety net against poverty.