In the pursuit of sustainable development, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are
acknowledged globally as a tool designed to assist governing authorities by providing
the information required to make an informed decision regarding development
proposals. South Africa has entrenched this EIA requirement in the presiding
environmental legislation: the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of
1 998).
In the effort to manage the negative impact of development on the rocky ridges of
Johannesburg, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, conservation, Environment and
Land Affairs (GDACEL) has introduced a buffer zone requirement in the procedure of
the EIA. The Red Data Plant Policy for Environmental Impact Evaluations for GDACEL
described a buffer zone as a collar of land that filters out inappropriate influences from
surrounding activities.
As a tool in the EIA, a buffer zone is a worthwhile concept. However, the determination
of the dimension of the buffer zone on rocky ridges, is non-discriminatory between sites,
and thus, presents potential contention between decision-making authorities and
developers. There is a need for further research to establish a scientifically acceptable
method of determining site-specific buffer zones for individual EIA applications.
The key objective of this paper is to suggest the possibility of determining a buffer zone
that accommodates the unique environmental aspects of each site. This is achieved by
determining the distance between the edge of existing developments and the point at which the successional climax community within the adjacent natural vegetation is
established.
Three suitable study sites, consisting of developed residential estates on ridges
adjacent to nature reserves, were identified within the greater Johannesburg metropolis.
The three study sites identified for this assessment include Kloofendal (west), Morning
Hill (east) and Kliprivier (south). Within each study site field surveys were conducted
along transects starting 5m from the development edge and ending 75m within the
nature reserve adjacent to each site. Quantitative (species density) and qualitative
(Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance values) data analysis was employed to describe and
evaluate the identified plant communities.
The data in this study provides clear indication that a 25-35m buffer zone would suffice
for these specific plant communities to maintain a climax successional status if impacted
on by residential development. This paper thus makes a case for permitting the
determining of variable buffers zones, based on a gradient analysis of a plant
community, as a potential panacea to the problem of resistance and reluctance to
accept present standard buffer zones. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/18 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Garratt, Iain Michael Ronald |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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