MOST urban places around the world are becoming extremely challenged in terms of space. Their carrying capacities can no longer hold the pressures brought about by the ever growing numbers of people, shrinking and outdated infrastructure, as well as poor service delivery in a fast changing climate. Climate change has also brought with it additional pressures of farming and unplanned expansion due to the influx of people seeking new lives in environments of despair and forced living.
Peter Makwanya
Urban expansion has spread and eaten into the small space of available lands, destroyed wetlands as well as doing so many things at once and on the small spaces have contributed negatively to the effects of global warming that cause climate change. The increasing demands for land to cultivate and attempts to alleviate food shortages has led to the destruction of the few available amenities that the rapid population growth should depend on. This has also led to enormous unlocking of carbon into the atmosphere thereby making global warming highly possible.
Issues that have to do with equipping cultivators with sustainable farming techniques have received little attention in this rapid changing climate. Political interference into the running of towns and cities have also seen the increase in the emergence of unregulated dwellings called squatter camps making service delivery unattainable. It would also be difficult to feed such an influx of people, provide adequate power as well as regulating industrial production in a fast-changing environment. Coming up with standardised building infrastructure is presenting challenges to normal town planning procedures. Unsustainable waste management and disposal techniques will compromise the health of many urban dwellers, thereby making the cities inhabitable.
As the urban populations rapidly expand, so are their food demands. Urban populations around the world are estimated to reach over the 66% mark by the year 2050. The highly concentrated urban farming and building activities would eat into existing wetlands unlocking greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in the process. Wetland farming also destroys the natural ecosystems that contribute to the balance of nature. Because of the consumption pressures, these unsustainable feeding and growing patterns will contribute to the processing of foodstuffs that are associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Urban populations eating habits are punctuated by eating mainly processed foods whose production systems can harm the environment.
Poor urban land policies that are sometimes populist in nature may contribute to significant land grab, haphazard distribution and servicing that will all lead to massive land degradation and landfills which are a hazard to the environment. The waste handling capacities of many cities and towns lack the required expertise and the uncontrolled dumping of garbage and its burning is quite harmful to the surrounding areas.
Climate change has always contributed to serious challenges to urban food production, processing and handling systems. Old and dilapidated building structures that do not meet modern building standards and expectations also contribute to climate change in a number of ways. The continued use of the old type of air-conditioners which produce greenhouse gases that damage the environment should be done away with.
The rapid urban expansion of major towns and cities also eat into arable land and productive farms, thereby making food production difficult. Despite the high concentration of people in urban areas, they may not be climate literate so as to make informed conservation choices. As such appropriate climate change adaptation and mitigation techniques should not be overlooked or taken for granted. Large concentration of urban transport systems that use fossil fuels are a danger to the environment and therefore need to be regulated.
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In this part of the world it is still considered prestigious to drive a car but the major influx of second-hand vehicles in this country accelerate the emission of carbon into the atmosphere. It is difficult to convince some people to cycle to work for the sake of the environment in this part of the world as it is associated with backwardness and poverty.
The placement or citing of the industrial centres may also pose a threat to the environment and infrastructure, where gases, dust, fumes, and chemicals can be released into the atmosphere and rivers. The dumping and disposal of industrial waste and chemicals into the rivers need strong climate action. Some mining activities take place much closer to residential areas, thereby contributing not only noise pollution but also dangerous gases and dusts which can harm the environment as well as the people. Some major mining activities done close to residential areas lack appropriate dust bagging techniques required by the international environmental regulating standards.
Many urban centres in the developing countries still use coal and kerosene for heating and lighting purposes thereby complicating the health of the urban dwellers and the environment in which they live. Urban populations also need climate resilient techniques so that they do not buckle under enormous pressure of unsustainable food production techniques.
Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his own capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected]
