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16 October 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Dr Thuli Mphambukeli and Victor Okorie
Water is a fundamental human right, says Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, (left) Senior Lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. On the right is Dr Victor Okorie.
Research shows that “access to water and food remains critical to the survival and stability of any nation”. This is according to a team of academics that has been hard at work exploring ways in which to secure water and food in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS nations).

These scholars from the University of the Free State (UFS) and North-West University recently published a paper titled: Exploring the Political Economy of Water and Food Security Nexus in BRICS. Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, Dr Victor Okorie, and Prof Samuel Amusan are members of the Food Security Research Cluster of the South African BRICS Think Tank that has been fervently tackling the water and food in(security) challenge.

Water as a key to social justice 

The team argues that unequal access and distribution of water has in the past led to violent conflict. The paper cites Qwaqwa as one of the many areas affected by water-service protests in the recent past. “Water and food crises are worsening thanks to the intensification of climate change, rapid urbanisation, nutrition transition and population growth. Solutions to these crises partly lie in cooperation and collaboration among nation states, regional economic commissions, and global power brokers.”

What are some of the local solutions? According to the scholars: “For agronomic and husbandry practices, there is a pressing need for research activities on innovative ways of supplying water to crops and animals such that water loss through evaporation and run-off is significantly reduced. 

“Similarly, research activities on redesigning toilets, especially the urinary section – where more than nine litres of water are used to flush less than one cubic centimetre of urine – are timely in the context of managing the water and food security nexus crises.”

Improving livelihoods

In an effort to achieve food security, BRICS aims to stimulate domestic capacity for production. Food and nutrition security cannot be achieved without water security, and vice versa. 

It is evident that the water and food insecurity issues are complex. However, concerted efforts are being made by various sectors to solve these challenges and improve the livelihoods of urban and rural citizens within BRICS nations.

News Archive

Inaugural lecture: Prof André Pelser
2004-06-04

Tendencies and changes in the South African population structure in future decades.

Within the next five years South Africa will for the first time in the past century enter a period where the death rate will exceed the birth rate, largely due to the impact of HIV / AIDS.

According to sociologist Prof André Pelser, sociologist at the of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Sociology, the death rate exceeding the birthrate is only one of three demographic trends which will fundamentally change South Africa’s population structure in the following decades.

He was speaking at the UFS in Bloemfontein during his inaugural lecture as professor this week.

Prof Pelser said that according to some models the South African population will decrease within the next five decades by between 10 and 26 percent.

A second important trend which will impact on the population structure is the progressive ageing of the population.

He said the group above 65 years is the only age category in the South African population which will witness sharp increases in the next few decades.

In the next 50 years, the group younger than 15 years will reflect a decrease of 39% and those older than 65 years in South Africa will increase by approximately 110% in the next two decades.

“The systematic “greying” of the South African population will create the same economic and welfare issues as those with which governments in some more developed countries are already grappling,” said Prof Pelser.

A third trend affecting the South African population structure is the constant decrease in life expectancy.

Life expectancy at birth for the total population is projected to decrease from approximately 62 years at the beginning of the 1990’s to 43 years in 2015-2020, with sharp differences between the various population groups.

These tendencies and changes to the South African population structure have serious implications, he said.

For example, he said, the reduction in life expectancy could compromise national development objectives.

“It is estimated that more than a quarter of the economically active population will be infected with HIV by 2006,” said Prof Pelser.

The increase in the population, in age category 65, will place a financial burden on government and the economically active sector.

“Especially worrying is the fact that ever-increasing proportions of the state budget will be allocated to health and welfare services and this at the expense of other priorities like education, infrastructure, criminal justice system and trade and industry, to name but a few,” he said

“A comprehensive and integrated strategy is thus vitally important in addressing the overarching issues caused by changes in the population structure,” said Prof Pelser.

 

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