Development of a social-ecological monitoring framework to improve river health assessment in the Lower Komati River
Date
2021
Authors
Dlamini, Vuyisile Khetsiwe
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Abstract
Research attests that the degradation of rivers by multiple stressors is globally recognised as it impacts their ecological functions and supply of ecosystem services to society. However, most river health studies, emphasize ecological monitoring, with less attention on the social function of rivers and relationships between rivers and communities in their proximity. This is significant because river catchments are considered social-ecological systems and 20th-century policies and definitions of river health put more emphasis on the social and ecological functions of the river. Thus this study sought to investigate how social-ecological dimensions: human and river interactions in the Lower Komati River, can be used to expand on and transform the way river health is understood and monitored by developing an integrated social-ecological framework for monitoring. To come up with the integrated social-ecological framework, qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to explain and determine river health in the Lower Komati River. The quantitative approach was based on ecological assessments using fish and macroinvertebrates as ecological indicators. Fish and macroinvertebrates communities were sampled from six sites, between April 2018 and December 2019, and analyzed using FRAI; SASS and MIRAI respectively to assess river health. Multivariate statistical analysis determined potential drivers of the prevailing families’ composition. The qualitative approach made use of community participatory mapping and key informant interviews to ascertain how river health is socially conceptualised by local communities, analyze relationships between the river and local communities and suggest how they can be used in river health monitoring. Ecological assessments using fish and macroinvertebrate communities showed a decline in the Lower Komati’s river health condition. The ecological categories, based on macroinvertebrates and fish communities, ranged from modified (D) to severely modified (E). The reference site which was historically established, based on its geographical position (most upstream), also showed that it is degraded. This presents a weakness of relying on the geographic position of reference sites to establish indicators and develop indices. In addition, the results show a lack of balance between the use and protection of the river. However, basing river health solely on ecological variables does not fully explain the root causes and social consequences of the lack of balance between use and protection. Thus, social analysis of river health based on use, relationship with the river, human experiences and contextual realities are equally necessary. Social analysis of river health in the Lower Komati river showed that, as a result of use and experience, people have forged relationships with the river leading to place attachment and solastalgia. These concepts point to a connection or relationship between nature and society, to define what matters when identifying and monitoring river health. These two concepts emerged as useful to predict the river’ health by community members who have resided near the river for more than 10 years. The results also showed that changes in the state of the river’s health and the political history of the catchment are interlinked. The waterscape concept drew attention to relations between social power and the rerouting of natural watercourses through constructed taps in the catchment. The research conceptualized that a shift in the way the river is perceived by communities led to a fragmented waterscape and biophysical transformation manifesting as increased solid waste and reduced flow. Therefore, monitoring should go beyond ecological conditions to also consider political and social-ecological relationships that influence the river’s health. The research also recognized that there is constant transmission of knowledge between local communities through social learning. Knowledge transmission pathways were identified as opportunities to share locally congruent river health indicators to consider during monitoring. Based on the ecological and social analysis, the results were interlinked to develop an integrated framework and expand the understanding of river health and improve assessment. Opportunities to interlink social and ecological dynamics in river health were identified in four areas, namely: (i) local communities’ and scientific knowledge, (ii) participants’ historical observation or experience and historical ecological reference data, (iii) communities’ reference site framing and ecological results which show a compromise between naturalness and use, and (iv) threats to the river’s ecological condition, use and social value of the river. Based on these points of convergence, a five-tier integrated river health monitoring framework was developed emphasizing what to monitor, why and where. The framework shows the importance of analyzing governance dynamics, understanding human and river relationships, active participation of stakeholders to develop social-ecological indicators, identification of social-ecological hotspots, and recognizing communities’ local ecological knowledge as important traits for social-ecological river health assessment
Description
A thesis submitted to the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2021