Environmental issues surrounding the Soccer World Cup 2010, to be hosted in various cities in South Africa, have been fighting for attention since the announcement of the hosting nation a few years back.
The main concerns have been around the environmental effects of such a large sporting event versus the timely completion of the construction projects and job creation associated with it.
South Africa is not at the global forefront of environmental legislation such as recycling, water conservation, carbon emissions and renewable energy sources. How the country has dealt dealt with the impact of potentially millions of foreign visitors within a very short space of time is rather disappointing.
The City of Cape Town was first to raise its hand in favour of the environmental responsibility issues. The city implemented an official 2010 FIFA World Cup greening programme, named Green Goal 2010, to make the soccer world cup as environmentally responsible as possible. Details about this project on the official City of Cape Town Website. The programme was supposed to draw on Germany’s World Cup experience in 2006 when the organisers reduced the event’s greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency and using renewable energy wherever possible. Other South African host cities also signed a pledge committing them to ensuring a green event along with the 2010 Local Organizing Comittee and Environmental Affairs Ministry.
Unfortunately, all the efforts made to date will still result in an increase of the carbon footprint of the event, compared to the 2006 FIFA World Cup footprint left in Germany. Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica told leading news reporters that "The FIFA 2010 World Cup will have the largest carbon footprint of any major event with a goal to be climate neutral", estimating the carbon footprint of the Soccer World Cup 2010 event at 896,661 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This excludes the additional 1,856,589 tonnes contributed by international travel created by air travel to the long-haul destination. She added that "This footprint is almost 10 times the footprint of the 2006 FIFA World Cup hosted in Germany". A bleak outlook indeed. I wonder how much effort was really put into the development of the programmes, or whether it was just another item on the list to check off as soon as possible in order to favor the powers that be.
Concerns are also raised to how the carbon footprint of the event is going to affect some of our smaller communities that have geared themselves toward providing accommodation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. These beautifull landscapes will surely feel the effect of an additional 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide filtering into the eco-systems at a later stage.
Take for example Southbroom and surrounding areas south of Durban. Southbroom has some five kilometers of beautiful seafront and the town was developed with amazing foresight. All the best in the original landscape was preserved. Larger plots and generous provision for parks and open spaces was all part of the original town planning. This set Southbroom apart from neighbouring towns.
Today, the township's wealth of vegetation is undoubtedly one of its finest assets. And, because strict environmental principals pertaining to all development has been implemented over many years by serving local authorities, Southbroom's unique semi-rural character has been preserved.
The Frederika Nature Reserve encompassing nearly eight hectares of mature, virgin dune forest extending southwards from the 16th green is rated one of the finest examples of dune forest remaining in Natal. Regarded as extremely fragile in terms of the complex eco-system, this is a priceless tract of land.
Southbroom has long been described as the "jewel" of the South Coast. There is indeed something very self-contained about Southbroom. It offers excellent sporting facilities - golf, tennis and bowls. The beaches are perfect for surfing, swimming or walking. It is then no wonder that places such as The Tenth @ Southbroom are providing luxury, serviced accommodation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
It would be a pity if we lose such fragile pieces of our eco-system for the sake of football.
Aartwerk.Net
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