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Optimising heavy cargo traffic management: enhancing decision-making through effective data management at the Port of Richards Bay.
(2025) Nxele, Lindumusa Justice.; Maharaj, Manoj Sewak.
This study's primary objective was to explore the utilisation of a data management system to optimise and reduce heavy cargo traffic at the Port of Richards Bay. The study was based on the following objectives: first, to analyse current traffic data to understand patterns, congestion points and high impact points, particularly on the N2 and the John Ross Highway, which leads to the Port of Richards Bay; secondly, to explore the feasibility of the use of a designed data management system to optimise heavy cargo traffic flow and alleviate the strain on local infrastructure and services; thirdly, to recommend a system to integrate real-time data collection, visualisation, and communication tools for stakeholders, including the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), Transnet, and the City of uMhlathuze traffic authorities. The study employed a qualitative, desktop-based research methodology using secondary data and a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) (Haddaway, Page, Pritchard, & McGuinness, 2022) systematic literature review to analyse existing studies on traffic management systems and their effectiveness. The PRISMA framework was chosen to ensure a comprehensive and structured review of the data sources. The research questions guiding this study sought to answer the research objectives. Employing these data analysis methods corresponded with the PRISMA framework The findings of the study reveal current traffic congestion trends pose a constant challenge with negative effects, especially on infrastructure, environment and the overall functioning of the city of uMhlathuze, specifically from the N2 and John Ross Highway, leading to the port. The study points to the possible successful implementation of a developed data management system which will result in Richards Bay’s truck congestion significantly reduced, freeing up traffic law enforcement services for other critical tasks while addressing environmental and infrastructural concerns. This study serves not only as a scholarly contribution but also as a practical solution to a pressing issue which has effects on the daily lives the Richards Bay residents. The study recommended the development of a system to address traffic delays, reduce emissions from idling trucks, and optimise road use to prevent further damage to local infrastructure. In the application, the system tracks heavy trucks using sensors, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, and an app that allows truck drivers to check in and monitor their queue positions. By providing real-time updates on truck movements and daily handling capacity, the system aims to reduce traffic congestion, improve decision-making for traffic authorities, and ease the burden on local traffic law enforcement officials, who are often preoccupied with managing this truck traffic rather than strengthening law enforcement. This study also provides recommendations to address other broader logistics challenges.
Evaluating the potential of woody and nonwoody invasive alien plant species for bio-oil and biogas production.
(2025) Mtshali, Bongiwe Samkelisiwe.; Kassim, Alaika.; Workneh, Tilahun Seyoum.; Sibanda, Sipho.
Biomass energy, converted into biofuels such as biogas, bio-oil, and biochar, offers clean alternatives for energy and transport. However, in South Africa, securing sustainable feedstock without impacting food security, water, and land remains a challenge. This study seeks to bridge this gap by assessing the potential of woody invasive alien plant species (IAPs) (Lantana Camara, Chromoleana Odorata, Solanum Mauritianum) and nonwoody IAPs (Acacia Mearnsii, Eucalyptus Grandis, Pinus Patula). The study comprised four experiments, beginning with the analysis of physical and chemical characteristics of IAPs, including proximate, structural composition, and higher heating value (HHV), to assess the suitability of IAPs for bio-oil and biogas production. The results revealed that woody invasive species had significantly higher levels of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, measured at 47.5%, 22.6%, and 25.5%, respectively, compared to nonwoody IAPs, which exhibited lower concentrations of 23.6%, 15.9%, and 9.8% (p < 0.005). This section contributes towards the strategic selection of high-performing substrates, making bio-oil and biogas production cost-effective. Experiment two applied multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods to determine the most suitable IAPs for bio-oil and biogas production based on physical and chemical properties. Results showed that woody IAPs, particularly E. grandis, ranked highest for bio-oil with a relative closeness of 0.774, whereas nonwoody IAPs, particularly L. camara ranked highest for biogas with a relative closeness of 0.874. These results offer practical guidance for selecting effective feedstocks in renewable energy applications. Experiment three confirmed the MCDM results, showing that woody IAPs produced higher bio-oil yields (22.93 to 27.55%) than nonwoody IAPs (18.77 to 20.45%). However, the high content of oxygenated compounds in bio-oil reduced fuel quality, indicating the need for upgrading methods such as hydrodeoxygenation to enhance combustion efficiency. Experiment 4, which focused on biogas production using biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests, revealed that nonwoody IAPs produced significantly higher average methane yields (p < 0.005) at 162.62 Nml/g VS compared to woody species (117.69 Nml/g VS). This confirmed the suitability of nonwoody IAPs for biogas production as indicated by MCDM findings. This study supports energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in South Africa by repurposing IAPs as biofuel sources. However, the need for high capital investment underscores the importance of further research into the economic viability of large-scale production.
The tsunami of plastic: the adequacy of South Africa law to address the marine plastic crisis with the intervention of the international plastic treaty.
(2025) Singh, Thashmira.; Freedman, David Warren.
Plastic, a fossil fuel-based invention, is choking our planet with the consequence of depleting natural resources, exacerbating climate change, obliterating ecosystems and polluting our oceans all in the name of convenience. Little has been done legally to put an end to the plastic that is plaguing our oceans. However, international role players have identified plastic pollution as a crisis that requires urgent international intervention through the development of the International Plastic Treaty to eliminate plastic in the environment by 2040. This legally binding instrument will be the first of its kind and while there was intention to finalise the Treaty by December 2024, negotiations are still ongoing. These discussions have thus far contributed to the penning of a revised zero draft with provisions addressing the full life cycle of plastic. On the other hand, South Africa’s provisions relating to plastic and its resultant pollution are scattered throughout its environmental legislation, lacking cohesion and synergy. The Treaty specifically requires a holistic, full-lifecycle approach to the plastic pandemic, as it has identified that in order to combat marine plastic pollution, all facets of the plastic lifecycle need to be closely regulated. It is not sufficient for plastic pollution to be regulated without recognising that plastic production is the root cause of the tsunami of plastic that is drowning our planet. While the provisions that deal with plastic pollution in South Africa are strewn across its existing statutory framework much like the plastic in our oceans, the conclusion is that South Africa can avoid drowning in this tsunami of plastic by enacting new legislation that takes an eco-centric approach rather than an anthropocentric one, acknowledging that the environment is just as important as socio-economic considerations when aiming to achieve sustainable development and by aligning with the elements of the Treaty in order to protect our planet.
Implementing the water–energy–food nexus through tools and scenario planning: a case study approach for southern Africa.
(2025) Taguta, Cuthbert.; Senzanje, Aidan.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe.
To develop tools and avail evidence for promoting implementation of the integrated transformative water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach in southern Africa, this study assessed the status of existing WEF nexus tools, developed and applied a WEF nexus analytic tool, and developed a WEF nexus scenario-based methodological framework and guidelines. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was used to review literature on the status of existing WEF nexus tools. Despite the relative abundance (46 by 02 of July 2021) of reported WEF nexus tools, the broader accessibility, uptake, and utility of their majority (61%) is limited by their unavailability and limited functions. The geospatial web-based and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based integrative analytical tool for the WEF nexus (the iWEF) was developed using digital tools, and calibrated and validated with existing tools and data at varying spatio-temporal scales. The iWEF model was used with inputs (pairwise comparison matrices, PCMs) from key WEF-related expert stakeholders to assess the state of WEF nexus and implementation of the approach at subnational scales in southern Africa, specifically Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area and Ehlanzeni District Municipality (South Africa) and Mzingwane Catchment and Umzingwane District (Zimbabwe). It was found that the state of the WEF nexus is moderately sustainable in Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area, Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mzingwane Catchment and Umzingwane District due to suboptimal integrated WEF nexus composite indices (maximum = 0.286) of 0.209, 0.210, 0.189 and 0.194, respectively. This is due to the unbalanced management and insecurity of WEF resources that is apparent in the two catchments and two ditsricts. Mining for coal (South Africa) and gold (Zimbabwe) and climate change threatens the WEF nexus in the four studied areas. Using evidence from literature review and input from key WEF-related expert stakeholders, and established framework development protocols, this study developed, refined and validated generic people-centred and data-informed methodological framework and guidelines for co-developing integrated WEF nexus scenarios. In conclusion, the majority of relatively abundant WEF nexus tools are fraught with functional limitations and the iWEF tool is reliably applicable across multiple scales. Implementation and state of the WEF nexus approach is moderately sustainable in southern Africa and the developed methodological framework and guidelines for co-developing integrated WEF nexus scenarios are robust. This study recommends the demand-driven improvement of the iWEF tool, and methodological framework and guidelines, and their application in case studies to facilitate implementation of the WEF nexus approach towards robust and resilient WEF systems.
Assessment of past and present distribution of freshwater molluscs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, particularly at River Eco-Status Monitoring Programme sites.
(2026) Ziganira, Matabaro.; Downs, Colleen Thelma.
Globally, freshwater biodiversity is declining in major river basins. As a whole, South Africa is not exempt from this trend; the rivers of KwaZulu-Natal Province are being impacted by various anthropogenic activities that threaten their sustainability, leading to the loss of natural land cover and the ultimate decline in environmental functionality and connectivity in KwaZulu-Natal. Across South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal, nearly 71% of freshwater ecosystems are considered either endangered or critically endangered because of anthropogenic activities. Previous work on freshwater Mollusca in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, is well-documented, including recent distribution range and taxonomic studies. Historically, ca. 69 freshwater mollusc species have been recorded for KwaZulu-Natal, supported by 124 years of historical collection data. However, most recent and ongoing surveys in the province have recorded fewer freshwater mollusc species than previously documented, suggesting a decline of mollusc diversity in KwaZulu-Natal. Additionally, ever since the River Eco-Status Monitoring Programme (REMP) was established in the last decade, aquatic macroinvertebrates, including 11 mollusc families, have been used for biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems in South Africa, while historical records have reported 16 mollusc families, and no higher resolution has been used to assess mollusc diversity collected at the REMP sites in KwaZulu-Natal. Thus, updated information on the diversity of freshwater molluscs across major freshwater ecosystems of KwaZulu-Natal is needed to support conservation efforts and decision-making. The aim of this study was to analyse past and present changes in the diversity and distribution of freshwater molluscs in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly at REMP sites. Historical records of 124 years were sourced from four databases of South African natural history collections housed at the Albany Museum in Makanda, Eastern Cape Province (AMM), East London Museum in East London, Eastern Cape Province (ELM), KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZNM) and the National Freshwater Snail Collection (NFSC) of South Africa in Potchefstroom, North West Province. Specimen records were curated and validated against two independent online open data infrastructures. The number of collected individuals and diversity amongst collections were compared, and trends in the database were analysed. Additionally, historical mollusc taxa were mapped to the nearest 10 km radius, based on their locality descriptions and coordinates, to match the REMP sites in KwaZulu-Natal. A total of 52 sites were sampled four times between February 2024 and September 2025, and were part of the REMP surveys conducted. The sampling sites belonged to the three water management areas, namely ‘U’, V’, and ‘W’, of KwaZulu-Natal, and some of them overlapped with historical localities. Freshwater mollusc specimens were collected using the kick-stir-sweep methodology outlined in the South African Scoring System 5 (SASS5) and active search through hand-picking during each sampling event. The identification keys developed by Brown (1994), and Appleton (2002) were used to identify collected molluscs morphologically to species level. Water quality variables (pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC) and salinity) were recorded in situ at each sampling site, and biotope availability was assessed. This study found that 69 freshwater mollusc species in KwaZulu-Natal are presently preserved in natural history collections in South Africa (55 gastropods and 14 bivalves), belonging to 16 families (11 gastropods and five bivalves). The list of 69 mollusc species included historical records, online sources, and our latest sampling surveys from 2024 and 2025. The greatest increase in specimen collection and deposition occurred during the 1960s and 1970s, peaking at 77% before declining thereafter. A large proportion of specimens collected during this period were deposited at the National Freshwater Snail Collection of South Africa (NFSC) in Potchefstroom, North West Province. Family Planorbidae amongst the gastropods was the most diverse (17 species), while Sphaeriidae was the most diverse within the bivalves (seven species). The ‘U’ WMA harbours the most diverse mollusc community, with a total of 54 species (43 gastropods and 11 bivalves). The gastropods Tomichia natalensis (Connolly, 1939) and Tomichia tristis (Morelet, 1889) are listed as Critically Endangered (CR), and Tomichia ventricosa (Reeve, 1842) Endangered (EN) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List; while the vast majority of freshwater molluscs are listed as either Least Concern (LC) or Data Deficient (DD). In addition, this study found that there was a huge disconnection between museum specimens in natural history collections in South Africa and online data repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (FBIS), as most of the data used were not available on these two online data repositories. The results of this study also revealed a higher number of invasive freshwater mollusc species than endemic species. Among biotopes and water quality variables measured, it was reported that the availability of vegetation and total dissolved solids (TDS), were the primary variables determining the number of collected individuals and the distribution of molluscs. Compared with recent studies and the ongoing freshwater mollusc surveys by FBIS, this study recorded 24 species during field samplings of February 2024 and September 2025, belonging to 11 families (seven gastropods and four bivalves). Although more species were recorded in this study than in recent studies and in the FBIS’s ongoing surveys over the past five years (2020 –2025), this study recorded 45 fewer species than historical data. Compared with historical records mapped to the nearest 10 km radius at the 52 REMP sites, 13 species were recorded, whereas this study recorded 24 species, with high or low diversity at some sites.