Draft Status Quo Report for the Pixley Ka Seme ... - SRK Consulting

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Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality EMF – Draft Status Quo Report Page 20
3 Status quo of the
environment
This chapter presents the current state of environment in
the PKSLM.
3.1 Regional locality
The PKSLM is located in south-eastern Mpumalanga
within GSDM. The PKSLM covers an area of 522,204
ha and falls in the grassland biome – one of the most
threatened biomes in South Africa. The Vaal River
forms part of the municipality’s northern boundary and
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Free State form the
southern boundary. Major roads such as the R23 and
N11 as well as a national rail link between Gauteng and
KZN traverse the municipal area (see Map 1).
PKSLM is predominantly rural in nature, with
Volksrust being the sole major urban centre. The town
is located on the border with KZN on the N11 which
provides road access for freight and the tourist public.
Volksrust provides administrative and commercial
services to the surrounding centres and areas within
PKSLM. Daggakraal is a densely settled area which
supports approximately 33% of the PKSLM population,
but is relatively poorly supplied with infrastructure and
services. Other smaller centres are located at
Wakkerstroom, Amersfoort/Zamokuhle, Singobile,
Siyasenzele, Ezamokuhle, Zizameleni, Perdekop and
Daggakraal (see Map 2).
(MAP) ranging from 600 to 800 mm in the west
increasing to 800 to 1,000 mm in the east. The area
upstream of the Heyshope Dam in the Usutu to
Mhlatuze WMA receives more than 1,000 mm/ a.
Summer rainfall is accompanied by severe
thunderstorms.
Summer temperatures range up to 40°C during the day,
down to 10°C in the evening. Temperatures range from
20°C during the day to 10°C at night during the mild
winter. Light frost can occur from May to August and is
expected on less than 30 days per annum. Wind speeds
range from 1 m/s to just less than 8 m/s.
Climate change
Climate change could have a major effect on ecology
and land use in the PKSLM. Widespread melting of
snow and ice, and rising sea levels, are among the most
obvious and undeniable indicators that global air
temperatures are rising. The increase has been attributed
to increased emissions of GHGs from various sources,
mainly the combustion of oil, coal and gas (Bates et al.,
2008). However, the relationship between global
temperatures and human activities is highly complex,
and there is little agreement as to how much climate is
affected by human activities. Likewise, the impact of
global warming on agriculture is highly uncertain.
Elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide are predicted
to have a positive effect on plant growth, but this may
be offset by increased evaporative demands as
temperatures rise (Bates et al., 2008).
The neighbouring local municipalities within the
GSDM are Lekwa, Msukaligwa and Mkhondo (see Map
3). The local municipalities of Newcastle, Utrecht and
Edumbe fall within KZN and border PKSLM to the
south. Phumelela lies to the south-west of PKSLM and
is situated in Free State Province.
3.2 Biophysical
3.2.1 Climate
PKSLM is situated in a subtropical climate zone where
summer rainfall occurs from September to May, 95%
falling from October to March. Maximum rainfall is
usually in January or February, while 95% of the
rainfall is experienced during the summer months. The
eastern parts of PKSLM experience higher rainfall that
the western region, with mean annual precipitation
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) is the leading body for the assessment of
climate change, established by the UNEP and the World
Meteorological Organization. In 2007 the IPCC
reported that some areas of the world are likely to
become wetter as temperatures rise, while other areas,
including most of southern Africa, are likely to become
dryer (Bates et al., 2008). Likewise, climate variability
is predicted to increase in some areas, and decrease in
other areas (Bates et al., 2008). Cold days, cold nights
and frosts are likely to become less frequent over most
land areas. Aquatic ecosystems are predicted to be
among the most vulnerable to climate change (Bates et
al., 2008). In southern Africa, surface water quality is
KILI/BEAT G:\404946_PIXLEY EMF\7REPORTS\Status Quo report\Draft report\Draft status quo report, July 2010.docx July 2010