Abstract:harvested are reported as benefits of these technologies. We found that traditional knowledge is not influenced by age (β = −0.006 ± 0.01, P = 0.64) or gender (β = −0.16 ± 0.25, P = 0.64) but rather correlates positively with geographic location, irrespective of the starting point of the distance measurement (distance from Port Elizabeth city: β = 0.002 ± 0.0008, P = 0.004; distance from Ngqushwa village: β = 0.0024 ± 0.0009, P = 0.008). Counterintuitively, formally educated people tend to have more traditiona… Show more
“…South Africa is a water-stressed country with an annual rainfall representing half of the world’s average. South Africa shares this water stress status with several other countries in various continents around the world as well as its dirty energy based economic development pathways 54 , 55 , resulting various air pollution hotspots 30 . One of these hotspots, the Vaal Triangle region (Fig.…”
Environmental sustainability remains at risk, given the coupled trends of economic development with air pollution. The risk is even greater in the water-stressed world, given the potential suppression effects of air pollutants on rain formation. Here, since these suppression effects remain debated, we tested the hypothesis that air pollutants suppress rainfall in the water-stressed South Africa. This was done by fitting generalized linear models to a 21-year historical dataset of rainfall and air pollutants. We found that some gaseous pollutants and PM10 show a significant negative correlation with rainfall, perhaps due to the temperature inversion they cause, which might prevent the upward rise of humid air and convective clouds to grow high enough to produce rain. Surprisingly, as opposed to PM10, we found a rather positive significant effect of PM2.5. Altogether, our study supports the hypothesis of rain prevention by pollutants but provides some nuances that are dependent on the size of air particle matters. To achieve environmental sustainability while growing the economy, we can only rely on emission purification technologies to strike this trade-off.
“…South Africa is a water-stressed country with an annual rainfall representing half of the world’s average. South Africa shares this water stress status with several other countries in various continents around the world as well as its dirty energy based economic development pathways 54 , 55 , resulting various air pollution hotspots 30 . One of these hotspots, the Vaal Triangle region (Fig.…”
Environmental sustainability remains at risk, given the coupled trends of economic development with air pollution. The risk is even greater in the water-stressed world, given the potential suppression effects of air pollutants on rain formation. Here, since these suppression effects remain debated, we tested the hypothesis that air pollutants suppress rainfall in the water-stressed South Africa. This was done by fitting generalized linear models to a 21-year historical dataset of rainfall and air pollutants. We found that some gaseous pollutants and PM10 show a significant negative correlation with rainfall, perhaps due to the temperature inversion they cause, which might prevent the upward rise of humid air and convective clouds to grow high enough to produce rain. Surprisingly, as opposed to PM10, we found a rather positive significant effect of PM2.5. Altogether, our study supports the hypothesis of rain prevention by pollutants but provides some nuances that are dependent on the size of air particle matters. To achieve environmental sustainability while growing the economy, we can only rely on emission purification technologies to strike this trade-off.
“…One of the social aspects to be considered is the community's acceptance of the installation and maintenance of RWHS. State agencies must assist householders' increased involvement with their tanks, enhanced understanding of tank operation, and support for tank maintenance education and training [88][89][90]. The community's attitude, norms, and forms of knowledge about water perception and day-to-day management influence the implementation of water practices and facilitate interaction among stakeholders and local authorities, according to social analysis [64].…”
Section: Rainwater Harvesting Potential and Sustainabilitymentioning
Roof runoff is collected rainwater from a roof using a rainwater harvesting system (RWHS). The construction of an efficient RWHS requires a thorough analysis of the rainwater quality and the appropriate treatment process for its intended use. In line with this, a bibliometric and comprehensive review of studies related to roof rainwater harvesting was conducted. A corpus of 1123 articles was downloaded from the Scopus database and parsed through the CorText Manager to determine the relationships between keywords, journals, and topics related to rainwater harvesting. A comprehensive analysis was also conducted to determine the different designs of RWHS, the quality of harvested rainwater from roof catchments, the efficiency of the system for specific purposes, and its sustainability in terms of economic, environmental, and social aspects. Results show that the effectiveness of a RWHS heavily depends on its installation site, the physicochemical characteristics of the harvested rainwater, and the acceptability of the end users. An effective water treatment process is essential for achieving better water quality for harvested rainwater. Moreover, assessing the financial viability and return on investment of an RWHS is necessary.
“…These restrictions have completely affected urban lives and people routines which in turn impact on consumption rate of different resources (i.e., energy, water, and food) [6,7]. Regarding water consumption, people's routines have been changed especially in sanitation and hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused a rapid increase in water consumption since routine of hand-washing to prevent the infection was the most incredible change [8,9]. Besides, people staying at home again leads to more domestic water consumption because all the activities, which occurred previously outside the home, are now transmitted inside.…”
In recent years, due to COVID 19 pandemic that has resulted in an unpredictable increase in water consumption, the global concerns about water resources management have been increased. Furthermore, it seems essential to focus on strategies enabling to decrease water consumption. So, the aim of this study is to identify and prioritize the potential strategies of water resources management during such pandemic. To do so, we develop a hybrid decisionmaking approach. At first, the potential strategies are identified by SWOT analysis while the relevant criteria are identified based on the literature review and experts' opinions. Afterwards, potential interrelationships between criteria are determined using fuzzy DEMATEL. Then, an integrated FBWM-FANP method is applied to calculate the global weights of criteria. Eventually, the fuzzy VIKOR is utilized to rank the potential strategies. Based on the obtained results, efficiency and economic measures are the most important criteria for selecting the strategies related to water resource management in COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy of advertising and informing about correct water consumption is the best strategy which indicates the power of advertising while it could be economic and efficient either.
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