Keywords

In line with UN Agenda 2030, many research funding bodies now require researchers to explicitly address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their research design. While the SDGs have a global dimension, their application at local research, policy and implementation levels can appear abstract. Consultations with scientists and practitioners in Phuthaditjhaba during research for this book highlighted that the SDGs do not currently have a prominent role in the scientific research in the region. That is to say, many researchers were not familiar with the goals and few had previously used them to guide research design, instead applying a multitude of other national and international frameworks as is evidenced throughout this book. Nevertheless, throughout this book they have provided authors with an important reference point which helps frame local research in a global agenda. The development of this book provided an opportunity for exchange amongst all its contributors and thus the transfer of tools and concepts to advance research in Europe and southern Africa. This book therefore represents a first crucial step towards a more meaningful incorporation of the UN SDGs in southern African mountain research.

The Agenda 2030 process recognizes that each country faces specific challenges in implementing sustainable development and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. While each country has the primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, achieving sustainable development does not occur only at a national level, but must occur at all levels of governance from international through to individual communities. For developing countries, at both the national and local levels, efforts should be directed towards mainstreaming SDG-related issues in development and strategic planning agendas. It is understood that developing countries need additional resources for effective and meaningful sustainable development and that there are challenges in finding mechanisms to provide this type of funding. Research can help to highlight areas where investment can have impact.

Fortunately, Phuthaditjhaba has the University of the Free State QwaQwa campus, with its local and international partners, to champion research that is deeply local.

Mountain communities are often especially challenged by increased exposure and vulnerability to global change including climate change, and there is a need for on-going research to highlight local adaptation and mitigation strategies. Local communities need to be recognised as partners in research, policy and decision-making processes. For these communities, actions to create sustainable development include innovative locally-embedded initiatives, policies and governance models, tailored to the specific challenges of mountain regions and the multidimensional processes of sustainable development. This is the same in South African mountain communities like Phuthaditjhaba.

While the UN SDGs can be used as a roadmap towards a more sustainable future, this depends on their application by scientists, practitioners and policymakers at local level, as Buschke et al. underline in Chap. 3. The SDG model relies on the availability of data to measure indicators of sustainable development. However, despite the presence of the QwaQwa campus of the University of the Free State and growing interest in research in Phuthaditjhaba, baseline socio-economic, environmental and climate data is incomplete. This would be a first major information gap to fill in order to move towards an SDG-focussed approach to sustainable development and related research in Phuthaditjhaba. Baseline data would allow for the periodic assessment of development in the city as well as allow for future scenario modelling. Alternative data sources could also be identified and exploited, for example satellite imagery and remote sensing to estimate population growth (see Box 2: Phuthaditjhaba: urban fabric and population figures), and qualitative data could be used to respond to some gaps in quantitative data. The ongoing European-South African research partnership which produced this publication can provide a space for co-learning on data collection and analysis methods.

Land use and land degradation in and around Phuthaditjhaba are frequently cited in this book as key topics for sustainability planning of the city. However, two chapters cite SDG 2 (Zero hunger) although neither of these connect it explicitly with SDG 15 (Life on land), which perhaps indicates a research gap that links food insecurity together with land use. Food insecurity continues to be an important societal challenge in Phuthaditjhaba. It has increased due to COVID-19 and is predicted to increase further due to rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns (Mukwada et al. 2020). Tackling food insecurity in Phuthaditjhaba will require innovative strategies that make efficient use of the city’s financial, technical and environmental resources. In an area whose economy was traditionally agriculture-based and where most homesteads have small gardens, research into the improvement of urban vegetable gardens could be an important contribution to sustainability solutions.

Chapters 4 and 6 describe the difficulties in larger-scale agricultural production in an area of increasing rainfall variability, drought and erosion. However, Adelabu & Franke (Chap. 4) also highlighted how agricultural production could be made more efficient with increased technical expertise and agricultural inputs.

Climate change will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities of the city, while an expanding population increases the exposure of people and infrastructure to climate risks. One of the greatest challenges in Phuthaditjhaba is water availability and quality, with SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation) being the second most cited SDG in this book. As Sekhele & Otomo underline in Chap. 6, the city suffers from chronic water shortages despite being located in one of southern Africa’s principal water producing areas. Water shortages are predicted to worsen due to increased temperatures and more frequent drought due to decreased rainfall reliability (Mukwada 2022). Repair, improvement and expansion of water infrastructure is urgently needed to respond to water shortages that have been affecting the city for many years. Chapters 5 (Mukwada & Mutana), 6 (Sekhele & Otomo) and 7 (Mocwagae & Mphambukeli) explain the context in which these shortages occur. Mocwagae & Mphambukeli (Chap. 7) present the 2019–2020 water crisis as having its roots in the inequality engineered through apartheid and as being misrepresented in the media as an unexpected and singular event, when in fact water scarcity has been an ongoing issue for decades in Phuthaditjhaba. Sekhele & Otomo (Chap. 6) maintain that climate change presents a major challenge to Phuthaditjhaba’s water supply. However, Mukwada & Mutana (Chap. 5) warn against attributing water issues solely to climate change and argue for greater scrutiny of planning and management at a municipal level. Their findings show that water security is at the intersection of multiple interrelated SDGs and is central to managing issues of environmental integrity, social equity and the local economy. In order to link research with SDG monitoring, data on water production and demand is urgently needed. This data would aid better planning to address issues of water scarcity and allow scenario modelling which would inform policymakers on how best to prepare for decreasing or variable water supply in future.

The food and water security situation in Phuthaditjhaba is a key factor driving outmigration from the city. Anecdotal data suggests young people in particular are leaving the city in search of employment and a better quality of life. It is hypothesised that this outmigration is changing the demography of the city but there is little research on population dynamics and baseline data is incomplete, particularly on population (see Box 2: Phuthaditjhaba: urban fabric and population figures). Official national statistics vary from unofficial estimates proposed by local researchers. In addition, the population is in constant flux with the arrival and departure of economic migrants both documented and undocumented. The planned 2022 national census will to some extent address this data gap, although the presence of undocumented or highly mobile residents, together with resource constraints in data collection and analysis, remain a challenge to the accuracy of data collected.

The impact of climate change on Phuthaditjhaba is also under-researched and suffers from a paucity of data. The city is however served by one weather station with four others located within 30 km. Furthermore, a planned Long-Term Socio-Economic Research (LTSER) site will monitor ecological and anthropogenic changes in the mountain headwaters of Phuthaditjhaba’s watershed. This LTSER site is spearheaded by the Afromontane Research Unit of the University of the Free State with support from the Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) Programme and South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON). Long-term monitoring and research is necessary to understand the interactions of hydrological and social-ecological systems in the region and thus develop effective water management policy, and in so doing help address the water scarcity issues affecting so many of Phuthaditjhaba’s inhabitants. Further adaptation measures, such as the urban greening explored by Taylor in Chap. 10, can offer some solutions to the future challenges associated with increased temperatures in the urban area.

Greater reference to SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities) would be useful in research endeavours, considering the historical context of apartheid and the persistent inequalities, both local and global, that dictate the lives of many in Phuthaditjhaba. Further research could tie this with SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) by investigating the role of dual governance (democratic and traditional) in either tackling or reproducing social inequalities in Phuthaditjhaba. Similarly, SDG 10 could be interwoven with SDG 4 (Quality education) and spur an investigation into the role of the two higher education institutions present in the city, the University of the Free State QwaQwa campus and the vocational Maluti TVET college, as well as the vocational school Seotlong Agriculture and Hotel School, in giving young people access to opportunities.

This book has showcased the current research in Phuthaditjhaba and in so doing highlighted key research gaps that need to be addressed to develop locally-embedded science and thus inform policy making. The writing process provided opportunities for exchange, discussion and learning amongst all contributors and helped establish and foster fruitful research partnerships. There are many facets of sustainable development in Phuthaditjhaba that still need to be explored, and the SDGs have an important role to play in guiding future research, policymaking and implementation by linking local issues to global structures. Only with close collaboration between scientists from multiple disciplines, policymakers and civil society will a sustainable future for this African mountain city be possible.