School of Natural Resource Sciences-Range Science Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
Grassland Science, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Environ Manage. 2019 Mar;63(3):338-351. doi: 10.1007/s00267-019-01138-x. Epub 2019 Feb 2.
Applications for exploratory shale gas development via hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have raised concern about energy development impacts in South Africa. Initially, focus was on the arid Karoo, but interest now includes KwaZulu-Natal, a populous, agricultural province with high cultural, ecological, and economic diversity. We conducted focus groups and an online survey to determine how some South Africans perceive fracking. Focus group participants were unanimous in their opposition, primarily citing concerns over water quality and rural way-of-life. The survey confirmed broad consistency with focus group responses. When asked which provinces might be affected by fracking, KwaZulu-Natal ranked behind provinces in the Karoo, suggesting an awareness bias towards Karoo projects. Frequently-identified concerns regarding Agriculture and Natural Resources were Reduced quality of water, Negative impacts to ecosystems and natural biodiversity, Reduced quantity of water, and Pollution hazards. Frequent concerns regarding Social, Cultural, and Local Community issues were Impacts to human health, Visual/aesthetic degradation of tourism areas, Degradation of local infrastructure, and Physical degradation of tourism sites. Most survey respondents were pessimistic about potential benefits of fracking to South Africa's domestic energy supply, and did not agree fracking would reduce negative impacts of coal mining or create jobs. Survey respondents were pessimistic about government's preparedness for fracking and agreed fracking created opportunity for corruption. Many respondents agreed they would consider fracking when voting, and identified needs for more research on fracking in South Africa, which focused heavily on environmental impacts, especially water, in addition to the welfare of local citizens and their communities.
人们对通过水力压裂法（水力压裂）进行探索性页岩气开发的申请引起了人们对南非能源开发影响的关注。最初，人们关注的是干旱的卡鲁地区，但现在人们的兴趣包括夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省，这是一个人口众多、农业发达的省份，具有高度的文化、生态和经济多样性。我们进行了焦点小组讨论和在线调查，以了解一些南非人对水力压裂的看法。焦点小组的参与者一致反对，主要是担心水质和农村生活方式。调查结果证实了与焦点小组的回应基本一致。当被问及哪些省份可能受到水力压裂的影响时，夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的排名落后于卡鲁省，这表明人们对卡鲁项目存在认知偏见。人们经常提到的与农业和自然资源有关的问题是：水质下降、对生态系统和自然生物多样性的负面影响、水量减少以及污染危害。人们经常提到的与社会、文化和当地社区有关的问题是：对人类健康的影响、旅游区的视觉/美学退化、当地基础设施的退化以及旅游景点的物理退化。大多数调查受访者对水力压裂对南非国内能源供应的潜在好处持悲观态度，不同意水力压裂会减少煤矿开采的负面影响或创造就业机会。调查受访者对政府对水力压裂的准备情况持悲观态度，并同意水力压裂为腐败创造了机会。许多受访者表示，他们在投票时会考虑水力压裂，并表示需要对南非的水力压裂进行更多研究，研究重点除了当地居民及其社区的福利外，还集中在环境影响上，尤其是水。
