| dc.description.abstract | The study provided a comparative analysis of the vulnerabilities of households in both formal and informal settlements to disaster risks, including mining risks. Therefore, the study adopted a mixed qualitative and quantitative research methodology; with the case study approach used to evaluate the vulnerability of formal and informal households in Bekkersdal to disaster risks in an environmentally and economically vulnerable mining community, so as to be able to appropriately address key research problem and research questions. A case study approach was used to explain household vulnerability using mixed method, quantitative and qualitative, analysis. In the quantitative approach, descriptive analysis was used to determine variables that have a bearing on household vulnerability. The quantitative approach used estimation of the vulnerability index to determine household vulnerability among the formal and informally settled residents of Bekkersdal. Regression analysis was used to estimate the key determinants and drivers of vulnerability. Qualitative enquiry, comprising the administration of a survey questionnaire to disaster practitioners and officials responsible for managing disaster risks in the Bekkersdal community under the Rand West City local municipality, enabled a situational analysis of the community. Overall, the results of the study indicate that livelihood variables matter and should be taken into account when measuring vulnerability of households to disaster risks. The study showed that households become exposed and vulnerable to disaster risks based on their geographical location and the lack of access to economic, physical, social and environmental resources exacerbate exposure and vulnerability. The community in the Bekkersdal area is surrounded by mining activities. The study showed that the negative outcomes of mining, such as acid mine drainage, sinkholes, dolomites, water and land pollution, and mining related ailments, amplify the vulnerability of the Bekkersdal community. The rapid increase in the number of households in informal settlements has had its own challenges, with poverty, unemployment and squalor becoming endemic in these areas. The study area sits on dolomitic land due to mining related environmental degradation and is therefore unsafe for building. As a result, it lacks critical infrastructure, which in turn, has led to increasing pressure on delivery of basic services. The negative mining activities in the area are therefore partly responsible for the limited access to services for many households who are not connected to basic amenities such as electricity, water, sanitation, and sewerage systems in Bekkersdal. Thus, limited service delivery is a major secondary risk, which is driven by other primary risks such as the negative impacts from past and ongoing mining activities and their environmental impact in the mining community. The study revealed that households in Bekkersdal are vulnerable to various disaster related health risks that include cholera, skin rash and respiratory diseases resulting from exposure to mine effluent pollution in the area. Comparison between households in formal and informal settlements revealed that, whereas in urban townships negative environmental impacts of mining activities are damaging to wellbeing, the situation is far worse for households in informal areas as a result of their socioeconomic conditions. This is especially so for those living adjacent to mining activities and for migrants. The findings showed that some mining related disasters and disaster risks are caused by irresponsible gatekeeping in governing sectors. Such practices result in non-compliance by mining companies to relevant safety and care measures. | |
