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273 results
Covid-19 local food security response: Mobilising partnerships to build community resilience during an acute shock
This case study by GreenCape examines first-response partnerships in Cape Town during the early stages of the Covid-19 lockdown, focusing on how collaborations between civil society and the private sector built local economic resilience and secured food security for vulnerable communities.
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Document type: Case study
The business case for solar PV in South Africa
This 2020 industry brief by GreenCape outlines the financial and regulatory case for solar PV adoption by businesses in South Africa, highlighting cost savings, payback periods, and regional feed-in tariff availability.
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Document type: Briefing
Industry brief 2020 Reusing wastewater
This 2020 industry brief by GreenCape examines the on-site treatment and reuse of grey- and blackwater to non-potable standards in South Africa. It outlines the technical processes for treating organic wastewater, the various technology variants available (such as pre-fabricated or constructed systems), and the regulatory landscape governed by the National Water Act and the National Environmental Management Act. The document highlights the economic and operational drivers for on-site treatment in both urban and rural settings, providing case studies from the Western Cape to demonstrate water and cost savings.
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Document type: Briefing
Identified business opportunities in the industrial areas of Montague Gardens & Atlantis, Cape Town Investment Prospectus 2020
This 2020 investment prospectus by GreenCape identifies business opportunities to transform the Montague Gardens and Atlantis industrial areas in Cape Town into eco-industrial parks (EIPs). Using Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the report highlights under-utilised resource streams—such as boiler ash, treated wood, and foundry sand—and proposes infrastructure investments in waste-to-energy and water reuse to build business resilience and resource efficiency.
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Document type: Report
The use of less-lethal weapons in South African prisons and crowd management
This monograph examines the use and misuse of less-lethal weapons (LLWs) within South African prisons and by the South African Police Service (SAPS) Public Order Police (POP) units during crowd management from 2013 to 2018. It analyzes the legal and regulatory frameworks of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and SAPS, highlighting systemic failures in accountability, the use of equipment as instruments of torture, and the lethal consequences of weapons marketed as 'less-lethal'.
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Document type: Report
Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: South Africa
This report reviews the status of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in South Africa, detailing the country's policy frameworks, institutional arrangements, and practical implementation of nature-based solutions to enhance climate resilience.
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Document type: Report
Internal affairs: Do South Africa’s largest political parties effectively police corruption?
This report evaluates the internal anti-corruption mechanisms of South Africa's three largest political parties: the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). It concludes that while formal policies exist, their practical application is often undermined by political considerations, hierarchical structures, and a preference for party solidarity over probity.
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Document type: Report
MIND THE GAP
This report analyzes the failure of Section 139 interventions in South African municipalities between 1998 and 2019. It finds that interventions are typically initiated too late, are legally misclassified to avoid mandatory financial recovery processes, and rely on an unauthorized 'administrator model' that often exacerbates municipal collapse. The authors call for a standardized, non-political implementation framework with clear triggers and strengthened oversight.
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Document type: Report
INTEGRATED REPORT JULY 2019
This integrated report, published by the Institute for Security Studies in July 2019, details multi-sectoral efforts in South Africa to prevent and reduce violence against children using the INSPIRE framework. Based on workshops with government departments, NGOs, researchers, and children, the report maps current activities across seven strategies and identifies systemic gaps, such as a lack of inter-sectoral trust and a critical shortage of therapeutic services.
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Document type: Report
The race to the bottom: we need fundamental change
A statement by a representative of Natural Justice detailing first-hand observations of the negative impacts of mining and large-scale infrastructure projects in South Africa and Kenya, arguing that current development models prioritize corporate interests over human rights and environmental sustainability.
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Document type: Statement
NATIONAL SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
The Draft National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) 2019 is a long-term strategic planning instrument for South Africa, mandated by the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) and aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP). It aims to dismantle the spatial legacies of colonialism and apartheid by transitioning the country toward an integrated, inclusive, and sustainable national space economy by 2050.
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Document type: Report
Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector
This 2013 case study by Tracy Ledger examines the origins of South Africa's energy crisis, focusing on the role of the state utility Eskom and the systemic failures that led to widespread power cuts and load shedding starting in 2007.
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Document type: Case study
iShack
The iShack project is a social enterprise in South Africa that provides pay-for-use solar power units to informal settlements, specifically in Enkanini, to improve living conditions, create local jobs, and reduce reliance on hazardous energy sources.
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Document type: Case study
Building economic resilience to water scarcity: Cape Town’s response to a severe drought
This case study examines Cape Town's response to a severe drought from 2015 to 2018, focusing on the collaborative partnerships established between public and private sectors to maintain economic resilience and avoid a jobs crisis.
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Document type: Case study
Building resilience to energy insecurity: enabling small-scale embedded generation
This case study by GreenCape examines how the City of Cape Town and other South African municipalities have integrated small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), primarily rooftop solar PV, into their systems to build resilience against energy insecurity, load shedding, and rising electricity costs.
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Document type: Case study
Building economic resilience to water scarcity in Cape Town: supporting industry through severe droughts
This case study describes how GreenCape, a not-for-profit organisation, provided support to water-intense industrial sectors in Cape Town during the severe drought of 2015-2018. The initiative aimed to help businesses reduce water consumption to maintain operations while adhering to a 45% water restriction.
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Document type: Case study
Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development
This case study by GreenCape examines three initiatives in Cape Town and South Africa designed to build a resilient solar PV industry through quality assurance and skills development: the establishment of SARETEC, the creation of a national Solar PV Service Technician qualification, and the implementation of the PV GreenCard.
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Document type: Case study
Atlantis Renewable Energy Challenge: Building resilient youth in Atlantis, South Africa
This case study examines the Atlantis Renewable Energy Challenge (AREC), an annual non-curriculum inter-school competition for junior and high school students in Atlantis, South Africa. Launched in 2016 by GreenCape in partnership with the City of Cape Town, the programme aims to build resilience among youth by exposing them to the green economy and renewable energy sector to prepare them for future employment opportunities, particularly those linked to the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ).
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Document type: Case study
What will it take to prevent interpersonal violence in South Africa?
This policy brief, produced by the Dialogue Forum for evidence-based programmes to prevent violence against women and children, identifies six systemic barriers to preventing interpersonal violence in South Africa and provides corresponding recommendations for government and multi-sectoral stakeholders.
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Document type: Policy brief
THE KHOIKHOI PEOPLES’ ROOIBOS BIOCULTURAL COMMUNITY PROTOCOL
The Khoikhoi Peoples’ Rooibos Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP), published in 2019 by Natural Justice, serves as a formal framework to assert the Khoikhoi people's rights as traditional knowledge holders of Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis). It outlines the community's history of dispossession, their organizational structure for granting Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and the mechanisms for sharing benefits from the commercialization of Rooibos through a dedicated trust.
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Document type: Guide