MPATI MAKOA: Going beyond roads to preserve our natural capital

The ongoing development and upgrading of road infrastructure is vital to economic progress — yet such activities have an inevitable impact on the natural environment. In an increasingly environmentally-conscious world, the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) is acutely aware of the need to protect precious natural resources through an approach that strikes a balance between road infrastructure development and environmental sustainability.

SA’s population is growing at a net rate of one person every 44 seconds, or just shy of 2,000 people per day. Though the country’s population growth rate has in fact slowed, it is still forecast to reach 80-million people in the next 40 years — and that kind of growth requires significant investment in infrastructure to ensure sufficient access to food, housing and transport systems, among other essential services.

Sanral manages more than 22,000km of SA’s national network and is at the forefront of huge and continuous investment in infrastructure projects to build and upgrade the country’s roads. This network plays an essential role in connectivity between rural and urban centres, markets and regions, supporting greater mobility and economic growth and improving lives and livelihoods within local communities.

Horizon 2030, Sanral’s long-term strategy for the continued development and management of SA’s national road network, recognises the need to balance strategic economic infrastructure development with the need to protect the environment and conserve the country’s natural and cultural heritage. Whether it is improving road drainage systems, caring for the biodiversity of the environment or reducing its carbon footprint, minimising its environmental footprint is a high priority for the agency.

Committed to progress

Horizon 2030’s objectives are also aligned to relevant government initiatives, specifically the National Strategy for Sustainable Development and the Green Transport Strategy (2018 — 2050) (GTS), launched in 2019 by the department of transport. Sanral’s commitment to the GTS is evidenced by the development of a sustainable roads rating system (SuRF), in partnership with industry and the department. SuRF includes a unique focus on the socioeconomic impacts of road projects in SA, enabling Sanral to set sustainability intervention targets and to measure and report on them. It provides a list of design and construction interventions, guidance for implementation, and attempts to improve efficiency in the use of natural resources, as well as to quantify the reduction in carbon footprint resulting from the interventions.

A strategic environmental focus

Detailed environmental impact assessments are conducted prior to the start of any Sanral construction project. The agency commissions independent studies and engages with a wide range of interested parties on the potential environmental impact of a development, incorporating feedback into the design and execution of the project. Sanral is also responsible for the restoration of borrow pits, which are often required to supply the necessary material for road construction. It is committed to ensuring not only that environmental damage is limited as far as possible, but that it is rectified through ongoing rehabilitation and eventual closure.

When it comes to the sustainable use of non-renewable resources the recycling of asphalt is now a well-established practice in SA. Sanral continues to build on the reuse and recycling of roadbuilding material with the aim of maximising recycled content and improving longevity of the roads.

As an organisation, Sanral takes its responsibility to its people, communities and the environment seriously. Success is not simply seen as delivering on the design, construction and development of new roads; it is about leading the infrastructure agenda as a driver to SA’s road to economic development, improving lives and livelihoods, and reducing our consumption of natural resources as we strive to minimise our impact on the environment. By doing that we will deliver a safe, efficient, reliable and resilient road transport system that creates economic value, supports the growth of an inclusive economy and delivers a better SA for all.

The agency goes the extra mile to conserve fauna, flora and heritage resources that might be disturbed by road construction activities and works closely with communities and researchers to preserve valuable cultural and archaeological sites. Some examples include:

• The construction of the Musina Ring Road in Limpopo included the relocation of several ancient and very large baobab trees. None of the trees were lost and they are thriving in their new locations.
• When the N2 near Empangeni was upgraded to a dual carriageway, the construction footprint was reduced through improved design to protect sensitive mangrove, woodland and dryland forests. Silt traps and sandbags were used to protect water quality and at least 20% of the construction material consists of reclaimed asphalt.
• The upgrading of the Gwaing River Bridge near George in the Western Cape was accompanied by the successful relocation of protected species, including 35 trees earmarked for replanting after the project is completed.
• During the resurfacing of the N2 between Riviersonderend and Swellendam, biodiversity was protected through the relocation of a range of indigenous plants.
• Projects on the N7 near Kalbaskraal, Malmesbury and Hopefield required careful management of scarce water resources in a part of the country then afflicted by a severe drought. The projects also included a botanical restoration programme going beyond the areas affected by construction.
• During work done in the Abel Erasmus Pass in Limpopo, Sanral contractors used sustainable construction methods that contributed to water savings of 71%.
• On the R24 near Rustenburg in the North West, indigenous aloes and trees — including White Stinkwood and Bushwillow species — were planted to improve the natural environment.
• The N2 Wild Coast Road (N2WCR) Project on the N2, connecting the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, includes the 580m-long Msikaba Bridge. Its cable-stay design will ensure that construction will have no direct impact on the pristine gorge environment almost 200m below. A colony of Cape Griffon vultures was found in the Msikaba gorge and an independent study shows no negative impact on the birds from blasting operations.
• N2WCR: Search and rescue operations for threatened or protected species of endemic flora within the road reserve were carried out prior to the start of construction. Holding facilities were established for rescued protected species, prior to them being planted out into identified no-go areas adjacent to the bridge sites. More than 30,000 plants were rescued in the Mtentu and Msikaba areas. More than 15,000 hectares of new protected areas will be created under the N2WCR project’s biodiversity offset agreement to mitigate its impact on biodiversity. This will see the enlargement of two existing nature reserves — Silaka and Mkambati — and the creation of several new protected areas in the Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela local municipal areas. The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency is the implementing agent for this project funded by Sanral. Other environmental management initiatives on the N2 Wild Coast Road include the reuse of water, recycling of oil and steps to minimise the use of plastic.
• N4 through Pampoennek: the area was declared a biosphere reserve by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2015 and the was recognised as an important biodiversity area. In recognition of the environmental sensitivity of the area Sanral had already undertaken a comprehensive impact assessment and put in place mitigation measures that included the reduction of the road footprint by aligning it through an area impacted by mining. It also created an underpass to facilitate the safe crossing of game from one side of the road to the other. The area was also archaeologically sensitive, containing the remains of defensive structures dating back to the SA War and these structures were preserved.
• P166 seed collection project: Sanral undertook a three-year project in collaboration with the SA National Botanical Institute, Mbombela Metropolitan Municipality, the Mpumalanga department of agriculture, rural development, land & environmental affairs, and a specialist consultant to conduct relocation and propagation trials for Aloe simii species affected by the White River stretch of the proposed P166 road in Mbombela.  The trial comes to an end in 2022 and will provide guidance on the propagation of the species through seedlings germinated and grown in the National Biodiversity Institute nursery and transplanted into the selected natural habitat, to assist in not only compensating for the potential losses, but also in the future conservation efforts for this critically endangered aloe species outside the road project. 
• Energy saving: A pilot project to implement an electronic antitheft security monitoring system, incorporating a lighting management system at the Umgeni interchange and from Umdloti to Tongaat Plaza, resulted in energy savings of about 40% through LED light fittings and remote control of light intensity.

• Makoa is Sanral environmental manager.