Environmental scientist seeks to solve KZN’s coastal issues

Every year, in August, South Africa celebrates Women’s Month to pay tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on August 9, 1956, in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women.
To commemorate this consequential month of celebrating women, the Caxton Local Media will be shining
the spotlight on some phenomenal women who are breaking barriers, excelling in their fields and inspiring the youth in their communities.

THIS week, we spoke with Ntando Zondi who works at the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) at uShaka Marine World as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technician in the Coastal Zone Management Department. The 29-year-old spoke to us about how she uses computer software for mapping coastal assets and processes as well as assessing coastal vulnerabilities.

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Originally from Pietermaritzburg, Zondi joined the ORI in November last year and moved to Essenwood this year. She explained the exciting roles and responsibilities at her current job: “I mainly focus on coastal management research, using GIS as a tool. So we make a lot of maps, and GIS has been so helpful in mapping all the information that I gather from our coastlines. I map coastal assets and processes, and when assessing coastal vulnerabilities, I identify areas that are vulnerable to things like extreme climate change and floods. I map estuaries, and GIS displays all that information. GIS has so many softwares that you use to display information; I work with various softwares and create maps that display and provide vital information on the KwaZulu-Natal coast.”

Zondi says she has always been drawn to this fi eld of study. “I loved geography in school, and situational problems and environmental issues in geography always intrigued me. I started to identify problems like waste management and river pollution where I stayed. I started getting interested in how to solve those environmental issues, asking questions like, ‘Are there policies and laws to combat these problems?’ In university, I went to the University of Zululand for my undergraduate studies in Geography and Environmental Management. I then majored in Environmental Science for my honours and graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg.”

She says she really enjoys working at the ORI. “It’s helped me understand what GIS is about and do the practical work. I’m learning by doing; I’m working with Global Mapper, a software that I don’t know, and I’m starting to just learn by doing the work. Some of the minor challenges that are affecting KwaZulu-Natal coastlines are erosion and overgrazing. “But one of the major problems is mining. There is so much mining activity toward Richards Bay that the rivers are being dangerously polluted and estuaries are changing colour, which indicated to us that there is pollution in the water.

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“The next step is to report this to the municipality or the Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Department to investigate these matters. I would really love for Marine Protected Areas to communicate with us and provide the accurate information to us and allow us to investigate for any issues.”

Her message to girls/young women who want to pursue careers in STEM is to keep pushing forward. “My message to young women is that it can be hard; there is an unemployment issue in South Africa, and even if you do study and graduate with a qualification in STEM, you may be discouraged when job searching. But environmental issues will always exist, so go for it – we are getting there by using different tools and software to solve our environmental issues.

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