Vol. 1 No. 1 (2023)

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 284

Environmental challenges associated with disposal of baby diapers in Hwange town, Zimbabwe

by Kudakwashe Muringaniza, Karen Madhara, Tatenda Musasa, Oshneck Mupepi

Journal of Policy and Society, Vol.1, No.1, 2023;

The rapid increase in the use of disposable baby diapers in urban areas is associated with a number of environmental challenges. This study assesses the environmental challenges of disposable baby diapers in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Questionnaires, interviews, and field observations were used for data collection in this study. Data collected from the field was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 and Microsoft Excel. The study findings show that pollution, diseases, and odours are the major challenges of poor waste management associated with disposable baby diapers in Hwange ZPC residential areas. The study recommends the involvement of responsible authorities in conscientious recycling and education on waste management. The research also recommends the need to conduct longitudinal research to establish the position of local and central government in the bid to promote a safe and healthy environment in mining towns such as Hwange, as they are overlooked.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 290

COVID-19 induced DV in Zimbabwe’s Southlea Park residential area in Harare

by Oshneck Mupepi, Mark Matsa

Journal of Policy and Society, Vol.1, No.1, 2023;

COVID-19 affected various communities across the globe in different ways. The study assessed the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on domestic violence in the Southlea-Park residential area in Harare. A mixed-methods research design was adopted as it allowed use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. Questionnaires, interviews, and observations were employed for data collection. The research showed that DV in the Southlea Park residential area emanated from drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, conflicts over decision-making between parents, prostitution, and food insufficiency, among others. The study indicated that most dominant forms of DV in Southlea Park during the COVID-19 lockdown period included physical, emotional, and verbal violence. The findings from this study indicated that males suffered more from verbal and psychological violence, while females suffered more from physical, economic, sexual, and emotional violence. The research concludes that COVID-19 had massive influence on domestic violence; however, the Zimbabwe Republic Police should ensure deployment of police officers in temporary camps within or close to residential areas that are far from police stations to ensure public safety during situations that trigger domestic and other forms of violence in residential areas, and the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development in Zimbabwe should ensure availability of agents responsible for ensuring against vulnerability of people to gender, domestic, and other forms of violence in all communities of the country, especially during situations that trigger violence.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 285

Land use/cover change and transormations in Upper Runde Sub-catchment area in Zimbabwe

by Oshneck Mupepi, Rumbidzai Chinyemba

Journal of Policy and Society, Vol.1, No.1, 2023;

The study assessed land use/cover changes in the Upper Runnde sub-catchment in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2020 using GIS and remote sensing techniques with the support of interviews and field observations. Faster land use/cover changes were experienced within the 2000–2010 decade when compared to the 2010–2020 decade; for instance, bare land increased by 92.1% between 2000–2010 compared to 16.5% between 2010–2020. Major land cover transformations included change from forest land to bare land, grassland and shrub land, and change from grassland to bare and shrub land to grassland. The results confirmed conversion of forests to agricultural lands and settlements following the fast-track land reform program in 2000, and livestock increase induced overgrazing as major human activities driving land cover changes. There is a need for serious attention from resource management stakeholders before depletion of critical resources like water and woodlands. Therefore, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, and Rural Resettlement and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority may consider strict auditing of land uses and water resource use in catchment areas to guard against encroachment of agriculture and other land uses in protected lands and fragile ecosystems like water bodies and wetlands.

Open Access

Review

Article ID: 468

Evaluation of sustainable finance implementation in emerging markets

by Taridi K. Ridho, Mikhail V. Vinichenko

Journal of Policy and Society, Vol.1, No.1, 2023;

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the initiative and commitment of an emerging market, Indonesia, in implementing sustainable finance to achieve a low-carbon economy and sustainable development goals (SDGs). It explores trajectories, challenges, and opportunities of sustainable finance as well as recommendations for related stakeholders for the development of sustainable finance in Indonesia. Many believed that implementation of sustainable finance, which considered multiple aspects of economic, social, and environmental risks and returns, would enable finance companies to maximize their role as a catalyst for the creation of environmentally friendly investment and a fair economic social system to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) more effectively. Specifically, green finance implementation as an important element of sustainable finance would create acceleration in financing for environmental preservation and climate change adaptation. Data used for evaluation is derived from selected ten financial services companies’ members of the Indonesia Sustainable Finance Initiative (ISFI) in the 2019–2022 period. It shows that despite the continuous growth in the amount of loan allocated to sustainable and green business activities, considering their loan capacity, the Indonesian financial services sector has done too little in sustainable finance, which in fact is dominated by microfinance, and very little in green finance. Regulators urgently need to formulate proper policies and incentives as well as to develop a favourable ecosystem together with related stakeholders to expedite the establishment of a well-developed and sophisticated sustainable and green finance system in Indonesia.

Open Access

Review

Article ID: 141

Rethinking higher education for the 4th Industrial Revolution: Synergetics in global social transformations and society building

by Dhanjoo N. Ghista, Ravi S. Sharma

Journal of Policy and Society, Vol.1, No.1, 2023;

This paper highlights the need for our Rethinking Education towards a global common good and cultivating New Era universities for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). 4IR represents a fundamental change in the way we live, work, and relate to one another. It is a new chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary technological advances commensurate with those of the first, second, and third industrial revolutions. Indeed, the 4th Industrial Revolution measures up with the Post-Capitalist Society, involving policies catering to human living needs, enabling people to have a Neo-humanist outlook, and come together to form a universal and more evolved society. This evolved societal state can also come about through the implementation of SDGs. 4IR requires a new vision and mission for universities as agents of social transformation and society building, which is what we as humanity must now embark upon.