Shale Gas Development in the Central Karoo – Impacts on Visual, Aesthetic and Scenic Resources
Shale Gas Development in the Central Karoo: A Scientific Assessment of the Opportunities and Risks
Chapter 14: Impacts on Visual, Aesthetic and Scenic Resources
Author: Bernard Oberholzer
Contributing Authors: Quinton Lawson, Menno Klapwijk, Graham Young
Publication: The CSIR led a large interdisciplinary team to analyse the potential impacts of shale gas mining on the Karoo.
Date: 2016
Abstract
Concern has been expressed by many about the possible visual effect of shale gas development (SGD) on the character of the Karoo landscape, its sense of place and on tourism in the area. Further reference to these concerns is covered in Chapter 9 on tourism (Toerien et al., 2016), Chapter 11 on social fabric (Atkinson, et al., 2016) and Chapter 13 on sense of place values (Seeliger et al., 2016) of this scientific assessment report. SGD activities could affect scenic resources, the amenity value of recreation and resort areas, property values and subsequently the economy of the region, an aspect covered in Chapter 10 on economics (Van Zyl et al., 2016). Taking these concerns into account, the importance of visual, aesthetic and scenic considerations is stressed in Section 14.1.
This document, as well as the full CSIR report can be accessed at http://seasgd.csir.co.za/scientific-assessment-chapters/
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