Micronutrient deficiency is a major challenge in South Africa. Traditional vegetables have been identified as one of the strategies towards alleviating the problem. The research addressed the availability of traditional vegetables at eMantlaneni village in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, the extent to which they were utilized and their potential future use. The data was collected using questionnaires, focus groups, and by the identification of traditional vegetables by a herbarium. Findings revealed that traditional vegetables are available, but that there is a decline in the use of traditional vegetables. Future use was threatened by negative attitudes and the associated loss of indigenous knowledge. There is a need for vigorous awareness campaigns to promote traditional vegetable use and nutritional education including proper cooking and preservation techniques. Further research on a bigger sample and hedonic tests acceptance are required.

La recherche en titre réalisée au Québec, avait pour but de valider si une approche utilisant le lieu réel pour l’apprentissage des concepts de géographie, permettait à des élèves du secondaire éprouvant des difficultés d’apprentissage, le développement de compétences. L’approche d’éducation traditionnelle autochtone (Cajete, 1994), la Red Pedagogy (Grande, 2004). la pédagogie du lieu Place Baseci, (Gnicnewaid, 2003) de même que l’écoformation de Cottereau (1997). ont constitué les fondements théoriques qui ont étayé la proposition de développement de situations d’apprentissage utilisant le milieu de vie des élèves. Ces approches, presque ignorées des systèmes d’éducation formelle, installent l’objet d’apprentissage dans son contexte réel et non dans une intellectualisation de l’objet. Quittant le paradigme industriel d’éducation et privilégiant une approche dite par le réel, nous présentons ce que la recherche a permis (le développer en installant dans les scénarios d’apprentissage des manières informelles d’accéder aux savoirs formels par un autre médium que l’écrit. Les situations proposées ont été conçues et expérimentées selon deux modèles s soit à partir du manuel scolaire, soit à partir d’un modèle inspiré des principes pédagogiques sélectionnés. Les conclusions de l’ensemble de la démarche ont permis d’évaluer les impacts tant sur les enseignants que sur les élèves ainsi que les retombées pour le milieu et permettent de dégager les caractéristiques essentielles retenues de même que des éléments transférables issus des résultats de la recherche.

No description available.

Indigenous Peoples and REDD+: A Critical Perspective / Indigenous Peoples' Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA) / November 2014 / Public Political Ecology Lab / Executive Summary: REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) and includes conservation, sustainable forest management and the enhancement of carbon stocks (the +). An international initiative negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ has been proposed as a central strategy for mitigating climate change in forests. While advocates highlight the cost effectiveness and social and ecological co-benefits that can be generated through REDD+, many indigenous and forest dependent groups have expressed concerns about the potential effects of projects on their access to land and resources. This report identifies key issues facing indigenous and forest-dependent communities with respect to REDD, and is based on existing academic literature and more current reports by NGOs and indigenous organizations. We first lay out a brief history of REDD+, interrogate its key assumptions, and discuss major issues of concern. We then discuss REDD+ as it relates to indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities. This is followed by a series of case studies of developing countries participating in REDD+. We conclude with a discussion of the principal elements for an alternative vision for REDD+ that takes seriously the rights of indigenous peoples. / / Resumen Ejecutivo REDD+ es acrónimo para Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (Reducir las Emisiones por Deforestación y Degradación de bosques) (en países en desarrollo). Incluye acciones para la conservación, el manejo sustentable de bosques y el aumento en los suministros de carbono (el +). Como una iniciativa internacional negociada bajo el United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático), REDD+ ha sido propuesto como una estrategia principal para mitigar el cambio climático en bosques. Aunque sus defensores enfatizan la eficacia financiera y los co-beneficios sociales y ecológicos que se pueden generar a través del REDD+, muchos grupos indígenas y de gente quien depende de bosques para su sustento tienen preocupaciones acerca de los posibles efectos de los proyectos sobre el acceso a la tierra y los recursos forestales. Este informe identifica los problemas principales que enfrentan las comunidades indígenas y gente dependiente de bosques con REDD. Está basado en la literatura académica existente y otros reportes actuales escritos por organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONGs) y organizaciones indígenas. Primero proveeremos una historia breve de REDD+, evaluaremos las suposiciones principales y discutiremos los problemas de mayor preocupación. Luego describiremos la relación entre REDD+ y los pueblos indígenas y comunidades dependientes de bosques. Esto será seguido por una colección de casos de estudio en los países en desarrollo que participan en REDD+. Concluiremos con una discusión de los elementos principales para una visión alternativa de REDD+ que toma en cuenta los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.

Land reform in South Africa is premised on land restitution. land redistribution and security of terlllre as its major components. It has the following objectives amongst others, to address the injustices of racially-based land dispossession; inequitable distribution ofland ownership; need for security of tenure for all: need for sustainable use of land: need [or rapid release of land for development: need to record and register all rights in property: and the need to administer public land in an effective manner. Over two decades of the democratic dispensation, lack of proper funding and capacity by government official to expedite the land reform processes deprives the rural communities like the Morebene community the enjoyment of their land rights and proper redress after devastating land dispossession. The research has managed to establish the serious pain and suffering that has been brought by incompetent implementation of six phases of land restitution process by Limpopo RLCC to the commuillty of Morebeoe. Lack of capacity to implement land restitution processes has been found to have been a major setback to lhe Morebene communjty to an extent that their restitution processes were abandoned by the Limpopo RLCC at project execution stage. The community composed of nearly 81% of rhe youth and middle aged people bas been left without jobs and no property rights and development all of which are caused by the lack of expertise from the oHicials of the RLCC. No restitution grants and development gTants were granted to the community and no formal or informal training let alone workshops held in relation to the government"s expectations from the land reform policies and legislation. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Currently, there are 49 indigenous oil companies (INOCs) and 28 marginal fields operators as well as 24 multi-national oil companies (MNOCs) operating in Nigeria. This study on Nigerian INOCs has found them to have inadequate state-of-the-art upstream information systems (IS) for their operations. Prior literature also indicates inadequate research on IS with respect to the INOCs. The sector has been essential to Nigeria due to its contribution of approximately 90% of the export revenues. In addition, at least 89% of the country’s oil is produced by MNOCs while indigenous ones produce a maximum of 11%. This is as a result of many factors, including the upstream IS used by the INOCs. The main objective of the study investigated the significant barriers that limit the adoption of the state-of-the-art upstream IS by the Nigerian INOCs. Furthermore, the relevant literature reveals that the MNOCs have developed and sustained their technological expertise in using the state-of-the-art IS for all of their activities. The developed research questions of the study have been answered by the suitable parts of the research. Data were collected through the interviewing of 6 chosen stakeholders as well as the administration of 200 questionnaires to the relevant stakeholders, and finally, 140 valid questionnaires were retrieved. As a result of the significant differences which existed between the chosen groups of the stakeholders, follow-up interviews were conducted in which 12 stakeholders participated. 6 of them were the same stakeholders interviewed during the first interviews conducted prior to questionnaire-survey. A mixed-method approach was selected and was also triangulated. The study has also used objective statistical tools based on SPSS to critically discover the major obstacles that limit the adoption of the state-of-the-art IS. The study also discovered that the opinions which emerged from the research participants indicated that, cost of some state-of-the-art ICT resources, technical skill, managerial attitude, government policies, government incentives, corruption and insecurity were significant barriers that limit the adoption of state-of-the-art IS by Nigerian INOCs. The study concludes by suggesting the need to invest in sufficient resources, hold meetings between various stakeholders, develop skills in terms of quality and quantity, provide sufficient technical training, reformulate government policy towards the adoption of state-of-the-art IS, provide government incentives to adopt state-of-the-art IS, establish anti-corruption units and improve the safety of the oil workers.

No description available.

Social planning has remained a longstanding element of urban planning practice and continues to be pursued through different institutional structures in Canada. While the City of Winnipeg currently features no municipal social planning department, the City of Vancouver attempts to support its most disadvantaged neighbourhoods through its municipal sector. As these are two cities with high concentrations of Indigenous populations, this research uncovers the degree to which these two social planning models have worked to support the particular needs and interests of residents living in Winnipeg’s North End and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Through the comparative case study of these two research sites, comprehensive document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key informants from planning agencies in each city, it is evident both models promote socially just and socially sustainable planning processes and outcomes within their respective neighbourhoods. However, neither is without fault. As a government body Vancouver is able to create and track progress in a more systemic way, setting targets and metrics for other government agencies, while information sharing and relationship building are where non-profit organizations in Winnipeg truly excel. This research explains how most non-profit organizations are unable to successfully sustain themselves, while municipal departments lack the rapport grassroots organizations more easily attain. Therefore, an integration of both models could begin to better support Canada’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods with growing urban Indigenous populations. / May 2016

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Macroecological relationships have rarely been studied at wide spatial scales and across geographic ranges of species in the field in the sub-Antarctic. In this thesis I examined the occupancy, distribution and abundance, and the relationships thereof, of indigenous plants and alien species at broad (island-wide) and fine scales across sub-Antarctic Marion Island. The impacts of alien species and their interactions with indigenous plants were also investigated. I examined the nature of the abundance structure of a cushion-forming, vascular plant, Azorella selago, at the island-wide scale. Moreover, the hypothesis that species reach their highest abundances at the centre of their geographic range and decline in abundance towards the range edges was tested. Azorella selago cushions were counted in 8 m x 8 m quadrats, placed regularly at 1 minute latitude and longitude intervals across Marion Island. Using spatially non-explicit and explicit methods, this study showed that the abundance structure of A. selago had a more complex pattern of high abundance patches and low abundance gaps in its island-wide distribution. Subsequently, the hypothesis of an abundant centre distribution was not supported for A. selago across Marion Island. Rather, there were sharp discontinuities at both the coastal and altitudinal (667 m a.s.l.) limits for the species, between which little pattern in altitudinal abundance structure existed. Mice (Mus musculus) have recently been found to cause extensive structural damage to A. selago. The structural influence of mice on vegetation structure at the landscape scale has largely been overlooked on many sub-Antarctic islands. I mapped the distribution of evidence of mouse damage within the cushions of A. selago across the island using systematic (at 1 minute latitude and longitude intervals) and opportunistic sampling. Approximately 40 % of the systematically sampled sites had evidence of mouse damage to A. selago. Furthermore, a third of cushions in opportunistically sampled sites was damaged. Mouse damage was high in sites of low A. selago abundance, emphasizing that impacts of mice may be greater in low cushion abundance areas. This damage sometimes led to the disintegration of entire cushions. Given that A. selago acts as a nurse plant and supports high abundances of indigenous invertebrates, the impacts of mice on this keystone species may have significant ecological implications. Studies on interactions between alien and indigenous plants are limited within the sub-Antarctic. I examined the fine-scale distributions and co-occurrences of alien plants, Agrostis stolonifera and Sagina procumbens, and the indigenous Acaena magellanica (in 2 m x 2 m plots, subdivided into 0.25 m x 0.25 m quadrats) along rivers on Marion Island. Environmental variables were important for the occurrence of these species. In particular, 42.95 % and 24.82 % of the deviance in the occurrence of A. stolonifera and S. procumbens, respectively, was explained by environmental variables, compared to 17.35 % for A. magellanica. Furthermore, the co-occurrence of A. magellanica with A. stolonifera was significantly influenced by environmental variables. Significant positive spatial associations between A. magellanica and A. stolonifera were found, while the interactions of either species with S. procumbens were either spatially dissociated or random. Therefore, this study highlighted that alien species are responding to different environmental variables and conditions on Marion Island. Sagina procumbens seems to be less sensitive to the island’s environmental conditions and may thus be affecting biodiversity at broader ranges. This thesis provides unparalleled data on the distributions and interactions of indigenous plants and alien species for Marion Island. Alien species are undoubtedly posing significant threats to indigenous plants on the island and this thesis presents insight into interactions of species, specifically plants, an approach underrepresented in the sub-Antarctic to date. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Makro-ekologiese verhoudings is selde bestudeer op wye ruimtelike skale en oor geografiese gebiede van spesies in die veld in die sub-Antarktiek. In hierdie tesis het ek die digtheid, bewoning, verspreiding en die verhoudings daarvan, van inheemse plante en uitheemse spesies ondersoek op breë (eiland-wyd) en smal skale oor sub-Antarktiese Marion Eiland. Die impakte van uitheemse spesies en hul interaksies met inheems plante is ook ondersoek. Ek het die aard van die digtheidstruktuur ondersoek van 'n kussing-vormende, vaatplant, Azorella selago, op die eiland-wydte skaal. Bowenal is die hipotese dat spesies hul hoogste digtheid bereik in die sentrum van hul geografies gebied en afneem in digtheid na die grense van die gebied getoets. Azorella selago kussings is getel in 8 m x 8 m kwadrante, wat eweredig geplaas is op 1 minuut breedte- en lengtegraad intervalle oor Marion Eiland. Deur gebruik te maak van ruimtelik nie-eksplisiete en eksplisiete metodes, het hierdie studie getoon dat die digtheidstruktuur van A. selago ‘n meer komplekse patroon van hoë digtheidslaslappe en lae digtheidsgapings in sy eiland-wyd verspreiding het. Vervolgens is die hipotese van 'n digte sentrum verspreiding nie gesteun vir A. selago oor Marion Eiland nie. Daar was eerder skerp diskontinuïteite by beide die kus- en hoërliggende (667 m bo seespieël) grense vir die spesie, waartussen daar ’n oneweredige patroon in digtheidstruktuur bestaan het. Onlangs is bevind dat muise (Mus musculus) uitgebreide struktuele skade aan A. selago veroorsaak. Die struktuele invloed van muise op plantegroei struktuur op landskapskaal is grootliks oor die hoof gesien op baie sub-Antarktiese eilande. Ek het die verspreiding van die bewyse van muisskade binne die kussings van A. selago oor die eiland gekarteer deur gebruik te maak van sistematiese (tot 1 minuut breedte- en lengtegraad intervalle) en opportunistiese opnames. Ongeveer 40 % van die sistematiese opname kwadrante het bewyse van muis skade aan A. selago vertoon. Verder, ‘n derde van die kussings in die opportunistiese opname kwadrante was beskadig. Muisskade was hoog in plotte met lae A. selago volopheid, wat beklemtoon dat impakte van muise groter mag wees in lae kussing digtheid gebiede. Hierdie skade het partykeer gelei tot die verbrokkeling van hele kussings. Gegewe dat A. selago as 'n verpleegsterplant optree en ’n hoë digtheid van inheemse invertebrata ondersteun, mag die impakte van muise op hierdie hoeksteen spesie beduidende ekologiese implikasies tot gevolg hê. Studies oor interaksies tussen uitheemse- en inheemse plante is beperk in die sub-Antarktiese gebied. Ek het die smal-skaal verspreidings ondersoek en medevoorkoms van uitheemse plante, Agrostis stolonifera en Sagina procumbens, en die inheems Acaena magellanica (in 2 m x 2 m kwadrante, subverdeel in 0. 25 m x 0. 25 m kwadrante) langs riviere op Marion Eiland. Omgewingsveranderlikes was belangrik vir die voorkoms van hierdie spesies. In besonder, 42.95 % en 24.82 % van die afwykings in die voorkoms van A. stolonifera en S. procumbens, onderskeidelik, is verduidelik deur omgewingsveranderlikes, vergeleke met 17.35 % vir A. magellanica. Verder, die medevoorkoms van A. magellanica saam met A. stolonifera is beduidend beinvloed deur omgewingsveranderlikes. Beduidende positiewe ruimtelike assosiasies tussen A. magellanica en A. stolonifera is gevind, terwyl die interaksies van beide spesies met S. procumbens was of ruimtelik nie-geassosieerd of lukraak. Daarom het hierdie studie uitgelig dat uitheemse spesies reageer op verskillende omgewingsveranderlikes op Marion Eiland. Sagina procumbens blyk minder sensitief te wees tot die eiland se omgewingsomstandighede en mag dus moontlik biodiversiteit op breër vlakke beïnvloed. Hierdie tesis voorsien onge-ewenaarde data oor die verspreiding en interaksies van inheems plante en uitheemse spesies vir Marion Eiland. Uitheemse spesies hou ongetwyfeld ’n beduidende bedreiging in vir inheems plante op die eiland, en hierdie tesis bied insig in die interaksies van spesies, spesifiek plante – ’n benadering wat swak verteenwoordig was in die sub-Antarktiese gebied tot op hede.

Arctic ecosystems are undergoing rapid environmental transformations. Climate change is affecting permafrost temperature, vegetation structure, and wildlife populations, and increasing human development is impacting a range of ecological processes. Arctic indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, as subsistence harvesting plays a major role in local lifestyles. In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), in the western Canadian Arctic, indigenous land-users are witnessing a broad spectrum of environmental changes, which threaten subsistence practices. Local cumulative effects monitoring programs acknowledge the importance of subsistence land use; however there are few cumulative effects assessments that measure the impact of environmental change on land-based activities. My MSc addresses this gap with a broad-scale spatial inventory that measures the distribution of multiple disturbances in the mainland ISR, and assesses their overlap with community planning areas, land management zones, and caribou harvesting areas. I also generated nine future disturbance scenarios that simulate increases in both human development and wildfire occurrence, in order to understand how additional environmental change may affect the availability of un-impacted harvesting lands. I used the conservation planning software, Marxan, to assess the impact of increasing environmental perturbations on the availability and contiguity of 40 subsistence harvesting areas. Results show that the study region is already impacted by multiple environmental disturbances, and that these disturbances overlap considerably with wildlife harvesting areas. This limits the success of Marxan runs that attempt to conserve high percentages of subsistence use areas. It becomes increasingly difficult to conserve large, contiguous assortments of wildlife harvesting areas when using Marxan to assess conservation potential in future disturbance scenarios. In a separate study, I conducted 20 semi-structured interviews in the communities of Inuvik, Aklavik, and Tuktoyaktuk that explored the impact of environmental change on Inuvialuit land-users. Participants in my study indicated that wildlife harvesting in the region is being affected by a range of environmental disturbances and that this change is typically considered to be negative. Climate change-related disturbances were noted to affect travel routes, access to harvesting areas, wildlife dynamics, and the quality of meat and pelts. Human activity, such as oil exploration, was noted to impact both wildlife populations and harvesters’ ability to use the land. These observations are an important contribution to local cumulative effects monitoring because they highlight local accounts of environmental change, which are often missed in broad-scale assessments, and they emphasize the concerns of local land-users. This underscores the importance of including indigenous insights in cumulative effects monitoring and suggests that combining quantitative assessments of environmental change with the knowledge of local land-users can improve regional cumulative effects monitoring. / Graduate