Despite constituting a sheer 2% of the world’s surface area, South Africa (SA) is the third most biologically diverse country in the world and this makes the country part of the 17 member countries that make up the ‘Megadiverse Countries’(Sandwith, 2002; Nel & Driver, 2012). Besides its exceptional levels of endemism, according to Boshoff, Cowling and Kerley (2000), three of the 25 internationally recognised biodiversity hotspots are found in SA namely the Cape Florist Region, the Succulent Karoo and the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany centre of endemism. The Baviaanskloof is a very popular tourist destination, which falls within the Cape Floristic Region) ‘biodiversity hotspot’ in the Eastern Cape Province (Myers, 1988; Crane, 2007). Its high biodiversity, numerous archaeological sites, pristine environment, low crime rates, absence of malaria and easy of accessibility, makes it a perfect destination for recreationists (Clark, 1999; Boshoff et al., 2000). The Baviaanskloof was declared a ‘mega reserve’ under the Cape Action for People and Environment (CAPE) programme (CSIR, 2000). It consists of privately-owned farm land and a nature reserve called the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area (BWA). In order to properly manage, conserve and utilise the rich natural resources of the Baviaanskloof, its benefits need to be clearly documented and demonstrated. The aim of this study is to determine the recreational value of the Baviaanskloof, and this was achieved using non-market value technique, namely the travel cost method (TCM). The TCM is used to value recreational assets via the expenditures on traveling to the site by recognising that visitors to a recreation site pay an implicit price – the cost of travelling to it, including access fees and the opportunity costs of their time (Baker & Ruting, 2014). This method is mostly used to estimate use values for recreation activities and changes in these use values associated with changes in environmental quality/quantity. The greatest advantage of the TCM is that valuation estimates are derived from real economic choices made by individuals in real markets, whereas its inability to estimate non-market values is its major weakness which only limits its application to recreational studies. In estimating the recreational value of the Baviaanskloof, data from 328 respondents were used. Five econometric models, namely, a standard Poisson specification, a Poisson specification adjusted for truncation and endogenous stratification (TES Poisson), a standard negative vii binomial model (NB), a negative binomial model adjusted for truncation and endogenous stratification (NBTES), and a generalised negative binomial with endogenous stratification (GNBES) were used to estimate the recreational value of the Baviaanskloof. Crucially, all the five models simultaneously established income and total costs to be statistically significant in determining the number of trips to the recreational site according to a priori expectations. The GNBES model was observed to have the best fit of the data than the other four models after an examination of goodness-of-fit measures in conjunction with the number of statistically significant variables per model. Of the 328 respondents surveyed, on average, visitors to the Baviaanskloof are mostly male, highly educated individuals, receiving gross annual income of ZAR436 372 (USD30 451.64) and 39.87 years of age. The mean travel cost was estimated to be ZAR1 433.56 (USD100.04) and each travelling party consisted of 4.09 people on average. Using estimates from the preferred GNBES model, the study estimated consumer surplus per trip for a recreationist to the Baviaanskloof to be ZAR1 759.32 (USD122.78). When this value is multiplied by the average annual trips a person takes to site, a value of ZAR2 445.46 (USD170.66) for consumer surplus per person is produced. Further aggregation of this value across the population (i.e. 18 500), of recreationists to the Baviaanskloof per year gives total consumer surplus of ZAR3 157 210 (USD220 321). The study concludes that the Baviaanskloof has a significant recreational value which can further be increased if policymakers take actions to, inter alia, upgrade infrastructure, budget more money for conservation and market the nature reserve in unexploited markets. Since the non-use values were not taken into account and also the impact of on-site sampling on the data set, the recreational value of the Baviaanskloof should be carefully considered in any management or conservation project. More studies of this nature are greatly needed to allow for more comparisons and increase credibility of the results of environmental valuation studies in SA.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science)) - Rhodes University, 2009.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Talking about community development is not an easy task because it is a broad term employed by academics, civic leaders, governments, concerned citizens, faith-based organisations and simply people with an interest in the well-being of others. Each of these groups may have their own interpretation of what they perceive community development to be. Currently many new voices speak out in favour of the upliftment of the marginalised, the periphery segment of the population. In government circles, we see an array of community development initiatives (of which integrated development planning is but one), aimed at empowering individuals to effect change in their own communities. The underlying principle is that within any community there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used creatively, can be channelled into collective action to achieve the desired goals to benefit the community. Unfortunately, the majority of people who belong to the poorer segment of the population are still unable to access the full potential of these initiatives. Poverty and its many faces are still rampant, and the people feeling it most acutely are those living in “small towns”. The first part of this study attempts to address community development in one such small town; the Baviaans Municipal Area. It seeks to “give voice” to the people, in order for them to take charge of their own development as Chapter 4 attempts to show. The study also allows “small town” communities to break through the academic rhetoric of poverty to voice their own understanding of this social ill (Chapter 3). In this chapter ordinary people “unlearn to not speak”. The second segment of this dissertation builds on the empirical findings of the first segment by exploring how community development challenges the church to be church. It acknowledges the fact that the church has a long history as a pioneer in social involvement; and that the church, unlike any other “civil institution”, enjoys credibility and trust from the majority of people on the globe. This assumption strengthens the hypothesis that the church can be a reliable, worthy and valued catalyst for community development within the social development paradigm. This dissertation consciously avoids the naivety of ignoring the challenges that accompany this premise. Whilst Chapter 5 acknowledges the ceaseless involvement of the church in the development domain, Chapter 6 unpacks the theological impact of these challenges on the practical daily life and essence of the church. It seeks to demonstrate theologically what it means to be church in our day and age. Against the background of the preceding chapters, and mindful of the fact that no study can claim absolutism, Chapter 7 concludes this study by making some practical suggestions and recommendations that could be helpful for local government, the church and those with an interest in community development. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is nie maklik om oor gemeenskapsontwikkeling te praat nie want dit is ‘n wye term wat gebruik word deur akademici, gemeenskapsleiers, besorgde landsburgers, godsdiensgroepe, en ook deur mense wat bloot belang stel in die welsyn van hul medemens. Al hierdie groepe het moontlik hul eie persepsie van wat gemeenskapsontwikkeling is of behoort te wees. Tans is daar baie nuwe stemme wat hul uitspreek ten gunste van die opheffing van die gemarginaliseerde mense op die grense van die samelewing. Uit regeringskringe kom daar ‘n rits van inisiatiewe (waarvan geïntegreerde ontwikkeling slegs een is) wat gemeenskapsontwikkeling ten doel het en inividue wil bemagtig ten einde verandering in hulle gemeenskap te bewerkstellig. Die onderliggende prinsiep is dat daar in elke gemeenskap ‘n skat van kennis en ondervinding is wat, indien dit op ‘n kreatiewe wyse aangewend word, gekanaliseer kan word in kollektiewe aksie ten einde die gewenste doel te kan bereik: om tot voordeel van die gemeenskap te wees. Ongelukkig het die meerderheid van die mense wat tot die armer segment van die bevolking behoort nog steeds nie toegang tot die volle potensiaal van hierdie inisiatiewe nie. Armoede in al sy gestaltes is nog steeds wydverspreid, en die mense wat dit die ergste ondervind, is diegene wat in “klein dorpe” woon. Die eerste deel van hierdie studie probeer om gemeenskapsontwikkeling in so ‘n dorpsomgewing, die Baviaans Munisipale Gebied aan te spreek. Dit poog om die mense se “stem” te laat hoor, ten einde dit vir hulle moontlik te maak om in beheer te wees van hulle eie ontwikkeling. Dit word in Hoofstuk 4 geïllustreer. Die studie gee ook ‘n geleentheid aan mense in klein dorpies om die akademiese retoriek rondom armoede te verbreek en hulle stemme te laat hoor betreffende hierdie sosiale euwel (Hoofstuk 3). In hierdie hoofstuk leer gewone mense om “op te hou om nie te praat nie”. Die tweede segment van hierdie verhandeling bou voort op die empiriese bevindinge van die eerste segment, deur na te speur hoe gemeenskapsontwikkeling die kerk uitgedaag het om kerk te wees. Dit gee erkenning aan die feit dat die kerk ‘n lang geskiedenis as pionier in sosiale betrokkenheid het, asook die feit dat die kerk, anders as sommige ander gemeenskaps-instellings, geloofwaardigheid en vertroue geniet in die oë van die meerderheid van mense . Hierdie aanvaarding versterk die hipotese dat die kerk ‘n betroubare, waardige en waardevolle katalis vir gemeenskapsontwikkeling binne die sosiale ontwikkelingsparadigma kan wees. Dit sou naief wees om die uitdagings wat deel van die premis (uitgangspunt) is, te ignoreer, en hierdie verhandeling vermy dit doelbewus. Hoofstuk 5 gee erkenning aan die onophoudelike betrokkenheid van die kerk in die ontwikkelingsdomein. Hoofstuk 6 verwys na die teologiese impak van hierdie uitdagings op die praktiese daaglikse lewe en essensie van die kerk. Dit poog om in teologiese terme te wys wat dit deesdae beteken om kerk te wees. Teen die agtergrond van die voorafgaande hoofstukke, en bewus van die feit dat geen studie op absolutisme aanspraak kan maak nie, word hierdie studie afgesluit deur Hoofstuk 7, met ‘n paar praktiese voorstelle en aanbevelings betreffende wat van nut mag wees vir plaaslike regering, die kerk, en almal vir wie gemeenskapsontwikkeling belangrik is.

The leopard, Panthera pardus, is particularly threatened outside conservation areas in South Africa. This has been attributed to a reduction in natural habitat, decreasing natural prey populations, and commercial exploitation such as trophy hunting, and most importantly, persecution by stock farmers (Woodroffe 2001). The leopard population in the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve (BMR) has undergone a substantial decrease in range and numbers in the past 200 years, resulting in a highly fragmented population in the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, and is regarded as being insecure. There is thus a need to investigate the nature and extent of leopard-stock farmer interactions to provide the foundation for an effective leopard conservation plan. Here I investigated the ecological and socio-economic factors influencing leopard-stock farmer conflict via landowner surveys and estimated potential leopard numbers using a prey-based density model. Leopards are not necessarily the most important causes of livestock mortality in the BMR. On average, leopards killed significantly less livestock (0.7 percent livestock per year) than black-backed jackals (4.7 percent per year) and caracal (2.5 percent per year), yet 67 percent of farmers had negative attitudes towards leopards. These negative attitudes were not significantly related to stock losses. However, most of the farmers that had negative attitudes towards leopards did not have any stock losses attributed to leopards. Thus if predator-stock conflict is not reduced it will result in the retaliatory killing of leopards. This will have severe consequences for this relatively small population (estimated at 59 – 104 individuals by the prey-based model), which may ultimately lead to the local extinction of these leopards (Woodroffe & Ginsberg 1998).

Thesis (MPhil (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is unique in that its globally significant biodiversity, which is under major threat, coexists with an apartheid history of dispossession that produced a starkly unequal land ownership pattern and widespread rural poverty. It is in this context that the post-apartheid government must fulfil constitutional and international obligations to safeguard environmental assets as well as undertake land reform benefiting the previously dispossessed. Consequently, there is a continuous challenge of reconciling complex and often conflicting relationships between poverty, inequitable access to resources, and the protection of biodiversity. Current efforts to conserve the Cape Floral Kingdom emphasise partnerships between private landowners and existing nature reserves to promote sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. This paper explores the potential impact of this approach on farm dwellers, and how changing land use may affect their land tenure rights and livelihoods. Primary research was undertaken in the Baviaanskloof, where this model is in an early stage of implementation. The paper identifies systemic and structural tensions in current attempts to reconcile biodiversity conservation and farm dwellers’ interests, and documents issues of process and principle that could become important in the future. In doing so, it highlights the influence of on-farm power relations and highly complex institutional arrangements in determining the real extent of participation by affected farm dwellers and the efficacy of social safeguard policies. Findings also caution against an over-reliance on ecotourism as the major occupation and argues instead for support to multiple livelihood strategies.

The semi-arid forms of subtropical thicket in the Eastern and Western Cape have been heavily degraded through unsustainable pastoralism over the last century or more. The degraded areas exhibit a significant loss of above-ground and belowground carbon stocks, and consequently provide an opportunity for restoration through the formal and informal carbon markets. A prerequisite for the attainment of carbon credits is to ensure sound carbon stock baselines prior to effecting restoration. I report on the carbon stocks (including sub-pools) for a number of intact subtropical thicket types, as well as the differentials between the intact and degraded states (including the sub-pools). Total carbon stocks (TCS in t C ha⁻¹) for intact vegetation (to a soil depth 0–25 cm), ranged from 87.73±6.51 to 70.64±17.24. For degraded vegetation (including old lands), TCS (t C ha⁻¹) ranged from 34.05±3.61 to 21.03±2.70. For all vegetation types, the differentials in TCS along the degradation gradient (0–25 cm) are highly significant and strengthen the possibility for carbon credit financing to catalyse the restoration of the degraded semi-arid subtropical thickets. This study has shown a mean loss of 57.23 t C ha⁻¹ in Baviaanskloof spekboom thickets, when measured to a soil depth of 25 cm. Portulacaria afra is a key species within the semi-arid subtropical thickets, being a canopy dominant and a driver of soil nutrient status, but has been largely lost from the degraded landscapes. Degraded semi-arid subtropical thicket vegetation lacks regeneration via seedling recruitment; restoration therefore requires the manual replanting of P. afra using cut truncheons. Survivorship trials were undertaken infield in 2005 to establish restoration protocols for P. afra, with survivorship being recorded in 2006 and 2008. Overall survivorship for all treatments was found to be 43.2±2.8% in 2006, dropping to 35.8±2.7% in 2008. Planting posture (flat or upright) showed the most significant results of all the factors tested in 2006 and 2008. Micro-damming also influenced survivorship in that micro-damming was associated with marginally higher survivorship (47.4 ±2.0% with damming vs. 39.1±1.5% without damming in 2006, and 39.3±1.9% vs. 32.3±1.5% in 2008). Higher planting density only showed a significant positive impact on survivorship in 2008. Neither stem diameter nor clumping significantly affected degree of survival. A key finding in the study has been the non-static nature of P. afra truncheon survivorship, even after being well established (three years since planting). The results from the study will guide the restoration protocols for the restoration of degraded subtropical thickets, where P. afra requires replanting.