published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

The abundance of wealth and technology in the North, and biological diversity and poverty in the South provokes an inquiry into an appropriate modality for the equitable harnessing and allocation of biodiversity dividends. Over the years, the traditional knowledge relating to biological diversity has been regarded as part of the "global intellectual commons", open to exploitation by all, and subject to validation by formal methods. That knowledge has remained the source of both increasing knowledge and critical discoveries of the therapeutic values of most components of biological diversity. There is a consensus between the North and the South that an effective biodiversity conservation strategy should be one capable of providing incentives to the traditional custodians of wild habitat. Intellectual property is generally recognised as an appropriate framework to implement this objective. However, as a perennial subject of North-South disagreement, there is no consensus on the relevant details or mechanisms for deploying intellectual property rights to effectuate the objective. The United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signifies a global regime embodying the ideals of incentivising the traditional custodians of the wild habitat as well as equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. Arguably, it marks an end to the idea of regarding traditional knowledge as part of the global intellectual commons. This thesis contends that the CBD regime carries with it the burden of unresolved North-South perspectives on intellectual property rights. It argues that the heart of the conflict is the reluctance of the North to accord intellectual property status to traditional knowledge. This is partly because of the latter's informal nature but most importantly it derives from an inherent geo-political ideological conflict on the subject of intellectual property rights. Presently, the recognition of rights over traditional knowledge is approached on a sui generis basis. This thesis takes the position that the approach with its several limitations is not persuasive. It contends that on the merits, traditional knowledge is, and ought to be recognised as a subject matter of intellectual property rights. The recent elevation of intellectual property (a traditional subject matter of national law) to the international level under the WTO/TRIPs Agreement further undermines traditional knowledge. This has posed a setback not only to the global biodiversity conservation initiative, but also to the quest for equitable allocation of its dividends. It is my thesis that a national approach offers a better option for accommodating the intellectual property status of traditional knowledge and consequentially for advancing the quest for biodiversity conservation as well as equitable allocation of the dividends arising therefrom.

<p>Cape Town is a unique city. It has a global biodiversity hotspot, in the midst of an urban area. Historically, nature conservation practice excluded and marginalized certain groups of people based on their race and class. This has led to peoples&lsquo / disconnection from nature. Rapid biodiversity loss is a major concern for conservators. In the last three decades, there has been a paradigm shift in conservation practice in certain parts of the world. The Cape Flats Nature programme based in Cape Town followed suit and aimed to stimulate a bottom-up participatory approach to conservation and replace the traditional top-down management strategy. The programme was tasked to reconcile the challenges of complex and conflicting relationships between urban poverty, unequal access to resources and biodiversity conservation. This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between conservation management, community partners and urban conservation areas. These relationships are vital for the progression of new conservation practice in places where people live and work. In addition, the transformative aspects of conservation in relation to social inclusion and the shift in conservation approaches was investigated. The study was conducted at five of Cape Town&lsquo / s nature reserves, Edith Stephens Wetland Park, Macassar Dunes, Harmony Flats, Wolfgat and Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserves. Data collection included in depth interviews with key informants from various conservation organizations, the Cape Flats Nature Programme team, the managers of the selected reserves and community partners. Others included observational methods and analysis of secondary data. It was found that relationships between conservators and local communities are not easily created and maintained but relationships regardless of its depth are equally beneficial to communities and the conservators. Balancing social needs with conservation needs is a struggle for conservators but many successes came in cases where this balance was realized. In addition, the transformation of conservators&lsquo / identity has changed community perceptions of conservation practice holistically. Although, many informants feel that transformation continues to remain unequal.</p>

<p>Cape Town is a unique city. It has a global biodiversity hotspot, in the midst of an urban area. Historically, nature conservation practice excluded and marginalized certain groups of people based on their race and class. This has led to peoples&lsquo / disconnection from nature. Rapid biodiversity loss is a major concern for conservators. In the last three decades, there has been a paradigm shift in conservation practice in certain parts of the world. The Cape Flats Nature programme based in Cape Town followed suit and aimed to stimulate a bottom-up participatory approach to conservation and replace the traditional top-down management strategy. The programme was tasked to reconcile the challenges of complex and conflicting relationships between urban poverty, unequal access to resources and biodiversity conservation. This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between conservation management, community partners and urban conservation areas. These relationships are vital for the progression of new conservation practice in places where people live and work. In addition, the transformative aspects of conservation in relation to social inclusion and the shift in conservation approaches was investigated. The study was conducted at five of Cape Town&lsquo / s nature reserves, Edith Stephens Wetland Park, Macassar Dunes, Harmony Flats, Wolfgat and Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserves. Data collection included in depth interviews with key informants from various conservation organizations, the Cape Flats Nature Programme team, the managers of the selected reserves and community partners. Others included observational methods and analysis of secondary data. It was found that relationships between conservators and local communities are not easily created and maintained but relationships regardless of its depth are equally beneficial to communities and the conservators. Balancing social needs with conservation needs is a struggle for conservators but many successes came in cases where this balance was realized. In addition, the transformation of conservators&lsquo / identity has changed community perceptions of conservation practice holistically. Although, many informants feel that transformation continues to remain unequal.</p>

A study of carabids and cicindelids was carried out in eastern South Africa using the same methodology as has been used in the northern hemisphere to obtain a southern hemisphere perspective. The study used the macroecology approach to compare patterns and responses of these animals to anthropogenic disturbances in visually similar habitats (forests, grasslands). Although this is essentially a local component of a larger macroecological study, it is shown that even though species and identities differ between the north and southern hemispheres, the general patterns of community response to anthropogenic disturbances are surprisingly similar. Changes in carabid assemblages were assessed across eight sites or landscape elements experiencing a range of disturbance types, both regular and irregular (such as mowing, fire, irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, forestry). Direct comparisons were made with similar studies in the Palaearctic. Species diversity, seasonal population variations, population phenology, spatial patterns and mean body size of species assemblages relative to the landscape elements are described. As in the north, intensively disturbed biotopes were impoverished, and natural patches of moist forest acted as habitat sources for these disturbed sinks. Roadside verges were species-rich analogues of natural habitats. The mean body size of carabid assemblages in forest and grassland sites decreased with increasing intensity of disturbance. One contrary comparison with the north was that a plantation, in this case macadamia, was exceptionally rich in carabid species and individuals. Classification and ordination methods identified and characterised the eight sites to six ecological meaningful biotopes for carabids and cicindelids. This also allowed inferences as to how the various landscape disturbances in natural forests, planted pine forests, macadamia plantation, recreational park, road verge grasslands and hayfields affect carabid and cicindelid species richness and abundance. Species assemblages that responded to these anthropogenic impacts were potential indicator groups that can assist in the planning and management of forest and grassland landscapes for conservation of biodiversity. Some management recommendations for these landscapes are given. Individual species-environment relations were investigated using both univariate and multivariate analyses. The solutions to these analyses were then used to describe how species are distributed along major environmental gradients. It was shown that soil characteristics (pH, moisture, twig and/or leaf litter) determine carabid and cicindelid assemblages. Land-use and management regimes influence these patterns. The effect of altitude is masked by the presence of soil characteristics in a multivariate analysis, and more so in the presence of pH and moist soil-sand gradients with changing altitude. In the absence of soil characteristics and in univariate analysis, altitude becomes very important. Altitude has therefore an indirect effect in that it determines climate, which, in turn, determines soil and vegetation type which then determines species presence and abundance. It is concluded that the macroecological approach has great potential for teasing apart local effects from global ones, and can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity at both small and large scales. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

In this investigation, a review is undertaken of the newly promulgated and existent legislation pertaining to the conservation of biodiversity, and the establishment of protected areas as the primary means to protect representative samples thereof. This review develops understanding of the various types of protected areas which may be used, in a broad sense, to conserve the country's biodiversity, with special reference being made to the recently promulgated Protected Areas Act. In undertaking this, a detailed discussion of biodiversity, trusteeship and the concept of systematic planning and irreplaceability is generated. Cursory comment and discussion in a socio-political context, in particular regarding land reform, as well as the various international obligations and commitments the country has undertaken, is made. Despite South Africa being the third most biologically diverse country globally, it is concluded that the conservation of its biodiversity has had a troubled and undirected history. The establishment of protected areas, as a result, has been ad hoc and potentially ineffective at a national scale. The source of this observation is linked directly to the absence of a structured and co-ordinated framework that supports the fulfilment of the country's international commitments to conserve biodiversity. The promulgation of the Biodiversity Act and subsequently the Protected Areas Act, has brought into playa significant step forward in developing this co-ordinated framework. The Act clarifies and brings effect to the State's trusteeship as well as providing a platform for the participation of a wider range of role players, especially previously disadvantaged and land dispossessed communities, in conservation and protection of biodiversity. This participation includes conserving biodiversity for economic, social, and cultural reasons. The absence of meaningful incentives for private and communal landowners to voluntarily conserve biodiversity, and the significance ofthis, is also discussed. Finally a consideration is given of the secondary aim of this legislation, to simplify the statutes concerning the conservation of biodiversity and particularly those pertaining to protected area establishment. This simplification is only partially achieved as a number of protected areas are still not at all or partially regulated by the Protected Areas Act. This may be a source of confusion and uncertainty. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Conservation agreements have been used successfully around the globe for the conservation of biodiversity on private land. In South Africa however, their use to this end has largely been overlooked. Conservation mechanisms in the country have focussed primarily on traditional methods; establishing and managing protected areas identified as having some form of conservation significance. At present only 5.8% of land in South Africa is conserved in statutory protected areas, however government has committed itself to increasing this percentage to 8%. Furthermore, many of the country's biodiversity-rich areas are situated on private land and are currently afforded little or no protection. The cost of purchasing the land is not only financially prohibitive but also socially unacceptable and consequently alternative conservations mechanisms need to be explored. This study provides a comparative analysis of the legislation governing conservation agreements in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and highlights several common key provisions which have contributed to the success of these agreements. It also provides recommendations on possible changes to the South African legislation to allow for a more effective contribution by private landowners to biodiversity objectives and targets within the country. Although the study establishes that conservation agreements can be accommodated within South Africa's legal system it acknowledges that the success of these agreements is largely dependent on complex interactions between effective policy, supporting institutional arrangements, and attractive incentives. It cautions that if these agreements are to work in South Africa, then careful consideration needs to be given not only to tailor-making the legislation to the South African environment but also to establishing incentives which facilitate "buy-in" from landowners. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Prior to the commencement of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), genetic resources were considered to be the common heritage of mankind; this principle gave the right to developed countries to obtain and freely use the genetic material of developing countries. Growing concern over the controversial ‘free access’ system and the monopolization of benefits led to the negotiation of an international treaty, the CBD, to regulate access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits resulting from the utilisation of such resources. The CBD makes some important innovations. It recognizes that the authority to determine access to genetic resources depends on national governments and is subject to national legislation. Thus, the CBD recognizes state sovereignty over genetic resources and institutes the principles of Prior informed Consent (PIC), Mutually Agreed Terms and Benefit-Sharing. However, the CBD and other international instruments relating to genetic resources have not had the desired effect of preventing the misappropriation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (TK). Developing countries suffered and continue to suffer from the piracy of their resources. This state of affairs has led to the recent adoption of the ‘Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to The Convention on Biological Diversity,’ (2010 Nagoya Protocol). This dissertation will consider the contribution of the Nagoya Protocol to the existing global and regional instruments concerning the access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. After explaining the gaps in the existing instruments, it will explore whether the Protocol is a miracle solution to the recurrent concern over misappropriation of genetic resources from biologically rich countries, or whether there is still much work to do to sort out this problem. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This project describes and evaluates a method of assessing the suitability of 161 farms for inclusion in a biosphere reserve. Farms were chosen as a basic study unit over more ecologically based units because the decision to participate in the biosphere reserve rests with the landowner. The study area is located in northern KwaZulu-Natal, between Hlobane, near Vryheid, and the Itala Nature Reserve where local landowners are exploring the possibility of establishing a biosphere reserve. A brief review of the natural, social and economic contexts is given in order to identify local dynamics relevant to the establishment of a biosphere reserve. Farm suitability for inclusion was assessed with respect to its capability to fulfil the three main roles of a biosphere reserve as defined by the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO. These are conservation, sustainable development and research. Ten factors were identified to determine farm suitability: vegetation, fauna and soil conservation, present land use, agricultural potential, tourism potential, education, settlement density and location. These were prioritised using the Analytical Hierarchy Process according to their impact on the main roles of the biosphere reserve.Each farm was given a factor score according to the expression of that factor on that farm. Overall farm suitability was taken as the sum of the weighted factor scores. The final scores for each farm were grouped into suitability classes and these were mapped. This map was then used to make recommendations on which farms should be considered for inclusion in the reserve. This method of assessing farm suitability for inclusion in a biosphere reserve, involving scoring the factors determining suitability and prioritising these factors was evaluated with respect-to its efficiency in identifying suitable properties. This was achieved by comparing the results of the assessment with the suitability class of farms with known suitability. The conceptual approach to the assessment was reviewed against published guidelines for integrated regional planning and rational resource planning. The accuracy of the project method in correctly identifying suitable farms was assessed against two other simplified methods of assessment, involving no weighting between factors, and a limited number of factors. Based on these analyses, conclusions have been drawn as to the strengths and weaknesses of both the method of farm assessment and the method of evaluation itself Recommendations were made for further research into and development of methods of assessing farm suitability for biosphere reserves. A procedure for the establishment of the proposed Itala Biosphere Reserve was suggested. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.