This study utilizes a cyclical socio-ecological systems approach to explore change in natural vegetation and land use within the Kannaland Municipality of the Klein Karoo. Repeat ground photography, historical climate and agricultural data, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to assess environmental, political and socio-economic change in the study area since the early 1900s. Few studies have had the opportunity to augment the analysis of repeat ground photography with contextual information from in-depth interviews making this study unique in its approach. For most of the 20th century agricultural land use within the Klein Karoo has undergone fluctuations of increased and decreased productivity. However, during the later decades a noticeable decline in agricultural land use, especially sheep and goat production, has been recorded. Largely due to this, and contrary to degradation projections for this area, evidence of growth in cover of natural vegetation, especially over the last 20 years, was found. From the mid 1990s change from largely agricultural to recreational game and weekend farming as well as tourism-related land use has increased. Implications of recent land use change are perceived as both positive and negative. Increases in natural vegetation cover and potential associated biodiversity improvements are considered positive implications associated with the demise in extensive agricultural land use for the area. A decline in farm-based employment and agricultural productivity are considered negative implications of this land use change. Substantial increase in game farming within the study area is perceived to require stringent monitoring and research into the long term implications of this land use on natural vegetation. For optimal land use management and conservation of natural vegetation this study recommends building the capacity of the agricultural and conservation extension services within the Klein Karoo. The study further promotes the diversification of land use inclusive of agricultural production, conservation of biodiversity and development, particularly within the tourism sector, as optimal for the sustainability of land use in the Klein Karoo.

Food production has been a constant feature of food security policies. This narrative has continued despite findings showing that food insecurity is structural, and more driven by issues of access than availability, particularly for low-income households in cities who live in a cash economy. While usually considered a rural issue, the urban poor with low and unreliable incomes also face food insecurity which manifests differently to that of their rural counterparts. Thus, this creates the need to understand how the urban poor get their food. Garneton, a low-income area in Kitwe, Zambia, was chosen as the case study area for understanding the food system that feeds the urban poor. Fish and the fish value chain were used as the lens with which to understand the food system. The primary aim of the study was to understand the flow of fish in the food system and how it gets to low-income households in Kitwe. A qualitative methodology using semi-structured in-depth interviews was used. A bottom up and systems approach which started by finding out what the low-income consumers ate, and following the fish value chain systematically up to the producers enabled the study to capture the actual food system that feeds the poor and uncovered the different issues affecting the food system. The study had three main findings. The first finding was that the low-income households bought their food from both formal and informal markets but were more highly dependent on the informal markets. The factors that drove their purchasing decisions included income, proximity and volumes of fish sold. Secondly, the study also found that informal traders bought their fish mainly through the informal markets although the imported fish was bought from the formal market. Thirdly, the study found that there were a number of factors that affected the food system. These included policy, economic and environmental factors. The pathways of fish were also found to change in accordance with the fish ban. The thesis argues that, there is greater need to have policy that addresses the needs of the urban poor. Food should also be looked at as a cross cutting issue with different food systems perceived as complementing each other to addressing the food needs, particularly of the urban poor. Finally, more attention must be paid to the informal market which plays a significant role in meeting the food security needs of the urban poor.

Environmental campaigns have generally relied upon using information alone as a way to get messages across to the public. This approach is based on the assumption of a linear relationship between information and behaviour: it is believed that educating people will lead them to be more environmentally responsible. An example of this is the information deficit model. The information-deficit model (Blake, 1999), suggests that experts inform individuals about the environment in order to achieve behaviour change. Contrary to this model, dissenters claim that the information-deficit model is not participatory or deliberative and that human behaviours are determined by factors such as individual lifestyle. This dissertation tests the assumption behind the idea that added information leads to improved environmental behaviour. The research used a case study of an urban South African environmental education program: the Smart Living Campaign in the City of Cape Town. The study is split into two sections, the first which focuses on the workplace of the companies. The second which is aimed at the households of the employees of the companies. The study focused on two variables, the impact of waste management in terms of recycling, and energy usage in terms of electricity consumption on their behaviour.

The recent Cape Town drought and fear of a severe water crisis between 2015- 2018 was followed by a fast-tracked crisis management response. In line with a wider global trend, the City of Cape Town adopted a technology called ‘reverse osmosis desalination' into the water supply mix. This ‘water production' technology is alluring as it promises to be ‘drought- proof', preserving a constant flow of water in times of increased climatic uncertainty. Yet, the implementation of water technologies in Cape Town continues to be a highly debated topic. Cape Town suffers from a longstanding legacy of uneven racialized infrastructure development practices, resulting in unequal water access and consumption. In this context of unequal water security across social groups and increased climatic vulnerability, it is important to carefully consider the implications of new water technologies if the desired outcome is a more sustainable and equitable water future. Drawing on urban political ecology, this dissertation explores the process in which the instalment of three temporary desalination plants and planning for permanent desalination in Cape Town emerged. This, in order to carefully consider its consequences for equitable water security. By utilizing secondary official city documents, reports and news articles from several credible news platforms, supported by a number of personally conducted semistructured interviews and secondary sourced interviews with City employees, this thesis aims to understand how desalination is constituted as a crisis response. This exploration is organized around analyzing the relationships and dynamics between various actors, the events that signified the processual nature of the adoption and the emergent effects for water access across the City. The findings reveal that the promise that desalination holds as a technical solution to climatic uncertainty undermines the / contradictions that evolve alongside the instalments. While desalination was pushed by the municipality as a drought relief technology for all citizens, the results show that the emergence of this technology came with frictions, as it was contested, ecologically disturbed and critically questioned by multiple actors. As my findings demonstrate, desalination triggers the emergence of exclusive decision-making processes and financial constraints, especially for vulnerable citizens. This thesis thus argues that desalination implies to only secure water for some, while intensifying water insecurity for the already vulnerable. While the City strives towards a “shared water future”, the high focus on extending its water supply to meet growing demands lacks consideration of meeting existing demands, excluding the socio- political processes within current water decision making. This rather reinforces racialized- spatial and distributional inequities across a diverse range of social groups within the City.

Climatic hazards, such as flooding and drought, are expected to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. Growing evidence suggests that climate-induced water challenges will interact with health concerns, compounding pre-existing challenges for vulnerable populations in low-and middle-income contexts. Due to the novel nature of COVID-19, limited research has focused on the combined impact of the climate crisis and COVID-19 on human health, particularly in South Africa. Thus, there is an urgent need to enhance understanding of the adverse health impacts linked to climate-related water stressors. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study drew upon multiple datasets to explore water-related health risks prevalent during the Cape Town drought, and in the subsequent period up to and including the current COVID-19 pandemic. Data sources include qualitative stories from a community resilience project, video interviews from the drought response in Cape Town, quantitative COVID-19 water service delivery data from informal settlements, and a document analysis of the Cape Town Water Strategy. Data was analysed using inductive and deductive research approaches to piece together different perspectives on how the pandemic interacts with pre-existing hazards. The study uses the climate-water-health nexus framing to investigate some of the critical health risks present during and after the drought. The study also explores how the COVID-19 pandemic interacted with health and water issues, providing a snapshot of the lived experience of the urban poor during an emerging public health crisis. The study subsequently considers the implications for the Cape Town water sector in view of the drought and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Results from this study show that inadequate sanitation and exposure to wastewater are the most commonly cited health risks for low-income households in the study sites. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing water-associated health risks by indirectly widening health inequalities and increasing poverty levels. Moreover, compound risks have limited the ability of low-income households to cope with additional shocks and stressors. The findings of this study contribute to a critical research gap and expand the evidence base on the relationship between climate change, water, health, and compound risks in the South African context. The study calls for the adoption of a cross-sectoral, integrated approach to address health threats at the climate-water-health nexus.

Cape Town has recently undergone major policy and regulatory changes within its water management strategy in response to a three-year drought (2015-2018). Due to the vulnerability of humanity to climate change, its uncertainty, and the risks that it poses for securing a reliable source of water, it is important to fully understand the implications of Cape Town's responding water management changes, in understanding that similar events could occur again in the future. Situated within the field of political ecology, this research aims to determine how the evolution of water management in Cape Town in response to the drought will most likely impact the ideal of equitable water service provision throughout the city's post-crisis context. By utilizing a series of personally conducted semi-structured interviews and secondary official city documents, this research focuses on the tourism industry and the African Water Commons Collective (AWCC) as a lens to understand what motivated the CoCT's water-policy decision-making processes, how the economy and low-income communities were considered and treated in response to these decisions, how these have gone on to impact their respective experiences with water accessibility, and what this implies regarding their accessibility for the near future. The results reveal that a significant number of policy decisions were based on the emergence of a duality of crisis: (1) a drought that mandated reducing demand and augmenting supply and (2) a financial model in need of stabilizing in order for the department to be able to do so. The tourism industry and low-income communities indeed experienced the City's governance responses differently; their experiences each implying very different outlooks for their accessibility in the future. The tourism industry's position within the economy and local government has proven to make it better able to adapt and be resilient in the face of water shortages, painting a pretty picture for its future survival in the face of climate change. The strained relationship between low-income communities and local government, on the other hand, has proven to complicate the City's attempts to improve water and sanitation services in those areas. Without this communication, the City cannot expect to fully understand how the impacts of their decisions are influenced by the spatial and infrastructural contexts of low-income communities. For this reason, improvements in living conditions for those areas cannot be expected. Rather, it is important that the City recognizes the impacts its decisions have on accessibility for the poor, and why. Recognizing that similar events are increasingly likely in the future, at a global scale and with greater frequency, the ability of the Water and Sanitation Department (W&SD) to recognize, reflect and react to these conflicting objectives is crucial if equal water accessibility between citizen groupings is ever going to be met.

Climate is changing, and this change poses threats to the agricultural sector. The impacts of climate are expected to become more extreme as the earth warms, and this change will affect climate suitability for different types of crops. The degree to which an increase in temperature patterns and rainfall variations will affect climate suitability for agricultural practices needs to be further understood. This can be achieved by performing a climate sensitivity analysis and contribute to informing adaptation policies and mitigation measures. This study aims to analyze the sensitivity of important crops in Zimbabwe, maize, and tobacco, in response to changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. This research paper used a sensitivity analysis of climate variables; rainfall, and temperature, using historical climate data derived from WorldClim for the period 1990-2018 to assess climate suitability. The historical climate data was used as the baseline to assess the sensitivity of maize and tobacco under a 2°C, 3°C, and 4°C temperature increase as well as a 5%, 15%, and 30% increase and decrease in annual average rainfall amount. The modified spatial climate data was computed in QGIS, and suitability was simulated using the Ecocrop model embedded in the DIVAGIS user platform. The results from this study indicated that in Zimbabwe, both crops are more sensitive to rainfall changes than to temperature changes (independently). A 5%, 15%, and 30% decline in the average rainfall will result in previously suitable areas becoming marginal, very marginal, and others unsuitable for both crops that are in agro-ecological regions I to III; i.e., provinces that include Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Harare, and Manicaland. When crops are subjected to combined changes (temperature and rainfall), both crops become more sensitive. When exposed to high temperatures and low rainfall together, for instance, provinces such as Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, and Harare which are known as historically suitable areas for maize cultivation, will become marginal or very marginal. This change in suitability could have consequences not only on food security but also on people's livelihood and understanding the crops' sensitivity to climate changes helps support the well-being progress of the country.

Human-Elephant Conflict is a topic of conservation and socio-economic concern in light of its impacts on elephants and humans alike. The phenomenon has been occurring since the 19th century in Asia and Africa. Land use changes and human expansion into previous wildlife strongholds has exacerbated and increased Human-Elephant Conflict notwithstanding the impacts of an increase in the human population worldwide. Human-Elephant Conflict usually occurs in areas adjacent to protected areas with little know of the nature of Human-Elephant Conflict in areas which are not located near protected areas. Mmashoro Village and surrounding farms are an example of an area that is not located adjacent to a protected area but that is still exposed to Human-Elephant Conflict. The nature of Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding farms consists of damage to fences, JoJo tanks and private gardens. Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding areas has also been increasing over time. Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding farms has varying (in degree and extent) impacts on the financial and emotional livelihoods of farm owners, farm workers, and local residents. This study found that the management strategies employed by the Government of Botswana to mitigate impacts of Human-Elephant Conflict were found to be inhibiting and restricting the livelihoods of all stakeholders. The interventions pursued by the government were, therefore, not enabling the present and future potential livelihoods of all stakeholders while also disadvantaging and prejudicing other stakeholders such as Local Residents and Farm Workers. The results of this study therefore indicate that Mmashoro village and surrounding farms present as an interesting case study as the site is not located next to protected areas as is the case with various conflict regions. As such, this study found that more nuanced and adapted management strategies were needed to ensure that government interventions were effective in areas such as Mmashoro Village and surrounding farms. Further studies are needed in sites which are not located next to protected areas but where Human-Elephant Conflict still occurs albeit haphazardly. Such studies will help to highlight the varied approaches often needed in the different geographical and social regions even though such approaches are often disregarded.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is subject to challenges that undermine this process as an effective safeguard to biodiversity. Internationally, effective EIA is hindered by the following issues: a low priority assigned to the consideration of biodiversity and a limited capacity to carry out assessments; a lack of formalised procedures and inconsistent methodologies to address biodiversity within the EIA framework; and a lack of formal requirements for post-project monitoring of biodiversity aspects. Traditionally effectiveness studies in this regard have focused on evaluating the procedural aspects of EIA, and have focused less on the substantive outcomes of the post-authorisation phase of a proposed project. While South Africa has a considerable body of literature pertaining to the procedural aspects of EIA, there remain two substantial gaps in the literature. Firstly, there is an evident absence of effectiveness studies in South Africa that focus primarily on biodiversity-specific procedure. Secondly, almost no research has been conducted in South Africa which investigates the outcomes of mitigation measures, mandatory monitoring, reporting and compliance with biodiversity aspects of EIA. This research therefore aims to fill these gaps by investigating the quality of information generated in five EIAs in the Western Cape. It also examines the implementation success of mitigation measures aimed at managing unavoidable impacts in the post-authorisation phase of these projects. This research has adopted a case study methodological approach. Five EIAs were selected from a sample of 9. In no order of significance, the variables considered most important in the sampling protocol were: the presence of a biodiversity-related specialist report; availability of environmental assessment documentation; overall cases to represent at least two different local jurisdictions; and the uniqueness of adopted biodiversity-related mitigation measures. The primary method used to evaluate the quality of biodiversity-related information is a Key Performance Indicator analysis, whereby the performance of cases is measured against legal and best-practice reporting principles. The substantive outcomes of EIA have been investigated by means of site inspections and interviews with key stakeholders. This research has found that the five cases performed well with complying with best-practice EIA procedure, indicating a 53% full compliance, 29% partial compliance and 18% of best-practice principles were not complied with at all. This research has shown that direct impacts on biodiversity (such as the physical removal of indigenous vegetation) are adequately identified, and indirect impacts (typically those impacting off-site and on ecological processes) are poorly identified in EIA. Therefore, the information required to avoid impacts on biodiversity is available, but this research has found that it is underutilized in this regard. Notably, avoidance of impacts was undermined inadequate site and layout alternatives and poor decision making in terms of the regular authorisation of irreversible impacts on biodiversity. Conversely, only 18% of mitigation measures were fully complied with, 36% were partially complied with, and 45% of mitigation measures were not complied with. These results indicate a poor performance of EIA in the implementation stage of a project lifecycle. This research has concluded this is most likely due to a poor conversion of recommended mitigation measures into conditions of authorisation and a limited capacity of the competent authority to perform compliance monitoring.

Farmer-led seed systems (FSS) provide the backbone for small-scale farmers and many rural communities that use traditional methods of farming to produce seeds that grow and adapt to local conditions. FSS differ from one community and farmer to the next, depending on the methods and practices used to maintain seed varieties. Seed diversity can enhance FSS by improving livelihoods and strengthening farmers' networks, thus contributing to resilient communities. Although nuanced, the dualistic agricultural system in South Africa consists largely of subsistence (small-scale) and commercial (large-scale) farming and includes different crop management systems and post-harvest practices. In South Africa, maize (Zea mays) is a major staple grain crop with a significant role as animal and poultry feed. The North West region is one of the highest white-maize-producing provinces in South Africa. Maize seed systems include both traditional, openpollinated varieties (OPVs) and cultivars such as modern hybrids and genetically modified (GM) seed varieties, including those engineered for specific purposes. The dominant GM maize is that designated for pest resistance using Bacillus thuringienesis (Bt), a soil bacterium which produces a toxin that is fatal to a wide variety of insects such as moths and flies. Many small-scale farmers prefer their own traditional seeds for breeding, planting, selection, selling and consuming. However, FSS based on traditional varieties are threatened by modern cultivars which may be introduced in different ways including through seed exchange, purchasing at shops or by pollination from nearby commercial farms. This study was conducted in the Sespond community of the North West Province. The aim of the study was to understand how small-scale farmers in Sespond maintain traditional maize varieties through selection and storage in a complex agricultural landscape that incorporates both formal and informal seed systems. The formal system represents industrialised farms and companies that work with commercial seed. The informal system represents small-scale farmers who rely on their own seed. Qualitative methods included mapping software which was used to obtain visual agricultural data in and around Sespond. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 small-scale farmers to collect information about their farming practices, including the maize varieties planted. Quantitative methods included collecting 20 maize samples from different farmers for genetic analysis. Agdia® immunostrip tests were used to detect for the presence of Crystal protein (Cry protein) produced by the Bt bacterium, engineered to improve the resistance of maize against insects. The results showed that 13 samples were negative for the protein and seven samples were positive for the protein. A key finding is that small-scale farmers are not able to detect the different maize varieties in their seed systems. This represents a threat for traditional seed varieties in the community as without this knowledge, farmers are not able to adequately manage their production and storage systems. Farmers made use of alternative storage methods such as the mill to reduce seed damage they experienced at home. However, the findings of this research showed that there was an increasing risk of farmers' traditional maize being mixed with GM maize at the mill. Farmers' rights to plant and consume traditional maize were therefore undermined. This study recommends that (a) efforts are made to increase awareness among farmers that help to distinguish transgenes from hybrids and traditional maize varieties; (b) measures are implemented at mills to both improve the transparency about the storage and processing of traditional maize and to separate traditional maize from hybrid and GM maize.