Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-78). / In today's world of increasing energy costs and rapid ecosystem service decay, a result of direct human disturbance from development, habitat loss and fragmentation and the increasing frequencies of extreme weather events, it is critical that building practices in the next decade adopt a more adaptive and holistic approach to building design.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-166). / Co-management, which boasts sharing of power and responsibilities amongst all stakeholders involved, has been adopted as an approach to small-scale fisheries management in South Africa. However, the relative success of co-management differs between provinces, provinces which also have different institutional arrangements supporting co-management. In KwaZulu-Natal, arrangements continue to function whereas in the Eastern and Western Cape many have collapsed. Increasing research indicates that fostering shared perceptions (of objectives, approach, desired outcomes and communication infrastructure) towards resource management can improve management practices by obtaining greater community support, increasing understandings of site-specific conditions and improving conflict resolution amongst stakeholders. Thus it is the overall aim of this research project to identify stakeholders’ perceptions towards co-management theory and practice at four case study sites (Mfazazana, Nonoti, Swartkops, Ebenhaeser) to decipher any differences in perceptions and to discuss factors that are influencing these perceptions towards co-management. This has been achieved through a review of the relevant literature, a series of interviews with 40 different stakeholders (primarily fishers and government) and visits to the four case study sites.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Recognizing its constitutional obligation to ensure environmental sustainability, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC) has adopted a bioregional planning approach to promote sustainable development in the province. One of the mechanisms designed by the PGWC and advocated for implementing bioregional planning at the local level is the Special Management Area (SMA)...This research is motivated by a desire to understand the nature of such a partnership arrangement, how it was established and sustained and how it functions to ensure successful transitions to sustainability. The researcher decided to explore these questions by examining the NW SMA.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-145). / This dissertation proposes a conceptual and methodological framework for the creation and implementation of a Composite Sustainable Development Indicator for a retail corporate entity. It provides a review and evaluation of existing approaches to sustainability development, and in particular Corporate Sustainability. The study selects and combines aspects of existing conceptual frameworks into a new conceptual framework for a Composite Sustainable Development Indicator for the retail context. It then applies this framework and general principles and criteria of sustainability assessment, in the selection and adaptation of an existing CSDI framework, namely the Barometer of Sustainability. An illustrative example of the application of the proposed methodological framework is also provided. The study was initiated based on the need for more research into the complexity of Composite Sustainability Indicators. The study also attempts to address the lack of effective methodologies for assessing, measuring and managing sustainability within a corporate environment. It thus proposes a more rigorous approach to sustainability that may enhance the current culture of reporting.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-146). / Food systems are complex and have a range of stakeholders that move food from production through to consumption. Value chains are responsible for the activities that move food between the stakeholders and through the system. The food system presented in this project concentrates on the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA), a local vegetable production area within the City of Cape Town, and the distribution of its produce to traders. In this food system, the informal sector is so entrenched in the system that the two sectors (formal and informal) rely on each other. The informal traders do not produce their own vegetables and are dependant on the formal sector to make the vegetables available and to provide access points. The PHA and the informal sector are important for availability and access of fresh, high quality low cost vegetables to the urban poor. The PHA and the informal sector are important for urban food security in the light of increased urbanisation, poverty, access and availability. Development should consider planning that incorporates urban agriculture for sustainable development and food security policies should acknowledge the informal sector as an important means for the urban poor to access food.

Includes bibliographical references. / The focus of this research is in the area of collaborative environmental governance, specifically analysing the Upper Breede Collaborative Extension Group (UBCEG) as an operational example of collaboration. Collaboration is one approach of governing whereby various agencies consult with one another and work together to resolve a common issue or achieve a mutual goal. The research adopts a case-study approach, exploring the collaborative group UBCEG. Firstly, the research aims to improve understanding of collaborative governance in natural resource management in the context of UBCEG in the Upper Breede Valley. Secondly, the study aims to investigate the role of collaboration in practice, by analysing two environmental assessments projects influenced by UBCEG within the study area. The first was a soil conservation works project in six foothill rivers, which gained consent approval through a combined environmental assessment in 2011. The second project is an environmental assessment that includes a wetland study, which may lead to a combined environmental assessment. The second project is in the early stages of the assessment, and the outcomes were not known at the time of completion of this research. Nevertheless, the collaborative governance involved in setting up this second environmental assessment, provides further evidence for analysis of the functioning of the UBCEG group. The methods employed to collect data for this study were that of semi-structured interviews, participant observation of group and project meetings and review of documents, specifically minutes of meetings. The findings of this research highlight the attributes and aspects of UBCEG which were important for collaborative environmental governance. Stakeholder perspectives and opinions were explored, as well as the drivers and strengths of the collaboration. The findings were evaluated and referenced against two collaborative governance theoretical frameworks.

This dissertation assesses the roles of spatial planning and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in informing appropriate development in the case of the Big Bay development. The roles considered are those that relate to the planning of the biophysical environment. The dissertation further assesses how the roles relate to the nature of the relationship between the processes followed by the two disciplines. The study found out that planning and EIA had essential roles in informing the development. The roles of EIA related to the identification of environmental issues while those of planning related to the incorporation of those environmental issues into the development proposal. The nature of the roles related to the levels at which the two disciplines were applied and the manner in which they related. EIA was applied at the project level long after the decision to develop the site was made. EIA was thus not used to evaluate the development alternatives so as to identify the development that was suitable for the Big Bay bio-physical environment. The proponents of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) argue that SEA is best placed to inform the selection of appropriate development. Planning was applied at various levels and, thus, it was involved at both the strategic level and the project level. At the strategic level, planning attempted to identify environmental issues but could not go beyond obvious physical features like dune systems and the coast. At the project level, planning relied on EIA for the identification of environmental issues for incorporation into development proposals. Throughout the planning process, the Big Bay site was sub-divided into smaller precincts with guidance from the EIA on environmental issues. At the lowest level of planning including Site Development Planning (SDP), however, many precincts were so small that the EIA did not identify any new environmental issues - each precinct was either entirely suitable for conservation or development. Planning and EIA related in a series of coordinated interactions. The dissertation associates the interactions with integration and mutual adjustment. In their interaction, planning and EIA mutually adjust to each other. On several instances, the two disciplines had to compromise their positions to facilitate consensus in decision making. In the case study it was found that the two coordinated so well and the flow and incorporation of information was successful. The flow of information was done in time and the information influenced the outcomes of each process.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-115).

Bibliography: leaves 24-27. / This paper aims to tease out and unpack the different value positions that inhere in the range of discourses and methods that currently permeate the field of climate change. In doing so, I will examine the underlying concepts, methods and their application by various actors and institutions.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-104).