Many smallholder farmers in southern Africa rely on crop production as their main livelihood source. However, they often suffer from a lack of appropriate seed as well as high levels of food insecurity. Interventions such as community seed production, seed aid, and input subsidies are used to address these concerns. However, the relationship between seed security and food security has been understudied. This study thus aimed to explore the factors that have an impact on the relationship between seed security and food security. This was done to enhance understanding about the conceptual linkages between the dimensions of seed security, which include availability, access, and utilisation, and those of household-level food security, which include dietary diversity and food consumption. The case study was conducted across two sites in Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe. Methods included both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Quantitative data were subjected to statistical analyses while qualitative data were analysed for themes and trends. Results showed the dominant role of informal seed systems in ensuring improved access to affordable and timely seed to smallholder farmers. Informal seed sources were more reliable than formal sources in ensuring that seed was available on time and in closer proximity to households. Seeds sourced informally also showed comparable quality to that from formal sources. The relationship between seed security and food security was shown to be complex and contextual rather than direct or one-directional. Seed security does not necessarily equate to food security, nor does seed insecurity necessarily lead to food insecurity. Although timeliness and proximity of seed affect its availability, these did not directly relate to access to food. Similarly, household assets and income correlated with better food security status, but did not always ensure access to seed. This is because farmers' seed sources were predicated on non-financial factors such as social relations. The quality of farmers' seed was essential in ensuring that adequate food was produced. The thesis argues that the combined factors of seed availability, access and utilisation are essential in ensuring better crop productivity and improved food access. Findings underscore the manner in which household determinants such as assets, farming practices and geographical characteristics, as well as broader contextual factors, affect and influence the relationship between seed and food security. These results imply that interventions such as community seed production, seed aid, and input subsidies do not automatically result in improved seed security and therefore food security. Efforts to enhance seed and food security should be informed by specific household characteristics that take account of wider contextual factors such as climate, as well as socioeconomic and political processes that have a historical influence as well as a continuously evolving effect on farmers' seed and food security.

Worldwide adaptive strategies are being developed to address water insecurity. The current path of water resource management is not sustainable in the long-term, which requires the investigation of improved and adapted strategies. However, adaptation theory is proving difficult to implement. A range of serious practical issues are emerging as adaptation moves from theory to implementation. One of these is that the implementation of water demand management strategies are not aligned with the needs of the water users. Improvement can effectively enhance the success of water demand management, especially in cases where a water institution’s focus differs from the priorities identified by the water users. The aim of this thesis is to examine and analyse the role of participative water demand management in complex socio-institutional systems theory, and its potential to ameliorate adaptive capacity within the system in response to increasing water stresses. The research methodology consists of a literature review as well as a case study. The literature review include a discussion on the key concepts of adaptation theory, participative water demand management, and complex socio-institutional systems theory, amongst others. The case study contributed towards a practical understanding of the main aim of this thesis. The case study was undertaken in the City of Cape Town (CCT), which is a large metropolitan municipality in South Africa, a developing country. The theory suggested that individual behaviours can impact on water demands, especially during periods of drought, and that communication, participation and feedback among the social and institutional components must therefore form part of the adaptive strategies within water demand management. The literature alluded to a complex systems approach to water demand management, which can assist the different socio-institutional actors to increase their understanding of complex interactions and their capacity to adapt to these. A main empirical finding of the thesis is that adaptive measures, such as participation, is of paramount importance to the long-term sustainability of water demand management within the CCT, but are mostly lacking within its current management system. The results indicated that participative water demand management, as part of a suit of adaptive strategies, is able to increase flexibility within the CCT to address droughts more efficiently. Although water demand management in itself is an adaptive strategy to manage constraints on water resources, there is still a gap in finding better and more effective implementation methods to improve its acceptance by society and its success rates at reducing water demand. This thesis contributed towards new theoretical knowledge about adaptive theory, complex systems theory and participative water demand management as an adaptive response. It generated new thinking that contributes to improved and sustainable implementation of water demand management strategies within a developmental agenda that knows no bounds.

Globally, ecosystems are under mounting pressure as biodiversity is lost at an ever increasing rate due to drivers such as habitat destruction and climate change. The systematic degradation of natural habitats witnessed today is often accompanied by a loss of ecosystem functioning and services which not only endangers the future of humankind but has consequences for all life on earth. To manage the ecological challenges facing us there is an urgent need to increase our understanding of how ecosystems function, the relation/ship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and the effect habitat degradation can have on this relationship. Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld, located in the Overberg region of South Africa, is a vegetation type both critically endangered and poorly understood. Centuries of agricultural activity in the region has resulted in a landscape typified by fragments of pristine vegetation, in addition to communities in various states of degradation, embedded in an agricultural matrix. The current quantities of pristine vegetation are inadequate to meet conservation goals and conservation efforts are further challenged by the fact that little is known of the functional ecology of not only pristine fragments of Renosterveld, but the degraded communities in various stages of secondary succession. The overarching aim of this thesis is to better understand the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across a degradation gradient in critically endangered Renosterveld vegetation within an agricultural landscape in South Africa. To achieve this, a variety of methods were employed using different lenses of analysis. In Chapter 2, I studied the components of biodiversity to assess the relationship between taxonomic and functional diversity indices and investigate the effect of habitat degradation. In Chapters 3 and 4, I used litter traps to investigate the effect of plant litter type, season and habitat degradation on litter decomposition rates and Springtail (Collembola) community dynamics, respectively. Finally, in Chapter 5, I constructed three high-resolution plant-pollinator networks from sites with distinct land-use histories and with different above-ground vegetation communities. The results revealed a complex association between different taxonomic and functional diversity indices, influenced by habitat degradation, with potential ecological and conservation implications. Particularly, the loss of functional redundancy in degraded sites is likely to reduce resilience to future environmental perturbations which may reduce ecosystem functions. Conversely, the similarities in both taxonomic and functional diversity indices between pristine and moderately degraded sites may be cautiously interpreted as the occurrence of successful passive restoration. Litter decomposition rates were shown to be variable with litter type and season revealed as important controlling factors. Although degradation did not appear to significantly affect iv decomposition rates, the initial nutrient content of litter appears to correlate with decomposition rate and it can be expected this ecosystem function will be accelerated where habitat degradation results in shifts in above-ground vegetation and subsequent litter input, specifically where the cover of non-native, nitrogen-rich annual species is increased. There was found to be a significant impact of litter type on community composition, and of sampling day on species richness, abundance and community composition, in Springtail communities. Despite the overall lack of effect of degradation on Springtail community dynamics, the abundance of the non-native Entomobrya multifasciata in degraded sites, and its absence from pristine sites, raises the intriguing possibility of its suitability as a bioindicator for habitat degradation. Comparisons to similar global studies revealed the Renosterveld networks to be highly functionally specialized. Assessing network dynamics across a degradation gradient showed the impact of above-ground vegetation structure on network properties with the more open and diverse vegetation structure and floral resources provided by the highly degraded site resulting in network indices more similar to that of the pristine site when compared to the relatively structurally uniform moderately degraded site. Although this thesis has enhanced our understanding of the functional ecology of Renosterveld, it has also highlighted knowledge gaps which still exist. Creating and collating a database of functional trait data can provide the building blocks for future ecological work. Furthermore, to truly gain a mechanistic understanding of the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship one needs to utilise an integrated analysis which considers different facets of biodiversity, particularly functional diversity, across multiple trophic levels while simultaneously acknowledging the legacy effects that distinct land-use histories can impose at the community level.

Scholars have engaged actively with the link between customary practices and ecological conservation in Africa as part of a broader debate on governance approaches for natural resource management. To a large extent, this is in response to a growing voice articulating the need to integrate traditional institutions and customary practices into a more contemporary form of governance for Africa’s democratic and socio-economic transformation. To date, however, the integration of customary and statutory approaches to governance has yielded only modest progress in the forest sector and knowledge remains limited about the interface between these governance systems and the effect of this dualism on natural resource management. Using the lens of the baobab tree, this research set out to address these gaps and to elucidate understanding of the interplay between customary and statutory governance in managing natural resources; the influence of such interactions on ecological sustainability and livelihoods; and the contextual factors that shape such approaches. Uses of the baobab tree as well as factors affecting access were analysed. Two study sites were selected on the basis of similarities in resource endowment and contrasting use patterns and forms of governance. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Quantitative methods included an ecological survey to examine the relationship between different indicators of ecological sustainability and different tenure regimes. A household survey was also carried out to examine the extent to which households use and benefit from baobab products. Qualitative methods included focus group discussions, institutional mapping, ranking and scoring, and oral histories. The study engaged with debates around governance, bricolage, non-timber forest products, bifurcation, livelihoods and access. Findings show that the baobab tree is used in multiple ways by households, and has both consumptive values as well as intrinsic values which are typically overlooked in the discourse of natural resource governance. The study illustrates that the interest of traditional institutions in regulating baobab use and access has been informed by reasons relating to sustainable livelihoods, ecological sustainability and the need to maintain a delicate link between environmental sustainability, the spirits of the land and resource users. Local arrangements are robust, dynamic and are entrenched in the day to day lives of the resource users. These arrangements may not fit into existing technical toolkits or environmental blueprints, and policy from the top may not be connecting with reality on the ground. Although traditional authorities and customary practices have remained relevant for local people in the realm of resource governance, they are weakening in the face of commercial baobab use. Where statutory forms of governance are overlaid onto existing customary forms of governance without due regard for local practices, unintended consequences arise. A key finding is that history profoundly informs the way local people harvest and use resources due to the long trajectory of the interplay between customary and statutory forms of governance that spans back to the colonial era. The main conclusion from the study is that both customary and statutory systems of governance are important, but need to be used in a graduated manner. Statutory forms of governance can be introduced to assist customary practices on a demand-driven basis. Results emphasise the importance of considering seemingly peripheral forms of governance such as customary practices within the continuum of resource governance in rural areas.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an increasingly important tool for sustainable marine governance. However, their effectiveness is improved if designed to consider how people value and interact with coasts and marine resources designated for protection. This research critically examines the different perceptions of stakeholders towards the rezoning of Africa’s oldest MPA, the Tsitsikamma National Park (TNP) MPA. In South Africa, MPAs created prior to 1994 under the Apartheid regime disregarded local communities’ rights to the coast and in some cases removed or restricted access, with no consultation. In December 2016 the TNP MPA was rezoned from a 'no-take’ MPA to a partially open protected area with the aim of readdressing historical exclusion and to provide managed access and benefits to adjacent communities. This thesis explores the perceptions of different stakeholders to the rezoning process and the underlying values, worldviews and beliefs that influence these perceptions. The research also examines the nature of participation in the rezoning process, including issues of representation, trust and legitimacy. Data collection is based primarily on 55 semi structured key informant interviews from the nine different communities adjacent to the Tsitsikamma MPA, scientists, NGO and government officials, as well as a focus group with eight representatives from South African National Parks. Data sources are supplemented with census and mapping information, field observations and a participatory film project. Findings from this research identified and examined the diverse perceptions of stakeholders about the re-zoning and highlighted how different groups have very different perceptions about the benefits of the rezoning for either marine conservation objectives or community economic, livelihood and wellbeing aspirations. What emerged clearly was that perceptions are influenced by values, worldviews and beliefs and that failure to recognize and incorporate these perceptions in planning, discussions and decision-making leads to ongoing contestation and conflict. The research thus highlights the challenge of balancing community rights and needs with conservation goals in a rapidly changing marine context, and highlights that understanding different perceptions and values that underlie these perceptions and providing the space to allow these different views to be shared is important for collaborative governance of MPAs in South Africa. Based on an enhanced understanding of perceptions, recommendations are made regarding the importance of recognizing and incorporating perceptions in planning and decision-making and promoting greater participation in governance.

Global climate change models predict a reduction in rainfall and rise in air temperature for the Cape Peninsula of South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region (CFR). The CFR is a biodiversity hotspot renowned for its high level of floral endemism, but the high level of endemism also applies to the region’s freshwater fish assemblage. Whereas the current threats to endemic freshwater fish include habitat modification, water abstraction, pollution and impacts of non-native species, climate change is predicted to further exacerbate negative impacts on fish communities. The endemic CFR fish species, Cape Galaxias, Galaxias zebratus Castelnau, 1861, is widespread throughout the region, and occurs in both non-perennial and perennial rivers, and wetlands. The species is thought to be a relict group of ancient species originating from the break up of Gondwanaland 180 – 135 million years ago. Endemic CFR freshwater fish, like G. zebratus, may be sensitive to the thermal regime of their environment and may thus be influenced by climate warming. The most commonly used experimental approach for determining the effect of elevated temperature on freshwater biota is the Critical Thermal Method (CTM). The CTM determines the upper thermal tolerance limit or critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of a species. Thermal history is the range of temperatures experienced by an organism in its natural habitat over time and this may be an important factor determining the thermal tolerance of species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of thermal history, reflecting a stream’s thermal profile, on upper thermal tolerance limits of G. zebratus. We hypothesised that G. zebratus from warmer sites would have a higher CTmax than individuals at cooler sites. To examine the influence thermal history has on the thermal tolerance of G. zebratus, hourly water temperature data were collected and the CTmax values were determined for fish (n=30 per site) from 10 different sites in rivers of the Cape Peninsula. The CTmax values from all sites for the November-December experimental period ranged from 30.00°C to 32.45°C. CTmax values for all sites from the JanuaryFebruary experimental period ranged from 31.29°C to 33.42°C. Upper thermal tolerance limits of G. zebratus increased from the November-December experiments to the January-February experiments. Regression analyses show that G. zebratus upper thermal tolerance limits are significantly influenced by its thermal history as characterised by the seven day moving average of daily mean (Mean_7) two weeks preceding the experiments, implying that changes to the thermal regime will influence the thermal tolerance of G. zebratus. The resultant regression equation allows G. zebratus CTmax to be predicted by thermal history based on Mean_7, providing valuable information to set thermal limits of G. zebratus and guide future research. This is the first study on the thermal ecology of G. zebratus in the CFR and in Africa. The data not only enhance understanding of the thermal ecology of the species, but also further our understanding of their potential vulnerability to climate change.

This dissertation explores the values of nature through the personal narratives of landowners in the Overberg area of Western Cape, South Africa. In the past, scholarly literature has imagined nature as separated from the human world. Historically, mainstream conservation methods have followed ideals of nature in forming environmental management policies and practices, aiming to create and maintain an isolated nature. This ideal of nature has largely ignored the roles of humans within the environment. A range of new fields of studies around identity, business and politics explore new ways of imagining nature, focusing on the human within nature and the nature within the human. Using these alternative imaginings, this research uncovers a variety of ways 'humanness' and nature are deeply embedded within each other. This research challenges the ideal of a pristine otherness whilst both supporting and filling in the gaps of contemporary alternative literature. The personal narratives of 34 landowners were gathered during 10 weeks of fieldwork. These stories offered an alternative portrayal of the relationship between humans, nature and conservation. Landownership was more than business as usual; land embodied deep and meaningful emotions, experiences and discourses of daily human life. Landscapes embodied personal emotions of owners through shaping their identities, spirituality, belonging and family histories. Dynamics of politics manifested in different forms such as fear, mistrust, corruption and exclusion throughout landowner's experiences and attitudes. These political factors, emotions and economic dynamics play a role in shaping landowners' attitudes, resistances and participation both towards conservation as well as nature, in turn influencing the way they organise themselves in relation to conservation bodies such as government run programmes as well as NGOs. It also affects how they organise, negotiate and manage themselves and their land. Conservation management of land should take into account these deeply complex, multidimensional and integrated complexities entrenched within daily narratives of landownership.

Public culture creates an image of the city for both local and international publics to engage and encounter. The needs of the city to be globally recognised and create opportunities for economic growth can reveal discrepancies in development agendas and raises questions about fulfilling the needs of the local public to express their understanding and selection of cultural expression. This dissertation seeks to understand the tensions in the role of street art productions in Cape Town in place making, arguing that it can run the risk of being an expression of suppression, shaped by the graffiti by-law and approval procedures. The way street art is selected, commissioned, and regulated has become an expression of culture for the global market to consume for economic development, largely through tourism as opposed to representing local cultural expressions. Previous studies of street art in Cape Town have failed to address the tension in limiting cultural producers to solely express marketable street art for tourism over the needs of social change for local publics. To identify the tensions experienced by cultural producers in producing street art in Cape Town I have examined the trade-offs of two cultural producers in becoming active participants in dominating prime locations of walls in the Cape Town central business district areas: Baz Art and Urban Khoi Soldier. Using qualitative and visual methodologies, this research explored street art in Brazil and Cape Town. The Brazilian example shows a context of unregulated expression of plural political views and citizenship within a multicultural nation. The regulation of street art in Cape Town reveals new forms of cultural colonisation where cultural representation and narratives are dominated by a globalised framework of ‘Africanity'. Therefore, this research demonstrates the lack of a variety of multicultural expressions and forms of citizenship which robs the various publics of encountering meaningful ways of seeing and being in Cape Town.

Small-scale fisheries contribute to the food security of a significant portion of the global population through direct consumption and indirectly as a vital source of income. Approximately, 50 million individuals involved in capture fisheries are small-scale fishers and they contribute to 80 percent of the global catch that is used for domestic consumption. Smallscale fishers provide their immediate communities with a vital source of protein. The sector enables an income source through full-time or part-time work to vulnerable coastal communities. In South Africa, approximately 28,000 small-scale fishers rely on marine resources for food security and livelihoods; however, continued marginalisation of small-scale fishers through discriminatory fisheries regulations favouring the large-scale fisheries sector and poor reallocation of access rights challenges the contribution of small-scale fisheries for community food security. While there is evidence that suggests small-scale fisheries in South Africa contribute to the food security of coastal communities, there is little know about the extent of the contribution as well as how the sector contributes to community food security and what factors influence community food security outcomes. The purpose of this research was to examine the contribution of small-scale fisheries to the community food security of one South African coastal community. Lambert’s Bay, Western Cape served as the case study and a mixed methods approach was employed to address three research objectives. Forty household surveys were completed at fisher and non-fisher households to examine the current level of household food security within the community and address the first research objective. Secondly, focus group discussions were completed with men and women to understand perceptions of food security and the food culture of the community. Lastly, the third objective was to examine the potential impacts of a reconfigured market on the local food system. This objective was addressed through a scenario planning workshop that was conducted with fishermen and women. This research utilised a community food security lens to broadly examine the role of smallscale fisheries to food security. Community food security is a holistic term that builds upon food security, food sovereignty and cultural food security but explores food security at both the household and community level as well as how outcomes are shaped by socio-economic, institutional and environmental drivers. The lens enabled the reframing of food security within the context of a fishing community and provided a scope to address the research objectives. Overall, Lambert’s Bay case study indicates high levels of food insecurity characterised by significant seasonal variation and low dietary diversity. Reported consumption of fish was relatively low; however, during the Snoek run, findings indicated consumption of fish throughout the community increased. Moreover, the Snoek season, is significant for its contribution food security indirectly as it provides livelihoods for many individuals. Historically, fishing activities and fish was a key aspect to the cultural identity of Lambert’s Bay. While fish remains a component of culture, the decline in traditional food ways associated with fish suggested a weakening of its cultural significance. Environmental, economic and institutional factors threaten the contribution of small-scale fisheries to the community food security of Lambert’s Bay. Most notably, poor governance in the small scale-fisheries sector has compromised the role of fish for food, livelihoods and culture. Secondly, environmental changes due to climate change and human activities reduce access and availability of fish for food and livelihoods. The key finding of this research was that small-scale fisheries contributes to the community food security of Lambert’s Bay through direct consumption and indirectly though the provision of livelihoods. Seasonality, unfavourable fishing conditions as well as the presence of Snoek, a migratory species, dictates the role of small-scale fisheries for food security. Poor seasonal fishing conditions negatively impacts the consumption of fish throughout the community as well as income for fishers. Conversely, the Snoek season provides critical livelihoods opportunities for community members and increased consumption of fish throughout the community. Environmental and institutional factors influence food security outcomes derived from small-scale fisheries. In addition, the prevalence of traditional food practices and the functionality of the social economy associated with fish is adversely affected by these drivers. This research contributes to scholarship within the small-scale fisheries and food security sphere as well as food systems research. It highlights the interconnectedness of various factors and the complexity of coastal food systems through the application of a community food security lens. A deeper understanding of the factors that influence food security outcomes in the context of fishing communities is advantageous as it can guide targeted research and initiatives that strengthen the well-being of fisher communities.

As urbanisation rates increase in parallel with growing climate change concerns, African cities are increasingly required to explore and support adaptation planning that reduces climate risks for the most vulnerable. Informal settlements are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their high density, limited service provision, and a lack of economic and political opportunities for residents. In Cape Town, informal settlements face disastrous floods every year in the rainy season due to their location on degraded, low-lying lands as a result of Apartheid spatial planning. This thesis explores how multi-scalar governance in Cape Town can either empower or undermine efforts at community-based adaptation (CBA) to flooding in informal settlements. Drawing on urban political ecology, this thesis assesses the potential for CBA to lead to wider transformation. Using a case study approach, it focuses on the informal settlement network (ISN), a community-based organisation of the urban poor. ISN members and other actors involved in flood management in Cape Town were interviewed to understand the flood management landscape and the relationships and dynamics that exist between the various actors. The analysis showed that the CoCT’s efforts at participatory planning reinforce the hegemonic power dynamics between government and communities, but that everyday governance practices can be used at a smaller-scale to enforce positive change. In reaction to top-down governmental processes, ISN uses insurgent planning to envision a more just city. They navigate sanctioned and un-sanctioned spaces of citizenship to drive development from the bottom-up. The community designed and spearheaded reblocking process (rearranging shacks in a settlement to allow for flood drainage and service delivery) is a powerful example of CBA and represents the potential of communitybased organisations to take steps towards transformation. In order to enable true transformative CBA, both the CoCT and ISN need to adjust the epistemological framing of their planning processes in order to address the drivers of vulnerabilities, rather than just the vulnerabilities themselves.