Coastal forests are a significant component of the remaining natural vegetation in the greater Durban area. Being closely associated with an historical and rapidly developing urban environment, these forests are invariably small, isolated and variously disturbed. The nature of disturbance as an ecological phenomenon, coupled with unknowable disturbance histories and ongoing disturbance events poses particular challenges to traditional and tradition-bound attempts to understand and manage such forests. The intention of this study was to discuss as deeply as possible the nature of such challenges, while at the same time considering the broader relevance of practising ecology in the urban environment. At a practical level the forests were sampled in an attempt to describe forest communities, to assess the effects of disturbance on them, and to gain insight into the effects of different disturbance histories and regimes on forest physiognomy and floristics with a view to proposing management guidelines. Various descriptive approaches, as well as a multivariate analysis using Detrended Correspondence Analysis were used in an attempt to interpret the data collected. The unsatisfying nature of the data led the thesis to propose a review of the paradigm in which its methods were rooted. Both the data, and the broader issues on which the thesis touched were discussed in terms of biology's rootedness in philosophical assumptions. This led the thesis to a methodological position aligning it both epistemologically and ontologically with a philosophical method of investigation called phenomenology. While other philosophical contentions were touched upon, the main conclusion of the thesis was that phenomenological thinking, while challenging to apply, was relevant to philosophically mature and methodologically appropriate attempts to conserve the forests with which the thesis was concerned. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

In order to have a fuller understanding of the policy implementation challenges facing land restitution in conservation areas, this research identifies and analyses the perspectives in the literature on policy implementation. The study explains how the land restitution programme emerged as a policy solution to the legacy of a deep historical racial divide regarding land ownership in South. Africa. However, it explores the implication of this on the conservation of the environment. The study shows that reconciling land restitution on conservation areas is a complex process, owing, partially to two different and conflicting policies namely the, Restitution of Land Rights Act (Act 22 of 1994) and the National Forest Act (Act 84 of 1998). The researcher has explored the policy implementation challenges encountered in reconciling land restitution in the Dukuduku forest located within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park which has official World Heritage Site status situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The study should show how the ongoing conflict between Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the occupants of Dukuduku forest revolves around issues of land ownership pertaining Dukuduku forest, a forest which is one of the few indigenous forests left in South Africa. It concludes that policy implementation is a complex process, especially when two divergent policy objectives Restitution of Land Rights Act (Act 22 of 1994) and the National Forest Act (Act 84 of 1998) and are sought. A formulated conceptual framework for the study, public policy analysis and policy implementation models will be discussed to provide a clear perspective on policy implementation.

Recent research has emphasized the importance of understanding the consequences of species loss, not just for biodiversity per se, but also for ecosystem resilience and functioning. Firstly, a baseline analysis of the effects of a naturally patchy landscape on avian community composition and resilience in a high altitude Afrotemperate forest landscape in South Africa is presented. Bird data from a point count survey of 706 counts at 31 forest sites was used to test whether taxonomic species diversity, functional species richness and density of birds provide insight into community resilience in this historically patchy ecosystem. Bird species richness of forest patches ranged from 17 to 38, with a total species richness of 50. Density was slightly but negatively related to both area and species richness. That density compensation is occurring in these Afrotemperate forests suggests a level of resilience in this system. Following on from this, cumulative species-area and function-area graphs were derived to quantify the loss of forest area or taxonomic bird species richness that this landscape may potentially sustain before ecosystem functioning is negatively affected. The concept that species’ patterns of distribution, abundance and coexistence are the result of local ecological processes has recently been challenged by evidence that regionalscale processes are equally instrumental in shaping local community composition. The historically and naturally fragmented Afrotemperate forests of the uKhahlamba– Drakensberg Park, South Africa, offer an interesting test case. In this study the relative effects of local and regional-scale processes on species assemblages in a naturally patchy forest system were investigated. By employing species-area and species-isolation relationships, and nested subset analyses, we showed that isolation (regional-scale process) had a greater effect on bird species richness and composition than area (local-scale process), though the species-area relationship was significant. Using generalized linear models and an information-theoretic approach to model selection, patch area, the size of the regional species pool as well as the distance to the nearest Eastern Mistbelt forest were all influential in determining local bird species richness in these montane forests. Thus, localities are regionally enriched within the constraints on species occupancy provided by the available habitat. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Indigenous forest resources are valuable to communities situated around them as they provide many different resources for their livelihoods. South Africa has only 0.5% of indigenous forest cover and most forests are surrounded by local communities who depend on them for resources. At Ongoye the forest was widely (91% of households) used for fuelwood. Community members denied harvesting the forest for either building or fencing poles, claiming they bought Eucalyptus poles from suppliers in the community. However, the harvesting intensities of pole size stems confirm that the user community does harvest timber from the forest. There is a high demand for fuelwood and pole-size stems are harvested not only for building but are cut and left to dry for later use as fuelwood. Although the harvesting intensity was greater than users were prepared to admit to, harvesting levels are thought to be sustainable. Local communities did not trade in products extracted from the forest. The use of resources was only for subsistence purposes, and therefore, forest resources were only valuable to users with respect to providing support to local livelihoods. Ensuring the protection and conservation of forest resources is critical for the survival of the user communities that are dependent upon them. Most local communities are not knowledgeable about managing forest resources adjacent to them, and the management of forest resources at Ongoye is currently in the hands of the state and also the influence of the Inkosi (local tribal chief). As part of the process of democratization post 1994, the government is devolving the management of natural resources to local communities. Several models of management institutions have been proposed and tested including community forest management (CFM), state forest management (SFM), and participatory forest management (PFM). Current trends are towards participatory management institutions. Using questionnaires, I determined that users preferred PFM over both SFM and CFM. However, the local community was in favour of more state involvement in the PFM than expected. Given a choice between CFM and SFM, the user community was more favourably disposed toward SFM. This was because they viewed CFM as vulnerable to resulting in open access to resources without any control. The devolution of powers to local communities can create problems in local governance. For most areas surrounding forest resources, traditional authorities are the important 'governing' leaders. In South Africa, events post 1994 have created tensions between democratically elected and hereditary governance institutions. On the one hand democratic institutions are supposed to be created at the local level, and on the other the constitution recognizes the existence of hereditary institutions. There is a power struggle over who the legitimate authority at the local level is between democratically elected councilors and chiefs. At Ongoye, the local chief was very powerful and had strong views on the ownership and control of Ongoye. He had a positive influence on maintaining current low to moderate levels of use of forest resources. However, because there are several dangers associated with concentrating power over management of natural resources in one individual, I recommend that a participatory natural resources management institution be developed that acknowledges the important role of the Inkosi, but also tempers his influence, so that continuity of management principles is maintained should traditional leadership changes hands. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.