Transboundary landscapes were introduced to southern Africa through colonialism and persist in the present day. These transboundary landscapes are constructed through political boundaries separating states as well as through the linkage of nature reserves and game parks located in adjacent countries. These landscapes have caused shifts in the livelihoods of the rural communities existing near them. This is the case for the Mbangweni rural area in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. This rural area, located in a transboundary landscape formed by the national border that separates Mozambique and South Africa, sits in between Ndumo Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park. The proposed linkage of these two nature reserves to each other and to the Maputo Special Reserve in Mozambique seeks to create a transboundary landscape that has negative consequences for the livelihoods of the Mbangweni community. Through the analysis of this rural community and the nature reserves on either side of it, this research sought to enhance understanding about how rural communities interact with transboundary landscapes, as well as the perceptions held by these rural communities and other actors (especially within the conservation sector) about how these landscapes influence rural livelihoods as well as the consequences of these landscapes on rural livelihoods. The study sought to also understand the level of institutional fit and interplay that exists between the institutions that govern over this landscape as well as between the institutions and the lived realities of the Mbangweni community by documenting the historical and current transboundary livelihood practices of the people of Mbangweni, determining the manner in which government actors and conservation authorities perceive and conceive of the transboundary landscape, determining whether or not (and to what extent) local and government perceptions about the transboundary landscape in Mbangweni are similar, and if not, how that affects livelihood activities on the ground and visually mapping out the different perceptions of the landscape held by the Mbangweni community and associated governing institutions. Qualitative data collection methods were used. These included 10 oral history interviews, 2 focus groups and 3 key informant interviews. The findings of this study reveal that the initial establishment of the transboundary landscape in this region led to the separation of the population of the Maputaland. The communities in northern KwaZulu-Natal and those in southern Mozambique once lived as a single population group. The national border separating South Africa from Mozambique was introduced and forced some of the population to settle on one side of the border and the rest on the other side. Although initially very rigid, the border's laws now allow for the informal movement of people and trade of goods between the southern Mozambique and northern KwaZulu-Natal areas. The study, therefore, found that the border's porous nature had a positive impact on the livelihoods of the people of Mbangweni. The findings also revealed that in addition to the national border, other institutions and entities were considered important for the livelihoods of the community. These institutions and entities include the traditional authority, the local municipality and the nature reserves adjacent to the Mbangweni community. These key role players each contributed to and impacted the rural livelihoods with the traditional authority having the biggest influence and most positive impact, the local municipality having the smallest influence and not much of an impact and the nature reserves having relatively minimal influence on the daily conduction of livelihoods but the most negative impact on how these livelihoods are conducted and sustained. Furthermore, the study showed that the key role players hold differing perceptions of the landscape and that these perceptions also differ from those held by the Mbangweni community. The study showed that the disconnect in perceptions of the landscapes results in isolated and fragmented land use by the entities and institutions occupying the same space. Conflict then arises due to the entities understanding and viewing the landscape as a space for different priorities. The nature reserves and their governing institution prioritise natural resource conservation and the Mbangweni community and the traditional authority, as its governing institution, prioritise their livelihoods and access to natural resources. These differing perceptions of the landscape perpetuate the institutional misfit and lack of interplay between the entities and governing institutions. The study found that even with different understandings of the landscape they occupy, each entity and relevant governing institution have the potential to facilitate institutional bricolage which would require adjustments of and changes to their mandates and goals to accommodate the mandates and goals of other institutions, other entities as well as the lived realities of the Mbangweni community. By fostering this bricolage, a transboundary landscape that adequately serves the needs and purposes of all its entities, whilst minimising opportunities for conflict between them, would be created.

The trade of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), also known as biotrade, has existed for hundreds of years - as has the traditional knowledge associated with such products. More recently, this form of trade has advanced to include genetic resource components found within natural resources (bioprospecting). International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol came into force in 1993 and 2010 respectively, to ensure that biological diversity is conserved, sustainably utilised, and that the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge are shared in an equitable manner. In practice, however, there is a lack of evidence to suggest whether the provisions of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol are being adequately implemented and achieved. This research focuses on the commercialisation of the resurrection bush (Myrothamnus flabellifolius) in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa and critically evaluates how the requirements of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol are applied. The resurrection bush spans a number of countries and has been used traditionally by a variety of ethnic communities residing in Africa. Traditional medicinal uses for the resurrection bush include using the plant to treat colds and flu, scurvy, coughs, abdominal pain, epilepsy, and asthma. This study aims to uncover and understand the way in which benefit sharing and environmental sustainability are interpreted and implemented in various resurrection bush commercialisation approaches. Six objectives are articulated to achieve this aim: (1) to review the historical use and traditional knowledge associated with the resurrection bush; (2) to describe the different ways the resurrection bush is commercialised and the different processes each commercialisation strategy follows; (3) to describe the actors involved in the different resurrection bush commercialisation strategies and their roles in the commercialisation process; (4) to explore, within each commercialisation strategy, how commercial actors gain access to resources; (5) to describe and analyse the range of benefits derived from each commercialisation approach; and (6) to assess the policy implications and practical applications of current resurrection bush commercialisation approaches. This research adopted a qualitative case study methodological approach, in which 26 key informant interviews and 137 semi-structured harvester interviews were conducted in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The key informants consisted of private companies, NGOs, and government officials across all three countries. Interviews with these informants were carried out to determine the diversity of commercialisation approaches associated with the resurrection bush, the actors involved, the ways in which commercial entities gain access to resources, how benefits are shared, and what measures are put in place for environmental sustainability. Further interviews were conducted with resurrection bush collectors in Namibia and Zimbabwe to review the historical and traditional uses associated with the resurrection bush. Understanding these uses provides insight into the types of agreements developed for its commercialisation and associated environmental, social and economic benefits. It was found that there are three commercialisation approaches associated with the resurrection bush across Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are: (1) Informal trade, where harvesters sell raw material directly to consumers based on informal, verbal agreements; (2) Biotrade, where the value chain is longer and consists of more formal agreements; and (3) Bioprospecting, where research and development of the resurrection bush is a strong component, involving negotiations with harvesters and formal written agreements. Several key findings emerged to inform current and future commercialisation approaches. The inadequate implementation of regulatory frameworks within each commercialisation approach has negatively impacted harvesters and overall economic growth. Harvesters are not receiving maximum benefits from commercialisation due to elite capture of benefits from resurrection bush cultivation sites and significant profit margins on end products. Traditional knowledge holders are not adequately compensated and acknowledged for their innovations and practices due to the absence of sufficient historical records of traditional knowledge, and cooperation between countries and communities who share resources which are commonly used. Long-term conservation efforts associated with the resurrection bush are lacking in all commercialisation approaches due the belief that because there is an abundance of the resource in the wild, additional conservation measures are not needed.

This study undertakes a CMIP5 model selection specific to the Winter Rainfall Zone (WRZ) of South Africa, seeking to reduce the range of future climate projections through identifying a subset of models with increased realism and independence. In order to navigate the subjectivity in identifying relevant circulation metrics to assess models against, the ‘Day Zero' drought is used as a characteristic episode. Here initially the extensive literature produced subsequent to the drought has been drawn on to identify and evaluate relevant regional process metrics, before utilising the anomalous conditions during the drought to validate various assessment methods. The dynamics subsequently identified as being most influential to rainfall supply in the WRZ include the South Atlantic subtropical jet stream responsible for steering of mid-latitude storm systems, the South Atlantic subtropical high, and the presence, or preferably absence, of precipitation blocking subsidence, and the prevalence of mid-latitude storm systems, critical for transport and upliftment of moisture to the region. Models were subsequently assessed against these metrics and scored following the technique of McSweeney et al. (2015). Unrealistic models were removed from the ensemble while significantly biased models were also excluded as their absence did not significantly reduce the range of future projections. The same scoring methods were then utilised to create a genealogy of models attaining similar results to that of Knutti, Masson & Gettelman (2013). A subset of 6 CMIP5 models which are more independent and historically more realistic than that of the full ensemble were subsequently identified. While the range of future temperature projections of the final ensemble are somewhat constrained in comparison to the full ensemble, the primary utility is argued to be the reduced number of models where a future researcher may consider each model's projected future climate pathway individually before selecting a model, or models, which best informs their use case, whilst being assured that this model performs suitably well in the region and that the initial ensemble considered adequately represents model uncertainty, while strong similarity between two or more models within the ensemble will not be unduly biasing results.

Determining the orientation of galaxies with respect to their dark matter halo is vital in understanding effects such as gravitational lensing. Disc galaxies, like the Milky Way, can be orientated simply by using the angular momentum of the stellar disc. However, this angular momentum is not constant. The change in direction of the angular momentum vector, with respect to time, can be considered as a tilting rate. The tilting direction provides an indication of the angular momentum reaching the disc. Both gas and satellite accretion can deliver misaligned angular momentum directly to the disc. It has also been argued that torques imposed by the dark matter halo can also change the angular momentum of the disc. This thesis presents the tilting rates for galaxies evolving in two Λ cold dark matter cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. All of the galaxies comparable with the Milky Way have tilting rates higher than Gaia's detection limit of 0.28◦ Gyr−1 (Perryman et al., 2014). Debattista et al. (2015) found that red galaxies tend to be aligned with the minor axis of their dark matter halo, whereas, blue galaxies tend to have random orientations. Observationally, similar trends are found, for example between the alignment distribution of the brightest satellite galaxies and the major axes of their host groups (Li et al., 2013). This thesis finds a very strong correlation between the specific star formation rate and the tilting rate, using the state-of-the-art Numerical Investigation of One Hundred Astrophysical Objects (NIHAO) suite of cosmological zoom-in simulations. Galaxies with higher star formation rates tilt faster and therefore are likely to be perturbed from any stable orientation, between the disc and the host halo. Moreover, for the predominantly blue galaxies within the NIHAO suite, there is no preferential orientation, with respect to the dark matter halo. The local environment provides a reservoir of angular momentum available to the disc. For both of the cosmological simulations presented, the normalized local overdensity was compared to the tilting rate of the disc, finding a strong correlation at R = 6 Mpc. On the other hand, no correlations are found between the shape of the dark matter halo, and the tilting direction of the stellar disc, contrary to previous claims that the torques imposed by the halo will drive the tilting of the stellar disc (e.g. Yurin and Springel, 2015). Five of the NIHAO galaxies are looked at in greater detail, comparing tilting direction of the stellar disc to the angular momentum of various features and interactions. For two of the galaxies, the tilting direction is dominated by interactions/mergers with satellites. The remaining three are all driven by the infall of cool gas with misaligned angular momentum compared to that of the hot gas corona and the stellar disc. By the time the cool gas reaches the disc its angular momentum has been torqued by the hydrodynamical forces imposed by the hot gas and has angular momentum aligned with the hot gas. The same process has been proposed for forming warps in cosmological simulations (Roškar et al., 2010), and this thesis also finds that in this case the cool gas disc is misaligned in the direction of tilting.

Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate the conformational and orierjtational properties of lipids and proteins in a bilayer membrane. in the first instance, linear, hard-core tri-atomics are used to represent the two-dimensional projections of the lipid molecules. Studies on lipid only systems show that the average number of gauche rotations and the cross-sectional area of the lipids decrease with increasing density. There is no long range orientational order within the lipids but the local orieritational order increases with increasing density. No first order phase transitions are observed though a glassy solid is observed at high densities. The properties of the bulk lipid are unchanged upon the addition of protein molecules represented by hard discs of varying sizes. The nearest neighbour lipids are unchanged conformationally but are found to exhibit a high degree of orientational ordering around the proteins preferring to have the long axis of their projections parallel to the proteins surface. The degree of ordering increases with increas-ing density and decreasing curvature of the protein. The lateral pressure is almost independent of protein size or concentration if expressed as a function of the bulk lipid density. The hard-core of the lipids is softened to a site-site Lennard-Jones potential. The particles are found to cluster within the periodic cell used. There is a critical density below which the average number of gauche rotations and the cross-sectional area change little and the local orientational order increases. Above this density these properties are the same as for the hard-core systems. The structure, indicated by the radial distribution functions, is much greater than that for the hard-core systems and is almost independent of density. The invariance of the lipid conformations and the observed lipid-protein orientational order resolve the conflict that has arisen in the past regarding the presence or absence of an annulus of lipid around integral protein molecules. The different experimental methods are seen to examine different lipid properties.

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.