M.Sc. (Environmental Management) / Whether negative or positive, any human land use will have an impact on water quality. Point and non-point sources of contamination occur throughout the study area. Land use type and intensity will determine to what extent the water quality is affected. The aim of this research is to determine which human land use (within the study area) has the most prevalent effect on water quality. The Wilge River is a vitally important source of water for supply to the Gauteng region, and thus its quality is of a high priority, and yet little known or studied. Situated in the Grassland Biome of South Africa, on the Highveld in the Eastern Free State, the Upper Wilge River Catchment area is dominated by agricultural land use and has two human settlements that play an important role in the quality of water in the catchment. The Catchment is subdivided by four tributaries, which allow for smaller regions to be mapped out and studied individually. The various regions that have been mapped contain alternating types of land use including but not limited to cultivation and livestock agriculture; different types of human settlements. The Upper Wilge River also plays a role in the Tugela-Vaal Inter-Basin-Transfer (IBT) Scheme, and so water quality is also affected by this. South Africa is a water scarce country with highly erratic and unevenly distributed rainfall and thus the appointment of Catchment Management Agencies to monitor and manage water supply has been implemented by Government. By utilising Land use maps, Water Quality data and water quality guidelines, it is possible to identify spatial trends in water quality. There are nine specific water quality indicators that were selected according to the land use types present because various indicators may aid in identifying or representing specific human land use types, and thus highlight how different human land uses have different effects on water quality over a space. The respective water quality data for the nine specific indicators were acquired over the 12 sample points in the study area for a six year period. Data were transformed, analysed and simply visually represented in the form of bar and pie charts. Land use was mapped over the study area using Google Earth and a GIS (MapWindow). Finally data were interpreted in accordance with land use maps, water quality guidelines and thus water quality trends established. The main objective of this research was to identify, compare and determine which land use present has the most noticeable and detrimental effect on water quality. Essentially water quality depends on land use type and intensity within a catchment, but can also be affected by a variety of other anthropogenic or natural factors. Overall, the way in which the current human population utilises and impacts on the water quality is negative; but quality remains generally acceptable for the intended purpose of this water to downstream users, however this must be carefully monitored and managed, so as to ensure further degradation does not occur.

The rapid expansion of biofuel projects in southern Africa creates an opportune issue against which to examine land-use tradeoffs within the areas of customary land tenure. For this an ecosystems services approach is used. Jatropha curcas (L), a perennial oilseed plant which has been the key focus of most of the region’s biofuel expansion to date is used as the focus biofuel crop for which case study data were obtained from Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa. Despite the initial enthusiasm for jatropha, most projects have proven less successful than hoped, and many have collapsed. A few are, however, still showing signs of possible success and it is two of these that form the basis of the case studies. Hugely complex tradeoffs are involved when considering biofuel as a land-use option for communal areas. They range from global impacts such as biodiversity and global climate forcing, through national concerns of rural development, national food security and national fuel security, to local household concerns around improving livelihoods. Land that is converted to biofuel needs to be removed from some previous use, and in the southern African case it is typically woodlands and the multitude of services they provide, that suffer. The nature of the tradeoffs and the people affected change over the scale under consideration. For the local farmer it is only the local issues that are of concern, but national and global forces will change the policy environment and lead to new types of development such as biofuels. Change is inevitable, and in all developments there are likely to be both winners and losers. It is clear that the impacts arising from biofuel are situation dependent, and each community and location has unique social and environmental considerations that need to be taken into account. In the case of jatropha the final realised yield and the economic returns that this can generate, will be of critical importance and remain one of the main uncertainties. There are promising signs that under certain circumstances the balance of benefits from jatropha biofuel may be positive, but if implemented incorrectly or in the wrong place, there is extensive evidence of total project failure. It is clear that evidence-based data and assessment tools are needed to assist communities, developers and government departments to make sound decisions around biofuel (or other land-use based) development. A number of such tools are suggested in the thesis. Both the use of large-scale plantations or small-scale farmer centred projects have their advantages and disadvantages. It is probable that in the correct circumstances either can work. However, large-scale plantations can have huge negative social and environmental consequences if poorly implemented. Small-scale projects, though improving livelihoods, are unlikely to take the farmers out of poverty. Tradeoffs from any land-use change are inevitable. Empirical data on biofuel impacts on the environment and society are needed for the development of sound policy. A favourable policy environment can ensure that positive benefits from biofuel are obtained, whilst minimising negative impacts. To develop this policy means that southern African countries will have to clearly understand what they wish to achieve from biofuel, as well as having a clear understanding of impacts from biofuel implementation. Sound scientific knowledge needs to underpin this process. For instance governments may wish to increase the ratio of small-scale to large-scale plantation to increase the developmental benefits, ensure biofuel is used to promote national fuel security rather than being exported, or develop a medium-scale farming sector which can help move farmers out of poverty and assist in developing a market surplus of agricultural commodities. Analysing impacts from biofuel expansion is a complex and multi-dimensional problem and as such will require multi-criteria analysis tools to develop solutions. Global, national and local tradeoffs must all be considered. In addition a wide range of stakeholders are involved and participatory processes may be needed to capture their inputs. Tools to better analyse impacts, specifically at the local level are needed. These local results need to feed into national level economic assessments. The cost of biofuel introduction should be considered against the costs of not implementing biofuel, realising that doing nothing also has a cost and long-term impact. Third-party certification provides a useful tool for shifting costs of ensuring compliance with social and environmental legislation, from the state to biofuel companies. In addition ongoing monitoring and evaluation of existing projects is needed to learn from successes and failures, to identify unintended consequences, and to increase the resilience of projects, community livelihoods and the national economy. This will have to be supplemented with additional focused and ongoing research.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Many national parks in lesser developed countries are threatened by adjacent human land uses. To meet both social and environmental needs, effective programs must be implemented to manage lands adjacent to national parks for conservation and development. This requires careful analysis of the socio-economic aspects of existing land use patterns and their implications for biological conservation. Research was undertaken adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. The biological integrity of the park depends on maintenance of natural habitats on lands adjacent to the lowland sector of the park. Existing lowland forest habitat adjacent to the park is rapidly being converted to pasture. Protecting the park's lowland biological resources depends on both stopping the influx of colonists into the area and encouraging land uses with biological conservation value outside the park. Both these issues are explored in detail. The rationale behind existing land uses in the region is discussed in relation to socio-economic variables identified from the literature on land use choice in Latin America. Large landholders generally engage in beef cattle ranching, frequently in association which land speculation. Small landholders prefer dairy cattle for cheese production is due to its low risk, stable markets, and the possibility of gradual and reversible entry. Smaller cattle operations use land more intensively, but by investing more labor appear to achieve sustainability. More intensive cash cropping is often combined with cattle to increase overall income. Timber production shows potential to partially replace cattle as an extensive, low risk land use. The impact of different adjacent land uses on park biological resources was assessed through a survey of biologists familiar with the region. The two land uses of greatest benefit to park resources were completely protected forest and natural forest management for timber production. The two land uses causing greatest harm to park resources were annual crops and pasture. Two management options for conservation and development adjacent to the park are proposed: (1) a forest buffer, and (2) a mosaic of different land uses, including pasture, perennial crops, and forest.

No description available.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing) at the School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies. Johannesburg, 2016. / The purpose of this research was to quantify the impact of the land reform programme on land use and land cover changes (LULCC) in Chipinge district situated in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. The Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of 2000 was selected as the major cause of LULCC in the district. This research addresses the problem of knowing and understanding if there was LULCC in the district before and after the enactment of the FTLRP in the year 2000. The research objectives of this study were as follows: to investigate the impact of the FTLRP of 2000 on land use and land cover in Chipinge district; to test the use of Landsat earth observation data in quantifying the changes on land use and cover from 1992 to 2014 in Chipinge district and to predict LULCCs in the year 2028 in Chipinge district. The methodology for detecting the impact of LULCC was based on the comparison of Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+ and OLI/ TIRS scene p168r74 images covering Chipinge district taken on diverse dates in five different years. In order to prepare the Landsat images for change detection analysis, a number of image processing operations were applied which include radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction. The images were classified using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and evaluation was done through accuracy assessment using the confusion matrix. The prediction of LULCC in the year 2028 was modeled by the Markov Chain Analysis (MCA) and the Cellular Automata Markov Chain Analysis (CA MCA) so as to show land distribution in the future. The results show that agricultural farmland, estates and area covered by water bodies declined whilst there was an increase in built-up areas, forest land and bare land since the enactment of the FTLRP. The prediction results show that in the year 2028, there will be a decrease in the amount of land covered by water bodies, forest and agricultural farmland. There will be an increase in the amount of built-up in the year 2028 as a result of population growth. It is the recommended in this study that better remedies be put in place to increase forest cover and also the use of high resolution images in further studies. There should be exploration of the relationships between LULCC, socio-economic and demographic variables would develop more understanding of LULCC. The study also recommends the preparation of a proper land use plan to deal with a reduction in the growth of settlement which is vital in the planning and management of social and economic development programs. / LG2017

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Town and Regional Planning at the school of architecture and planning to the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Mining and the mining experience is one that has been written about extensively in academia. The history of mining in South Africa has not only shaped the physical landscape of the country but has shaped peoples understanding of the different spaces. The changing dynamics of mining, especially gold mining has played a role on the different experiences in contemporary South Africa. The decline in employment and production in the sector has meant that people in these gold mining towns have had to adapt to the changing times. The concept of resilience allows the research to view spaces such as that of Khutsong to see how people in such places are able to be resilient and the factors impacting on their resilience. / MT2017

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2001 / Refer to document

The negative consequences of sprawling metropolitan regions have attracted attention in both academia and in practice regarding how to better design settlements and alter travel behavior in a quest to curtail vehicle emissions. Studies that have attempted to understand the nexus between land use, travel and vehicle emissions have not been able to address the issue of self-selection in a satisfactory manner. Self-selection occurs when households choose their residential location based, in part, on expected travel behavior. This non-random experience makes the use of traditional regression frameworks that strongly rely on random sampling, unsuitable. This replication study's purpose was to examine the impact of land use and travel on CO2 emissions using the Heckman (1979) sample selection model in Portland Metropolitan Area. three research questions guided this study: (1) Does self-selection to drive a motor vehicle lead to reduction in CO2 emissions? (2) Does land use and automobile travel influence the decision to drive after controlling for self-selection? (3) What land use and travel factors determine CO2 emissions after controlling for self-selection? The findings suggest driving has a statistically significant negative effect on estimated CO2 and that most land use variables significantly affect driving behavior.