Doctoral thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2016. / Abstract This study examines the dynamics of power and the significance of local environmental knowledge in natural resource management in Zimbabwe’s communal areas. It uses a case study of Bulilima District, broken down into into 3 components (Wards) for manageability of the study, to analyse the power configurations and the role played by local environmental knowledge in influencing decision-making processes among actors in the district with regard to mopane worms (Imbrasis beilina is the scientific name while icimbi is the vernacular name) and mopane woodlands (Colophospermum mopane is the scientific name while iphane is the vernacular name). It examines the significance of local environmental knowledge, i.e. indigenous knowledge and knowledge that developed as a result of a combination of knowledges from different ethnic groups and modern science. The study further examines the dynamics of the gendered nature of mopane worms and woodlands tenure regimes by putting under the spotlight the spaces and places where men and women interact, use and exert control over mopane worms and woodlands. It places history at the centre of our understanding of contemporary power dynamics and helps us to appreciate the importance of how local environmental knowledge has changed over time. To this end, the study argues that some of the contemporary conflicts over resources have their roots in the colonial era when the colonial government appropriated land from the locals and introduced discourses and practices such as conservation. Furthermore, it argues and demonstrates that the state is a critical player in determining access, use and control of natural resources. Based on rich ethnographic data collected by means of critical observations, in-depth interviews, narratives, and archival data, as well as aided by a brief survey, the study concluded that natural resource governance is a complex phenomenon in developing states. Power and knowledge play significant roles in influencing access, use and control of mopane worms and woodlands. Furthermore, while some locals still possess indigenous knowledge, practices and belief systems related to natural resource management, these are now less significant in influencing decisions on natural resource management. Indeed, the interplay of knowledge and power in resource management sees scientific culture and outside knowledge taking precedence over local forms of knowledge in the management of natural resources in the district. Key words: power, local environmental knowledge, indigenous knowledge, ZANU PF, natural resource management, access, mopane worms and woodlands, Bulilima, Zimbabwe / GR2017

Thesis (Ph. D. (Botany)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Colophospermum mopane (Benth.) J. Léonard, commonly known as mopane, is a dominant tree or shrub in the mopane woodland. It is distributed in the low-lying areas of southern Africa’s savannas. Mopane maintains its foliage well into the dry season, and thus provides nutritional forage for browsers such as Tragelaphus strepsiceros, commonly known as the greater kudu. Despite its wide distribution and value as a source of forage for browsers, especially during the dry season, knowledge of the effect of browsers on mopane leaf quality is limited. There is also inadequate knowledge of the diet composition of the greater kudu during different seasons in the mopane woodland. Such information is important for proper management of browsers in the mopane woodland. As a result, a field experiment was conducted at Musina Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa to determine the effect of pruning on mopane leaf phenology, production, macronutrients, trace elements and secondary metabolites. Pruning was conducted to simulate the effect of browsing by large herbivores such as the greater kudu on mopane leaf quality. In addition, rumen content analysis of greater kudu was conducted in order to quantify the amount of mopane and other plants browsed during the dry and wet seasons. Collected datasets were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test was used to test the effect of pruning on mopane leaf phenology and production. The effect of pruning on the monthly concentration of macronutrients, trace elements and secondary metabolites was tested using a two-tailed t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variance. The seasonal and annual effect of pruning on the concentration of macronutrients, trace elements and secondary metabolites was tested using One-Way Anova. Rumen datasets were analysed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. This study found that the rate of leaf phenology and production, including the concentration of certain macronutrients (Ca, K, N, P, S, Cl, Na, protein and fibre), trace elements (Fe, Mn, Mo, Cu, Zn and Se) and secondary metabolites (TP, CT and PPT) increased during leaf flush in October and then declined as the leaves ii matured and aged. However, the concentration of selected macronutrients (Mg and NO3) and trace elements (B, Co and F) increased when the leaves reached maturity in June, particularly during the leaf senescence stage, and declined thereafter. The concentration of macronutrients, trace elements and secondary metabolites between the control and pruned trees was statistically insignificant at P>0.05 for most samples. This study further showed that C. mopane contributed most (47%) to the diet of the greater kudu during the dry season. Other important dry season browse plants were Dichrostachys cinerea (30%), Commiphora edulis (12%), Grewia bicolor (6%) and Combretum apiculatum (5%). However, when gender was considered, the diet of the female greater kudu during the dry season consisted mainly of C. mopane (71%) and D. cinerea (22%). The diet of the male greater kudu contained less C. mopane (33%), but similar proportions of D. cinerea (31%) and other browse species. However, during the wet season, the diet of the greater kudu was mainly composed of C. apiculatum (43%). Other wet season browse plant species were Sclerocarya birrea (24%), C. mopane (12%) and Senegalia nigrescens (8%), with the contribution of the remaining species to the diet being insignificant. The diet of the female greater kudu in the wet season consisted mainly of C. apiculatum (44%) and C. mopane (20%), while the diet of the male mostly contained S. birrea (38%) and C. apiculatum (34%). It is concluded that the concentration of macronutrients, trace elements and secondary metabolites in mopane leaves is not dependent on <10% pruning, but seems to be associated with leaf growth stages. It is further concluded that the concentration of nutrients and chemical compound in mopane leaves has implications on the diet composition of browsers such as the greater kudu in the mopane woodland. The dependency of the greater kudu on species such as C. mopane and C. apiculatum as main sources of browse indicates the importance of these species to the diet of the greater kudu in the mopane woodland. / Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) , National Research Foundation (NRF) and University of Limpopo (Biodiversity Research Chair)

MSc (Zoology) / Department of Zoology / Mopane worm (Gonimbrasia belina Westwood) is an indigenous edible insect that periodically has population eruptions in Mopane tree (Colosphermum mopane) dominated vegetation. This insect is a valuable source of food and has become an economic commodity for commercial harvesters. Despite its importance, little is known of the population dynamics of mopane worm. Considerable attention has been paid to the nutritional and social dimensions of mopane worm consumption. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is a decline in the spatial extent of their distribution due to unsustainable utilization, land transformation, and commercialization. This is paralleled with a decrease of harvest yield, thereby affecting local communities, commercial harvesting operations, and market product availability. Partial domestication of this species may be a way of ensuring sustainable and reliable utilization of this edible insect because it improves natural survival rates. Here I explore mopane worm ecology by mainly focusing on understanding spatial structuring and the role of domestication in the development of sustainable harvest techniques of Mopane worms (G. belina). Spatial structuring of mopane worms was investigated at both a fine (10m x 10m) and medium-scale (1 km2) at sites with and without commercial harvesting. Mopane worm populations were experimentally treated through transplant experiments and manipulating access of predators to 1st – 3rd instar larvae. The role of tree characteristics (height, canopy volume and number of stems) on both spatial and experimental treatments were explored using generalized linear mixed models. Moran’s Eigenvector Maps (MEM’s) were used to represent spatial structures at various scales and the role of soil. Relative to control, seeding of worms was successful in establishing new populations in unoccupied areas while transplant and application of sleeve nets had no significant effect on larval survival. Populations at sites where no harvesting takes place were spatially structured, while this was not true where commercial harvesting takes place. Canopy volume also accounted for egg packets distribution although the relationship was ambiguous. The density of larvae increased with an increase in sodium concentration in soil. Seeding of the population provides a viable option for the sustainable utilization of mopane worms and educating people on how to domesticate mopane worms. This study also highlights that populations of mopane worms are not only clumped in time but also in space and at various spatial scales. / NRF