The Ferncliffe Catchment Conservancy has been identified, within the context of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, for its important geographical and ecological features. The mapping and communication of these features to the broader community resident within the Conservancy have been envisaged as an important undertaking. A most effective way of achieving this goal was to use a Geographic Information System in the mapping exercise and in creating an inventory of the resources in the Conservancy and a monitoring database. Such spatial information would then provide stakeholders with a spatial context within which to appreciate the natural resources available and the problems associated with them. In undertaking this task, spatial data were acquired in digital form as well as from aerial photographs and 1:50000 topo-cadastral maps. These data were imported into ArcView GIS Version 3.1 where the mapping of the various resources was done. An inventory of the resources was created and a spatial database linking attributes that describe the physical environment, the natural vegetation, agricultural activities and the built environment, was set up. It became evident that using a Geographic Information System for natural resource management provides for integration of spatial information which would otherwise be contained in several separate databases and maps. Further, these data can be readily accessed, queried, upgraded and manipulated. For conservancies in urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal, and indeed, the rest of South Africa, to achieve their aims in natural resource management and monitoring, such an approach would be most efficient and effective. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

In the past, protected natural areas have excluded local communities from the land and denied them access to valuable natural resources. However, it is becoming accepted practice to ensure that neighbouring communities benefit from the conservation of these areas. In accordance with their neighbour relations programme, the Natal Parks Board initiated a study to establish the need for indigenous wood in the region of the Thukela Biosphere Reserve (TBR), particularly for the woodcarving industry, and to determine sustainable methods and levels of harvesting. Part of this study was to determine the socio-economic issues surrounding the woodcarving industry and other users of indigenous trees, and these are addressed in this thesis. A multidisciplinary approach was adopted to address as many aspects of natural resource use as possible. The principle of sustainable development was employed to explore the nature of the often complex relationships between local communities and protected areas, and local communities and natural resource use. This principle calls for the integration of social, economic and ecological issues, with special attention to the notions of futurity, equity and the environment. The biosphere reserve is considered to be an appropriate vehicle for achieving sustainable development and the sustainable utilisation of resources, both internationally and in the South African context. However, in practice there are many obstacles to overcome as was observed in the case of the TBR, where security of land tenure and the associated control of and access to natural resources are a source of major conflict in the area. In view of this conflict, a flexible and sensitive methodology that promoted rapport-building was selected, namely Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). Mainly verbal RRA techniques were used to gather information on the use of and demand for indigenous trees by the local communities residing within and surrounding the TBR. This information included species names, species uses, estimations of quantities harvested, perceptions of the resource base, conservation practices and harvesting techniques, economic relations, constraints, and relationships between the resource manager and the resource user. Indigenous trees were found to be an important resource for fuel, construction, medicine, carving, and to a limited degree, food, to local people living within and surrounding the TBR. The predominant uses of wood were for fuel and construction materials. Access to these resources varied, depending on the area or farm where people resided. People living in degraded areas outside of the TBR experienced great difficulty in harvesting wood for fuel or building, and either harvested it illegally off privately-owned land or purchased it at great cost. Generally, it was found that on farms where there were very few families present, residents were allowed greater access to wood compared to those living on farms where many families resided. There were also specialist users living in the area, namely traditional healers and woodcarvers. Limited information was collected on the medicinal use of trees. However, the preliminary data suggests that there is a great need for this resource. It was found that there are very few woodcarvers present in the study area. As the carving industry was the original focus of the study, detailed information was collected from these men. It was found that carved products are largely produced for local markets and included traditional weapons and traditional household implements such as meat trays and spoons. Carvers were finding it increasingly difficult to access wood, and the income they derived from this trade was supplementary. Although it is not perceived possible that the indigenous wood requirements of all local people in the area can be met by the resources within the TBR on an ongoing basis, management of bush encroachment may increase the supply of firewood and construction materials, especially to those farm residents who were experiencing difficulty in this regard at the time of the study. Through partnerships with more specialist users of indigenous trees such as woodcarvers and traditional healers, access to these resources too may be improved. Although more detailed and participative research is needed before substantiated management plans can be formulated, it is hoped that through this study a foundation will be laid to direct future research efforts, dispel misunderstandings, and be part of the effort required to ensure sustainable development of natural resources. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, 1996.

The study was conducted in the Amazizi Traditional Administrative Council Area, in the Obonjaneni community, which is the closest community to the Royal Natal Park, KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of the research was to evaluate how trust-based relationships can affect the ability of protected area managers to meet the objective of biodiversity conservation. The objectives of the study involved determining the nature and basis of the current relationship between communities and park authorities in the Royal Natal Park; determining the resilience of their relationship and commenting on how these relationships might be better developed. Data collection was undertaken using focus groups from the community; key informant interviews with Park authorities (represented by the Officer in Charge), the Community Conservation Officer, and the Tribal Authority (represented by the inkosi). Three dimensions of trust, adapted from Grunig and Hon (1999), were used as a conceptual framework in investigating the extent to which trust can be assessed in the case study. The dimensions of trust are: integrity, competence, and dependability. The researcher found that there is no forum for the exchange of ideas where the Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW) authority can act to address community concerns and facilitate the formulation of greater levels of trust. Several issues came up during data collection which showed that all the three dimensions of trust were under serious threat. There was inadequate communication amongst all the parties involved. Misunderstanding and the lack of adequate communication are key threats to trust between these parties. Findings draw attention to deficiencies in the competence and dependability of all parties and in the ability to develop and maintain trust-based relationships. In order to develop a better relationship between the community of Obonjaneni and the Royal Natal Park authorities, it is recommended that the Park involves the community members of Obonjaneni, who are the interested and affected party, in decision-making processes that directly affect them. This entails the formation of a forum for the exchange of ideas and one where the EKZNW authority can act to address community concerns – and where the community can voice its concerns. Furthermore, success in meeting the main objective of the park, that of biodiversity conservation; requires recognition among all stakeholders that the Park alone cannot solve poverty and underdevelopment in the surrounding areas. Other Government Departments also need to be involved in poverty reduction. The Park also needs to continue to play its role of providing resources and improving the communication with surrounding communities: these are critical areas of competency of the park authorities. Communities, because they have different levels of understanding and capacity, need to be helped to understand issues of conservation. Sharing the same set of values, which in this case is biodiversity conservation, may be successful if people, despite issues of poverty, are made to understand the critical importance of such a conservation ethic. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Many people in Africa, due to high levels of poverty, rely directly on natural resources and the environment for their livelihoods. Different mechanisms have been employed over the years to address poverty and local livelihoods in the context of conservation. Community Conservation Areas and the sustainable livelihood approach are examples of these mechanisms. Increasingly, these and other mechanisms have reinforced the view that unless the risks and opportunities presented by poverty to local livelihoods are addressed, many conservation efforts are bound to fail. The research reported here was based on the premise that appropriate mechanisms that explicitly address poverty and local livelihoods are a necessary prerequisite to successfully engaging local people in conservation. Such mechanisms assure the sustainability of local livelihoods and present opportunities for conservation initiatives to succeed within the context of human societies that are dependent on associated ecosystems and resources. The Maloti-Drakensberg mountains region in South Africa was the study site and the proposed Ngelengele Nature Reserve, a Community Conservation Area, was used as a case study. The amaHlubi community people constituted the study's respondents. The study was largely qualitative, drawing on both primary and secondary sources of data in the form of interviewer-administered questionnaire and documentary analysis respectively. Field observations and discussions with respondents complemented the interviews. By adopting the sustainable livelihoods framework to understand and analyse the livelihoods of the amaHlubi community, the study highlighted concerns about livelihood assets with the conclusion that there is a high dependence on natural resources mainly for domestic purposes, and in general most of the assets are non existent. The study also highlighted the level of awareness and community support towards Ngelengele Nature Reserve, as well as the reserve's implications on local livelihoods. Although some stated that the objectives of Ngelengele Nature Reserve remain unclear, the majority of respondents showed high expectations and support for the project. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Within wetland rehabilitation projects there has been limited research that focuses on the level and nature of participation by local people, such as individuals from communal areas and landowners from private farms. The overall aim of this study was to analyze the level and nature of participation with specific reference to the holistic long term management and sustainability of wetland rehabilitation projects in Hlatikulu and Ntsikeni, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed in this study to examine the level of stakeholder participation in the projects. The Hlatikulu and Ntsikeni projects were undertaken on private land and government land (nature reserve) respectively. The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) Framework was applied to analyze the level and nature of participation by different stakeholders that were involved in the selected projects. The study revealed that not all stakeholder groups participated in each and every phase of the projects. In Hlatikulu there was a moderate level of participation from the management of private land, but a limited degree of local participation from the Nsonge community. This, to some extent is attributed to the lack organization in the Nsonge community. There are no structures or authorities through which the process of local participation can be engaged. In Ntsikeni, although the process of continuous local involvement was limited to local Chiefs and some community representatives, the process appeared to be participatory in nature. The selected representatives report back in community meetings and other relevant forums, such as the Ntsikeni Nature Reserve Management Forum, which has been operating successfully for several years. Local people participated in the rehabilitation projects mainly as paid workers, and also in providing advice in the planning processes. For both sites, the results demonstrated that there is a need to enhance and harness active local participation in order to ensure the long term management and sustainability of the Hlatikulu and Ntsikeni wetlands. Within this study, the WOCAT framework was applied to provide insights to two sites, with different land tenure and land use contexts. The results of this study suggest that the WOCAT framework has a high potential to be applied across a diversity wetland rehabilitation sites within South Africa. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

Since the establishment of the first protected area in 1872, the Yellowstone National Park, the concept of protected areas and their management have witnessed several controversies and conflicts. Generally, ownership and management of most of these protected areas has in the past been restricted to state -governments. Other stakeholders and particularly local communities neighbouring these areas were excluded from their management and ownership. Since the last three decades, however, conservation bodies have been trying to encourage various other protected area governance (management) approaches to address failures in the existing management approach (in which state governments almost solely managed and owned these protected areas ) to achieve the conservation goals. Some of these include co-management and private protected area management approaches. In Component A of this study, "Co-management as an option for private protected areas: A case study of the Shongweni Resource Reserve", attempts were made to explore a selection of literature in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the concepts of private protected areas and co-management. Through this documentary review of literature from various sources (internet, libraries, personal communication, etc) the study identified, examined and documented various issues associated with the concepts. It also explored and documented the historical and current perspectives as well as the legal and policy context of these concepts in South Africa. In addition, the study examined the study area and the methods explored in the study. The study concludes in this Component that: 1. Protected area co-management is a pluralistic approach to the management of protected areas. It recognises a variety of stakeholders that are conducive to the achievement of sustainable conservation goals. 2. Private protected areas have tremendously increased in South Africa, with a total of 13% of the land surface under private protected area management. This is more than double the land surface under public protected area management. 3. South Africa has adequate legal and policy framework provisions that encourage comanagement as well as private protected area management. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The classification of Bioresource Units (BRUs) was developed to provide a reconnaissance appraisal of the natural resources for both environmental impact assessments and the agricultural potential of KwaZulu- Natal. Storage of the Bioresource Programme in a geographical information system (GIS) facilitates usage. Of the criteria used for the classification of BRUs, climate (rainfall and temperature in particular), was considered to be the most important factor. Other factors used were the soil association codes of the Land Types, plant indicator species and communities, and terrain type. The base map used for the study was the 1 : 50 000 topo-cadastral map on which the Land Types (LTs) were demarcated. The result of the study was the mapping of 590 BRUs, each of which is sufficiently homogeneous in environmental factors (climate, soil association, vegetation type and terrain form), such that uniform land use practices, production techniques and levels, can be defined with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Ecotopes, based on LT information, were defined for each BRU. An ecotope is a class of land, defined according to soil characteristics, within which agricultural production will be uniform and will differ significantly between one ecotope and another. The ecotopes, both for cropping and veld, are not spatially defined, but expressed as percentages of the total area of the BRU. In the BRU inventory, crops suitable for the BRU and each ecotope, and the level of production (tons/ha/annum) in the case of crop ecotopes, are supplied at a stated level of management. In addition, it is possible to investigate the potential for 29 crops for which crop production models exist, and for any other crop providing its growth and site requirements, particularly climate and soil, are known. Additional crop production models will be developed, as the demand for this type of information is high. Veld management norms, such as grazing capacity, are supplied for the veld ecotopes. On the completion of the classification of BRUs the decision was made to develop a third level of classification and the Bioresource Groups (BRGs) were mapped. In the classification of the BRUs 23 vegetation types had been identified and used as one of the criteria for BRU demarcation. By grouping all the BRUs with the same vegetation type, BRGs were defined. Each BRG, therefore, consists of a specific vegetation type containing one or more BRUs of the same vegetation type. The 23 BRGs are used mainly for regional and veld management planning. The programme was designed for use by a wide range of people with individual skills and knowledge, and contains most of the information needed for land use planning. It is essential however, to be able to identify ecotopes in the field to effectively use the information at a detailed level for farm planning. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The thesis examines the genesis and implementation of integrated conservation development and associated projects in northern Maputaland during the 1980s and 1990s. The premise upon which this study is based is that there has been a worldwide paradigmatic shift in conservation policies and practices during the 1980s and 1990s. The extent to which initiatives in Maputaland reflected these trends is examined. In formulating a conceptual and theoretical framework for the study, the developments within the discipline of geography as well as the paradigmatic shifts within the broader sphere of conservation and development thinking, are discussed. Traditionally geography focuses on the nature of the relationship between human beings and their environment. Working within this tradition, the relationship between geography and conservation policy and practice is identified and applied to South Africa. Analysis of the process of integrating conservation and development in Maputaland is informed by both the broader international debate surrounding conservation and development and by local history and place specific conditions. The key geographical concepts of process and place are viewed as interdependent factors influencing one another. Within this framework and drawing on the concept of sustainable development, the experience of implementing the new conservation paradigm in Maputaland is recorded and analysed. The case study examples are associated with Ndumo Game Reserve. Sources of data and methodologies include primary sources (published books and journals), secondary sources (unpublished reports), participant-as-observer status with conservation liaison committees and the Ndumo Environmental Education Centre, key informant and focus group interviews and Participatory Rural Appraisal with the Ndumo Environmental Education Centre Management Committee. The study indicates that the Maputaland initiative did represent a considerable paradigm shift in the conservation policies guiding the general practice of conservation in Maputaland. The conservation agency did attempt to initiate Integrated Conservation Development Projects (ICDPs) during the 1990s, but this has been a complex process, fraught with tensions and suspicions. The practise fell short of the ideals and there is a long road to be travelled before reconciliation between conservation and community development is reached. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.