This thesis investigates the role of Venda culture in nature conservation and natural resource management. The project is based on the premise that the survival of human beings is entirely dependent on the extent to which different cultures conserve the natural environment. The researcher assumes that the scientific approach is not the only one that is capable of addressing environmental issues but that indigenous technology has a positive role to play. The study specifically looks at the relationship between the Venda culture and conservation of land, water, plants and animals. In order to achieve this goal, the study was divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter includes the statement of problem, delimitations of the study, the definitions of concepts, the assumptions, and the significance of the study. The literature review provides an overview of the indigenous strategies of nature conservation and natural resource management from a broader international approach to a specifically Venda approach. The researcher looked at the cultural perspective of the four areas under investigation. This chapter is followed by themethodological justification that discusses the social survey as a researchmethod for carrying out this study. The results presented in the fourth chapter comprise raw data from the three sectors of respondents, namely traditional leaders, traditional healers and villagers. Under each item, common responses have been grouped together for presentation and specific responses for the three sectors were presented independently from one another. This has provided the researcher with the opportunity to identify areas of similarities and differences among the three sectors. Both complementary and conflicting ideas are summarised and used as a basis for analysis. The results reflect a high degree of agreement among respondents. The discussion in chapter five was based on the results and relevant literature. The researcher’s approach was to depict the most common views among the three sectors and their conservation implications. In the discussion, the strengths and weaknesses of the Venda cultural approach were exposed in relation to the five sub-problems under investigation. The recognition of the Venda indigenous technology of natural resource management has been proposed because of its importance in nature conservation. In the recommendations the formulation of policy that overlooks local values was criticised. The use of the Venda approach as a basis for the development of conservation projects was strongly recommended. Lastly, itwas proposed that further investigations of specific aspects of the Venda cultural be considered for possible incorporation in future management of the natural environment.

Systematic conservation assessments are spatially-explicit techniques for prioritising areas for the implementation of conservation action. There has been considerable reference in the peer-reviewed literature as to the usefulness of these tools, which appear to be primarily used by academics for theoretical research. A literature review and author survey reveals the peer-reviewed literature is largely theoretical, although conservation action results more frequently than reported. The effectiveness of these interventions is generally described as only ‘fairly effective’. This general trend, coupled with previous personal failures in translating systematic conservation assessments into effective conservation action triggered an explicit process of social learning implemented as action research. It examined the workings of the Subtropical Thicket Ecosystem Planning (STEP) project, which included development of a systematic conservation assessment. Systematic conservations assessments simply provide information on where action should be implemented, and so are only useful if situated within broader operational models for conservation planning. Most operational models presented in the peer-reviewed literature are primarily focused upon the testing ecological data, not upon the delivery of conservation action. A new operational model for conservation planning is presented which more accurately reflects the ‘real-world’ process of conservation planning. An implementation strategy is an essential complement to a systematic conservation assessment. It describes how specific, explicitly-stated goals will be achieved, who is accountable for undertaking these activities, and the resources required. As the Implementation Specialist for the STEP Project, I co-lead the collaborative development of an implementation strategy with stakeholders that aimed to mobilise resources towards achieving common goals. Whilst the development and initial uptake of the strategy was good, subsequent implementation has flounder. The reasons for this are explored. The ultimate pragmatic goal of a conservation planning process is the establishment of effective social learning institutions. These develop common visions, mobilise collective action, and adaptively learn and refine their conservation activities. Thicket Forum is one xi such institution established through the STEP Project. My involvement with Thicket Forum since 2004 in implementing an adaptive learning approach facilitates collaboration between land managers, government and research organisations. Systematic conservation assessments evolved in response to the ad hoc way in which protected areas were implemented, leaving unrepresentative, biased protected area networks. Most research is theoretical and without an intimate understanding of the social-ecological system of a planning region, notably opportunities and constraints for implementing conservation action. Highlighting the importance of an approach which is flexible, not only in space, but in time, which can capitalise upon implementation opportunities, is important for stemming the myth that opportunism is the nemesis of systematic conservation assessments. To this end, conservation planners have been slow to include factors influencing effective implementation in systematic conservation assessments. Many studies which identify candidate protected area networks, first, fail to identify the specific instrument(s) to be applied, and second, assume all intact land is available. Having mapped the willingness of land managers in the Albany District, South Africa, to sell their land, it is demonstrated the majority of targets fail to be achieved because land managers will not sell. Knowing this, the current focus of gathering ever-more ecological data is misplaced. Human, social and economic factors influence target achievement, efficiency and spatial configuration of priority areas. Selecting important areas for conservation, particularly at the local-scale, requires the mapping of factors which define opportunities for conservation. Land manager willingness to collaborate and participate, entrepreneurial orientation, conservation knowledge, social capital, and local champions were applied using a method of hierarchical clustering to identify land managers who represent conservation opportunities for private land conservation initiatives.

No description available.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1999. / In essence The study revolved around the following: • The level of illiteracy of black Natal Parks Board employees. • . actors which contribute to the level of illiteracy of Natal Parks Board employees. • To determine in the light of the findings obtained, certain guidelines towards the route to be followed by illiterates and semi-illiterates, in attaining a state of literacy. The research was specifically directed at the problems confronting adult illiterates and semi-illiterates in their striving for literacy. Both the factors influencing educational progress and the best route to be taken to attain to literacy were studied. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire was utilised. The respondents were selected at random from rural areas throughout KZN, from the learners from seven classes who have graduated from the basic Zulu, advanced Zulu and basic English classes and from people who are still awaiting incorporation into the adult literacy programme. A summary was presented and based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made: • Although there is already an ABET system and a bursary scheme currently operating in the NPB, it is nevertheless recommended that the NPB and other like-organisations should: reprioritise their goals from conservation of species to the development of staff, draw up clear education policies, identify current educational levels, all skills training courses should comply with the National Qualification Framework and that the individual's current knowledge, skills and experience should be recognised and certificated. • In order to fully update staff on educational and training possibilities in the NPB and other similar organisations it is recommended that employees should have a say in educational and skills training and courses should be regularly advertised throughout the organisation and education and training needs should be discussed with individual staff members. In a climate where the employer realises and accepts his obligations, the organisation's budget should reflect that education and skills training have a very high priority rating.

A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course-work Degree of Master of Arts in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2005. / The study was conducted against the background that Ithala Game Reserve has a lot of tourism benefits. These benefits must be shared among the various sectors of the community such as the people who were evicted from Ithala and KZN Nature Conservation Services. The study was aimed at finding out whether these tourism benefits compensate for loss of land. This aim was narrowed down to the following objectives: • To investigate the level of understanding that Ithala people have towards the meaning of tourism. • To identify the criteria and strategy used by authorities to determine the beneficiaries of tourism resources at Ithala Game Reserve. • To determine the level of participation of local people in decision- making concerning tourism related matters. • To examine the level of accessibility to tourism resources of the Ithala area. • To assess the extent to which tourism benefits enhance the livelihood of the people around Ithala Game Reserve. The study hypothesised that: • That the Ithala people have a poor understanding of the meaning of tourism. • That there is no clearly defined criteria and strategy used by authorities to determine the beneficiaries of tourism benefits. • That the Ithala people do not participate actively in decision-making concerning tourism benefits. • That the level of accessibility to tourism resources is relatively restricted among the Ithala community members. • That tourism benefits do enhance the livelihood of the Ithala community in a sustainable manner. Data was collected through the use of sets of questionnaires, which had both open-ended and closed sections. After this data was collected, it was analysed through the use of computer programme, Statistical Package for Social Sciences. This programme was used to formulate frequency tables and to relate variables. There were various findings that were deduced from the responses of all interviewees. It was discovered that the Ithala community has limited knowledge about tourism and its benefits in their area. Such limitation resulted from the fact that for a long time, the Ithala community has been excluded from tourism development initiatives. This community was scattered over a large area after eviction, so they know very little about what is happening in the area. Another stumbling block to access tourism benefits is that the recent arrangements to involve the community in the tourism management are still neatly typed in the Memorandum of Understanding (the legal document that was signed by the Claimants, The Board, NCS), which is not easily accessible to people. People can begin to accept the prevailing situation provided they have sufficient knowledge about tourism. To address the concerns of the community, various recommendations were suggested. These included tourism awareness strategies, consultation and involvement of local people in tourism development initiatives, translation of tourism brochures into Zulu and construction of a cultural village. Once local people begin to grasp the concept of tourism, they will begin to accrue more benefits from this lucrative venture. / National Research Foundation and Department of Labour.

This document is submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree: Master of Architecture (Professional) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2018 / Through increased urbanisation and industrialisation, the human species has become separated from the natural world, valuing the environment only as far as it is useful to us. Society has become used to living through a human-centric view that places humans above all other natural beings. The destructive nature of this perspective is visible to us in the rapid depletion of our natural resources and, perhaps most alarmingly, the increasing amount of species driven to extinction and endangerment by the destruction of natural habitats. As we are now beginning to see the harmful effect this view has had on the natural world, it is necessary for society to change the way we interact with the natural world. We need to begin to act not only for the good of ourselves, but with the good of all living beings in mind. A shift in perspective is needed that places the human species into the natural world as an equal part of the system rather than a being of superior importance. In order to achieve this shift, we must understand our role as an integrated part of our surrounding natural ecosystems. The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Centre for Conservation is proposed as a centre devoted to conservation biology research placed within the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park in order to promote the easy access of researchers, South African and international, to this rich natural ecosystem. Its aim is to enable researchers to make use of the unique opportunities this protected environment offers in understanding the rise and fall of plant and animal species and thus to further understand how to increase and protect the biodiversity of this country. As well as this, the Centre for Conservation aims to showcase a method of building that is in no way harmful to the surrounding sensitive landscape and that functions as a part of the ecosystem, thus displaying to visitors how humans can interact with their natural environment in a symbiotic relationship and promoting a deeper care and respect for the natural world / MT 2019

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Ho, Yun Chi Maggie. / "December 2010." / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-231). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; some appendixes also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES --- p.xi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.xiii / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.xviii / NOTATION --- p.xix / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Significance --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Objectives --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Conceptual framework of study --- p.5 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2 --- Definition of terms --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- Indigenous community and nature reserves --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Opportunities of cooperating with indigenous community in conservation --- p.15 / Chapter 2.5 --- Incorporating indigenous knowledge --- p.18 / Chapter 2.6 --- Sacred natural sites as traditional conserved areas --- p.21 / Chapter 2.7 --- Challenges --- p.26 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- Erosion of traditions --- p.26 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- Coordination between indigenous population and conservationists --- p.31 / Chapter 2.8 --- International trend --- p.33 / Chapter 2.9 --- Local experiences in nature conservation --- p.36 / Chapter 2.9.1 --- Legislative framework --- p.36 / Chapter 2.9.2 --- Types of Protected Areas (PAs) --- p.37 / Chapter 2.9.3 --- Community involvement --- p.41 / Chapter 2.9.4 --- Privately owned land. --- p.43 / Chapter 2.10 --- Summary --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology --- p.47 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.47 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research framework --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3 --- Data collection --- p.48 / Chapter 3.4 --- Analytical approach --- p.50 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Importance-performance analysis --- p.51 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Participation level assessment --- p.53 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Background of Study Sites --- p.60 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.60 / Chapter 4.2 --- Background information on Long Valley --- p.60 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Geographical settings --- p.60 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Demographic information --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Cultural heritages --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Agricultural history --- p.66 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Avifauna diversity --- p.67 / Chapter 4.3 --- Background information on Fung Yuen --- p.69 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Geographical settings --- p.69 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Demographic information --- p.72 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Biodiversity --- p.73 / Chapter 4.4 --- Summary --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Roles of Stakeholders --- p.78 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction : --- p.78 / Chapter 5.2 --- Current management framework : --- p.78 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Role of government --- p.81 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Role of NGOs --- p.86 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Role of local community --- p.97 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Role of private sector --- p.98 / Chapter 5.3 --- Summary --- p.99 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Community participation level assessment --- p.102 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.102 / Chapter 6.2 --- Community participation on the two sites --- p.103 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Long Valley --- p.103 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Fung Yuen --- p.113 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Summary --- p.125 / Chapter 6.3 --- Motivation for participation --- p.126 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Long Valley --- p.126 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Fung Yuen --- p.128 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Summary --- p.129 / Chapter 6.4 --- Identifying participation level --- p.130 / Chapter 6.5 --- Suggestions for improvement --- p.134 / Chapter 6.5.1 --- Structure --- p.135 / Chapter 6.5.2 --- Conservation --- p.139 / Chapter 6.5.3 --- Ecotourism --- p.144 / Chapter 6.6 --- Summary --- p.147 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Performance of MA scheme --- p.150 / Chapter 7.1 --- Introduction : --- p.150 / Chapter 7.2 --- Public perception --- p.150 / Chapter 7.3 --- NGOs´ة staffs --- p.160 / Chapter 7.3.1 --- Involvement of locals --- p.162 / Chapter 7.3.2 --- Management --- p.167 / Chapter 7.4 --- Summary --- p.172 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- Sustainable ma framework --- p.175 / Chapter 8.1 --- Introduction --- p.175 / Chapter 8.2 --- Current situation --- p.175 / Chapter 8.3 --- Challenges --- p.178 / Chapter 8.3.1 --- Interest of landlords --- p.178 / Chapter 8.3.2 --- Bureaucratic problem --- p.180 / Chapter 8.3.3 --- Inadequate institutional support --- p.183 / Chapter 8.3.4 --- Development pressure --- p.185 / Chapter 8.3.5 --- Absence of ecological baseline data --- p.187 / Chapter 8.3.6 --- Rapid change of personnel --- p.188 / Chapter 8.4 --- Opportunities --- p.189 / Chapter 8.4.1 --- Adaptive management --- p.189 / Chapter 8.4.2 --- Community participation --- p.191 / Chapter 8.4.3 --- Trust fund --- p.192 / Chapter 8.5 --- Summary and suggestions for improvement --- p.194 / Chapter Chapter 9 --- Conclusion --- p.199 / Chapter 9.1 --- Introduction --- p.199 / Chapter 9.2 --- Summary of findings --- p.200 / Chapter 9.2.1 --- Roles of stakeholders --- p.200 / Chapter 9.2.2 --- Community participation level --- p.202 / Chapter 9.2.3 --- Performance of MA --- p.204 / Chapter 9.2.4 --- Suggestions for improvement --- p.206 / Chapter 9.3 --- Limitations of the study --- p.208 / Chapter 9.4 --- Suggestions for future study --- p.209 / Bibliography --- p.211 / Appendices --- p.232

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts