Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / Communal land tenure reform in Zambia is the overarching subject of study in this thesis. It is an important issue across southern Africa, raising questions of governance, livelihood security and conservation. WIldlife is a 'fugitive' and 'mobile' resource that traverses the spatially fixed tenure of communal lands, national parks and public forest reserves. The management of wildlife therefore requires that spatially defined proprietorial rights accommodate wildlife's temporal forage use. Land may bebounded in tenure, but if bounded by fences its utility as wildlife habitat is undermined. If land is unfenced, but its landholder cannot use wildlife then it is more a liability than an asset. Africa's terrestrial wildlife has enormous biodiversity value but its mobility requires management collaboration throughout its range, and the resolution of conflicting ecological and economic management scales. The paper does not aim to describe and explain the internal communal system of tenure over land and natural resources but rather how the communal system interacts with the state and the private sector. / South Africa

The goal of this study was two fold. First, to investigate the determinants of soil fertility management and conservation practices in Uganda, with particular interest in the role of poverty, social capital and land tenure. Secondly, to provide an understanding of the causal relationships between social capital and household poverty in Uganda. To achieve the above goals, econometric approaches were employed using a data set collected by IFPRI, the World Bank, and Uganda Bureau of Statistics from a survey that covered eight districts in Uganda. First to investigate the impact of poverty, land tenure and social capital on adoption of SFM and conservation technologies, a multinomial logit (MNL) model was used. Choice of the MNL model was motivated by the need to address the interdependent and joint nature of the adoption decision making. Secondly to understand the influence of social capital and other determinants on poverty in Uganda, a linear regression model was used while a probit model was used to capture the determinants of group participation our measure of social capital. The results show that participation in social institutions generally tends to increase the probability of adopting most SFM and conservation practices and reducing non-adoption. Social capital also reduces household poverty. The study further shows that poverty increases the probability of non-adoption. Also, land tenure security was found to be positively correlated with adoption of fallowing and organic fertilizer use and reducing the probability of non-adoption. Other key factors that affect adoption of SFM and conservation technologies, poverty and group participation include education, road infrastructure, agro-climatic differences, and household size among others. From a policy perspective, the significance of social capital in both technology adoption and the poverty models, suggests that public investment in social capital through: capacity building programs for local groups, infrastructure support, enabling environment for their functioning (legal framework) among others would lead to poverty reduction and improved investments in SFM and conservation technologies. This can be done by incorporating social capital in key government policies such as the poverty eradication action plan and program for modernisation of agriculture. The results also suggest that poverty reduction would increase adoption of SFM and conservation technologies. Copyright 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Birungi, EM 2007, The linkages between land degradation, poverty and social capital in Uganda, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01252008-173216 / > / Thesis (PhD(Environmental Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Indigenous goats are one of the most important sources of animal protein to many rural poor, but this is being threatened by the way they are managed and the way people utilize the land. Goats supply the rural people with meat, milk, manure (which can be used as fertilizers) and hides which can also be used for different purposes. Milk and meat have always been an important component in the normal balanced diet, providing energy, protein, calcium and other minerals and vitamins. As the population in South Africa continue to grow, meat and milk will become more important as a source of high quality protein to reduce malnutrition especially in children. As such milk and meat production is a vital form of primary health care in both rural and peri-urban areas. Donkin (1998) indicated that, in commercial enterprises, milk is usually from cows. However, the disadvantages with cows as a source of milk for the household and small holder farmer are that dairy cows are expensive, require large amounts of food, produce large amounts of milk (more than household needs), have a relatively long generation interval and when slaughtered have large carcases (posing problems of storage and distribution). In contrast, dairy and meat goats are less expensive, are easily handled by women and children, eat less, produce appropriate quantities of meat and milk for household consumption, reducing storage problems, have a short generation interval and produce more progeny. In spite of all these advantages, Bembridge and Tapson (1993) indicated that productivity from goats in the communal farming system, which is based on the extensive system is poor due to a low weaning rate, a high mortality rate and low turnover. Goats are often blamed for veld deterioration and damage to soil subsequent to poor animal and grazing management. Goats are hardy animals, that can survive where other animals cannot (Webb et al., 1998). One of the major problems at present however, is the availability of adequate grazing and the current land tenure systems. Goat farmers share common grazing land, which makes it very difficult to manage since the chief of the area holds the land in trust. This is one of the reasons why rural land is poorly managed. Our concern as researchers is how we can help rural people to sustain the productivity of these animals. This research is focused on the fact that" some 30% of the population of South Africa are classified as ultra-poor (i.e. those who do not obtain sufficient food) and of these, 80% are blacks living in rural areas, it is understandable that the efficiency of animal production in rural communal farming systems has been perceived by some as the most important issue for animal production research". The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of land tenure system on goat production in two rural villages, Moutse and Phooko. The analysis is based on 1998 / 1999 survey data. Surveys of landless and smallholder farmers were conducted in the KwaNdebele district of Mpumalanga in 1998 and 1999. In total 26 farmers were interviewed. The interview was through a questionnaire which was distributed to participating farmers with the help of an extension officer from the villages. The effect of land tenure on goat production was analysed by determining the productive efficiency of livestock in the villages, and the contribution of livestock to the livelihood of the local people. Finally farmers were classified according to categorical characteristics such as type of animal farmed with, those practicing minor management versus those who do not, and the type of farming system practiced e.g. animal or mixed farming. The results show that all the categories mentioned i.e. type of management, type of farming and land tenure system influence animal performance to some extent. It is concluded from the results that to successful farmers, land tenure seems to be a major limiting factor. The characterization of farmers that are economically successful in terms of goat I animal husbandry shows that they have little or no land and no regular substantial off farm income. Therefore, they rely mainly on goat I animal husbandry to provide a constant income, which emphasize the importance of livestock in rural farming systems. Although goats are less popular compared to cattle (often used for lobola), they form an important part of most rural farming systems, particularly in providing meat and milk for rural people. The results of the survey show that from the 26 farmers interviewed, 13 are farming with goats and cattle, and the remaining 13 with a combination of goats, cattle, sheep and sometimes pigs. KwaNdebele, like other former homelands has an agricultural potential which is largely underestimated because of lack of skills and training, absence of ownership, overstocking and lack of veld management. From the result, it is concluded that it is difficult to enforce proper management and conservation measures under communal land. Although the results suggests only a slight effect on land tenure on animal performance, land tenure does have an effect on the implementation of conservation measures. In economic terms, the cultivator I farmer is said to lack incentives to carefully husband the holding he does not have property rights that internalise the costs and benefits of conserving or failing to conserve the land (Basset and Crummey, 1993). / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar ( Animal Production))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

No description available.

In 1998, the government of British Columbia introduced a new form of tenure for community forestry. The Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was envisioned as a unique institutional mechanism for devolution, providing resource-dependent communities and First Nations in B.C. with the authority to set the direction of forest management in their locale, and to create local benefits. Relative to the industrial status quo, there were high expectations of community forestry and what it might achieve. This study empirically tested some of these expectations with respect to B.C.’s Community Forest Program. Taking a realist approach to evaluation, a variety of qualitative research methods were used to critically assess the structure, performance, and outcomes of the CFA. Analysis of the CFA revealed that its structure is virtually identical to tenures designed for industrial forestry with a few minor exceptions. In the current tenure regime, the CFA devolves limited power over strategic decisions and community control largely resides at the operational level, affecting on-the-ground aspects of timber harvesting rather than enabling a broader and more holistic approach to forest management. Outcomes of the CFA generally did not satisfy expectations that communities would commercially harvest botanical non-timber forest products, develop capacity for value-added wood processing, and utilize more environmentally-sensitive harvesting treatments. The study did find that CFAs supported local employment and were more labour intensive than industrial licensees in harvesting and silvicultural activities. Assessing the CFA structure and the on-the-ground outcomes side-by-side, this study suggests that the impediments to realizing a more holistic form of community forestry likely have their roots in the institutional mechanism itself, rather than in the efforts of communities. Flowing from the evaluation are recommendations for government to consider devolving more power over key strategic management decisions and increasing the size of CFAs to improve their economies of scale; and recommendations for communities to build their capacity and critical social mass to leverage policy changes that may further the evolution of community forestry in B.C. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

No abstract included. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

The Stikine and Iskut Rivers in northwest British Columbia form one of the last pristine wilderness river systems in North America. B.C. Hydro and Power Authority has, as part of its longterm development strategy, plans to dam the rivers some time early in the next century. These plans are opposed by the Tahltan Indians for whom the Stikine-Iskut Basin is an ancestral home and by numerous environmental organizations. This thesis analyzes the interaction of these opposition groups in light of the general literature on the Indian land claims and environmental movements. This is accomplished in four chapters. The first chapter analyses Indian response to internal colonialism through both the maintenance of the native economy and the land claims movement and examines the history of the North American environmental movement in terms of reformist and deep environmentalism. The two movements are found to differ substantially over issues such as land use control and resource development. The second chapter traces Tahltan and environmentalist attachments to the Stikine, outlines B.C. Hydro's plans and describes how B.C. Hydro's planning activities would themselves generate controversy. The third chapter discusses and compares Tahltan and environmentalist opposition to B.C. Hydro's plans. The Tahltan opposition is expressed in two forms, both through the persistence of the Tahltan economy, the adherents to which are not represented in a fully funded formal organization and the more predominant Association of United Tahltans. The environmentalist opposition is falls mainly in the reformist stream of environmentalism. The predominant form of Tahltan opposition and the environmentalists are shown to have markedly different objectives. The thesis concludes that the case of the Stikine indicates that there are many obstacles to alliances between the formally defined land claims movement and environmentalists. The most prominent of these obstacles is federal comprehensive claims policy which encourages resource-extractive development by providing for resource royalties in claim settlements. However, the findings from the Stikine also indicate there are numerous points of common interest between Indians committed to the native economy and environmentalists. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This study identified tenure policies and practices among Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) member schools. A survey of CCCU member schools was conducted; 65 usable questionnaires were received. A response rate of 69% was achieved. Schools also provided portions of their faculty handbooks addressing tenure. The purpose of the study was to determine (a) what CCCU schools grant tenure, (b) why they grant tenure, (c) specific tenure policies and practices, (d) what CCCU schools do not grant tenure, (e) why they do not grant tenure, (f) retention policies used in place of tenure, and (g) how CCCU schools' tenure policies compare with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) guidelines. The data suggests that (a) the majority of CCCU schools (68%) grant tenure, (b) these schools represent nearly all religious affiliations within the CCCU, and (c) they are large in relation to CCCU schools that do not grant tenure. The predominant reasons given for granting tenure are protection of academic freedom, mutual commitment by institution and faculty, and recruiting / retaining quality faculty. The schools grant tenure based on teaching, scholarship, service, and the integration of faith and learning. Tenure success rates seem high. Thirty-two percent of the CCCU colleges and universities do not grant tenure. These schools are small in relation to CCCU schools that grant tenure. They represent nearly all religious affiliations within the CCCU. The predominant reason given for not granting tenure is tradition / institutional values. The majority of these schools use a gradated contract system while some use an eventual continuous contract system. The CCCU member schools' tenure policies are largely consistent with AAUP guidelines.

No description available.

No description available.