No description available.

The vegetation of the Nooitgedacht section of the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve resembles Bankenveld vegetation and differs from the other areas of the reserve. This study was undertaken to identify, classify, and describe the plant communities present on this section, and to determine their veld condition. The Braun-Blanquet approach was followed to classify the different plant communities. A total number of 170 sample plots (100m2) were placed in all homogeneous vegetation units in a randomly stratified basis. The Ecological Index Method (EIM) was used to determine the veld condition. Data were collected using the steppoint method and incorporated into the GRAZE model from where the veld condition was calculated. A minimum of 400 step points were surveyed in each community with more points in the larger communities. Plant community data was analysed using the JUICE software program. A total of 11 plant communities were identified. The overall veld condition score indicates the vegetation to be in a good condition, resulting in a high grazing capacity. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Nature Conservation)

Thesis (MScConEcol)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Declines in natural capital, such as the degradation of ecosystems and loss of species, are the result of threats created by anthropogenic activities. The concept of sustainable development encompasses the economic and social growth of societies, with limited impacts on the natural environment. Sustainable development initiatives are being implemented in an attempt to mitigate the global decline in natural capital. Biosphere reserves, which are designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Programme, aim to be landscape-scale examples of sustainable development. UNESCO requires biosphere reserves to submit a periodic review every ten years to ensure they are meeting their goals. This requires that that they monitor and evaluate their progress towards their sustainable development goals. Sustainability indicators are tools used to assess progress towards ecological, social and economic goals, and can thus be useful tools for biosphere reserves to ensure they are achieving their goals. The Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves are both situated within the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). The CFR, located in the South-West of South Africa, has been identified as a biodiversity hotspot owing to its high plant diversity. About a fifth of the CFR is formally protected, while about three quarters has been transformed, mainly by cultivated lands, urban areas and alien vegetation. The socio-economic dimensions of the region are also diverse. A high percentage of its inhabitants have low incomes and live in informal settlements, while a smaller percentage have high incomes and live in middle to upper-class urban areas. Biosphere reserves aim to encourage their diverse stakeholders to collaboratively develop and work towards sustainable development goals. This research project applied an action research approach. The research objectives were achieved through collaboration with biosphere reserve stakeholders. The first objective was to develop sustainability indicator sets for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves. Following the introduction to the research provided in Chapter 1, Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of this thesis describe the stages of the research process undertaken to achieve this objective. With the aim of investigating monitoring and evaluation within biosphere reserves, Chapter 2 presents a systematic review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature and Chapter 3 presents the results of interviews with managers of South African biosphere reserves and a web-based survey of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Chapter 4 describes the collaborative process of conducting local stakeholder workshops and specialist focus groups to develop sets of sustainability indicators; one set each for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves. The second objective was to formulate a national protocol for the development of sustainability indicators for South African biosphere reserves. This was developed through a synthesis of the results and lessons learnt in Chapters 2 to 4. This national protocol was designed to be flexible enough to be adapted to the local circumstances and needs of individual South African biosphere reserves. The global review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature revealed that monitoring and evaluation studies in biosphere reserves are mostly conducted in the developing world by authors from the developed world and many of the studies and indicators that were developed focused on ecological dimensions. These results show that biosphere reserves need to enhance their local capacity for the development and implementation of improved monitoring and evaluation methods and frameworks. The outcomes of the interviews with representatives of the management of South African biosphere reserves and a survey of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves found that many biosphere reserves identified in this survey are reportedly implementing monitoring and evaluation, but few have developed sustainability indicators. It was found that there are many similar challenges with regards to monitoring and evaluation in biosphere reserves, most notably the lack of capacity and funding Lastly, the collaborative process used to develop sustainability indicators for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves proved to be useful and produced the desired outcomes. The local stakeholder workshops produced large sustainability indicator sets, with many indicators that were immeasurable, but most were relevant to the biosphere reserves. The specialist focus groups produced more focused and feasible indicator sets. The local stakeholder and specialist indicator sets were integrated to produce a final set for each biosphere reserve that was relevant to the social-ecological systems of the biosphere reserves, with indicators that could feasibly be implemented. The action research approach applied in this study delivered a pragmatic set of sustainability indicators that can be implemented by both biosphere reserves. The National Department of Environmental Affairs, and the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve co-ordinators have encouraged and supported the development of the sustainability indicator sets and the national protocol. Supporting these with a social learning institution within each biosphere reserve will be required for ensuring their on-going utility. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dalings in natuurlike kapitaal, soos die degradasie van ekosisteme en die verlies van spesies, is die gevolg van die bedreigings wat geskep word deur menslike aktiwiteite. Die konsep van volhoubare ontwikkeling behels die ekonomiese en sosiale ontwikkeling van samelewings, met beperkte impak op die natuurlike omgewing. Volhoubare ontwikkelings inisiatiewe word geïmplementeer in 'n poging om die afname in natuurlike kapitaal te verminder. Die doel van biosfeerreservate, wat aangewys is deur die Verenigde Nasies se Opvoedkundige, Wetenskaplike en Kulturele Organisasie (UNESCO) se Man en die Biosfeer-program, is om landskap-skaal voorbeelde van volhoubare ontwikkeling te wees. UNESCO vereis dat biosfeerreservate 'n periodieke hersiening elke tien jaar voor te lê om te verseker dat hulle op pad is om hul doelwitte te bereik. Dit vereis dat hulle moet hul vordering monitor en evalueer teenoor hul volhoubare ontwikkelingsdoelwitte. Volhoubaarheid aanwysers word gebruik om vordering ten opsigte van ekologiese, sosiale en ekonomiese doelwitte te bepaal, en kan dus nuttig wees vir biosfeerreservate om te verseker dat hulle hul doelwitte bereik. Die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate is beide in die Kaapse Floristiese Omgewing (KFO) geleë. Die KFO, wat in die Suid-Wes van Suid-Afrika geleë is, is geïdentifiseer as 'n biodiversiteit-brandpunt as gevolg van sy hoë plant diversiteit. Oor 1/5 van die KFO is formeel beskerm terwyl ongeveer 3/4 omskep is, hoofsaaklik deur bewerkte landerye, stedelike gebiede en uitheemse plantegroei. Die sosio-ekonomiese aspekte van die omgewing is ook uiteenlopend. 'n Hoë persentasie van die bevolking het 'n lae inkomste en woon in informele nedersettings, terwyl 'n kleiner persentasie het 'n hoë inkomste en woon in middel tot bo-klas stedelike gebiede. Biosfeerreservate streef daarna om hul diverse rolspelers aan te moedig om saam volhoubare ontwikkelingsdoelwitte te ontwikkel. Hierdie navorsingsprojek het 'n aksie-navorsing nadering toegepas. Die navorsing doelwitte is bereik deur middel van samewerking met biosfeerreservaat rolspelers. Die eerste doelwit was om volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate te ontwikkel. Na aanleiding van die Inleiding tot die navorsing wat in Hoofstuk 1, Hoofstuk 2, 3 en 4 van hierdie tesis beskryf die fases van die navorsing wat onderneem is om hierdie doelwit te bereik. Met die doel van die ondersoek van monitering en evaluering binne biosfeerreservate, Hoofstuk 2 bied 'n sistematiese hersiening van die eweknie-geëvalueerde en grys literatuur aan en Hoofstuk 3 bied die resultate van onderhoude met bestuurders van Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate en 'n web-gebaseerde ondersoek van die wêreld Netwerk van Biosfeerreservate aan. Hoofstuk 4 beskryf die saamwerkende proses van die uitvoer van plaaslike rolspeler werkswinkels en spesialis fokusgroepe stelle van volhoubaarheid aanwysers te ontwikkel; een stel elk vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate. Die tweede doelwit is om 'n nasionale protokol vir die ontwikkeling van volhoubaarheid aanwysers vir Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate te formuleer. Dit is ontwikkel deur middel van 'n sintese van die resultate en lesse wat geleer is in Hoofstukke 2 tot 4. Hierdie nasionale protokol is ontwerp om buigsaam genoeg te wees om aangepas te word by die plaaslike omstandighede en behoeftes van individuele Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate. Die globale oorsig van die eweknie-geëvalueerde en grys literatuur het gewys dat monitering en evaluering studies in biosfeerreservate word meestal in die ontwikkelende wêreld uitgevoer deur die skrywers van die ontwikkelde wêreld en baie van die studies en aanwysers wat ontwikkel word is gefokus op ekologiese dimensies. Hierdie resultate dui aan dat biosfeerreservate hul plaaslike kapasiteit vir die ontwikkeling en implementering van monitering en evaluering metodes en raamwerke moet verbeter. Die uitkomste van die onderhoude met verteenwoordigers van die bestuur van die Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate en 'n ondersoek van die Wêreld Netwerk van Biosfeerreservate dui aan dat baie van die biosfeerreservate wat in hierdie ondersoek na berig word implementeer monitering en evaluering, maar min het volhoubaarheid aanwysers ontwikkel. Daar is gevind dat daar baie soortgelyke uitdagings met betrekking tot monitering en evaluering in biosfeerreservate, veral die gebrek aan kapasiteit en befondsing Ten slotte, die gesamentlike proses wat gebruik is om die volhoubaarheid aanwysers vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate te ontwikkel het bewys om nuttig te wees en het die verlangde uitkomste gelewer. Die plaaslike rolspeler werkswinkels het groot volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle geproduseer, met baie onmeetbare aanwysers, maar meeste van die aanysers was relevant tot die biosfeer-reservate. Die spesialis fokusgroepe het meer gefokusde en uitvoerbaar aanwyser stelle geproduseer. Die plaaslike rolspeler en spesialis aanwyser stelle is geïntegreer in 'n finale stel vir elke biosfeerreservaat wat relevant is tot die sosiaal-ekologiese stelsels van die biosfeer-reservate, met aanwysers wat uitvoerbaar is. Die aksie-navorsing benadering wat in hierdie studie toegepas is het 'n pragmatiese stel van volhoubaarheid aanwysers afgelewer wat sal deur beide biosfeerreservate geïmplementeer word. Die Nasionale Departement van Omgewingsake, en die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeer Reservaat koördineerders het die ontwikkeling van die volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle en die Nasionale Protokol aangemoedig en ondersteun. Ondersteuning van hierdie uitsette met 'n sosiale leer instelling binne elke biosfeerreservaat sal vereis wees om hul deurlopende nut te verseker.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:49:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Olivia Maria Bullio Mattos.pdf: 922804 bytes, checksum: 3e7bae29d19a9a942f72caf436c16254 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In mid-2007, the world faced one of the biggest crisis capitalism ever experienced, called the subprime crisis, which originated in the US housing market. The Federal Reserve (Fed) had to act promptly, trying to rescue the markets. However, the Federal Reserve, which had always been pragmatic, found itself in great distress when the traditional tools of monetary policy were not enough to stop the liquidity crisis. The Fed had to act aggressively both as a lender of last resort and expanding the monetary base to halt the risk of a widespread "default" in the inter-bank market. Using changes in the size and composition of the Fed's Balance Sheet From July of 2007 to September of 2009, this dissertation analyses the actions taken and new tools created to fight the crisis. Initially, the dissertation presents the prevailing thesis up to the subprime crisis, which were the financial deregulation and the monetary authority's goal of price stability. The dissertation then discusses the Post- Keynesians and Minsky's take of the capitalistic economy, a more adequate view to understand the crisis and the preceding financial processes. In conclusion, the lessons learned from the subprime crisis are that we should rethink how we regulate financial institutions and products created by such institutions in pursue of profit; we should also rethink the way we do monetary policy and its objectives / Em meados de 2007, o mundo se viu a frente de uma das maiores crises financeiras já vividas pelo capitalismo, a chamada crise subprime, que teve sua origem no mercado imobiliário norte-americano. Foi necessário que o Federal Reserve (Fed) agisse e tentasse resgatar o mercado. No entanto, o Banco Central americano, que sempre foi pragmático, se viu em dificuldades quando os instrumentos tradicionais de política monetária não mais conseguiram conter a crise de iliquidez. Foi preciso então atuar agressivamente como emprestador de última instância e expandir a base monetária para conter os riscos de inadimplência generalizada no mercado interbancário. Através da análise das mudanças na composição e tamanho do Balance Sheet do Fed de julho de 2007 a setembro de 2009, esta dissertação analisa as ações e novos instrumentos criados para conter a crise. Inicialmente apresenta-se as teses dominantes até então, que eram de desregulamentação do mercado financeiro e de mandato de estabilidade de preços para a autoridade monetária. Em seguida, discute-se o entendimento de Minsky e dos pós-keynesianos da economia capitalista, uma visão mais adequada para compreender a crise e os processos financeiros precedentes. Conclui-se que as lições tiradas da crise mostram que deve-se repensar o formato de regulação das instituições financeiras e dos produtos criados por elas para busca de lucros; deve-se rever a maneira como é feita a política monetária e seus objetivos

O futuro das relações monetárias entre países é incerto. Enquanto a economia mundial há tempos tem contado com uma moeda internacional dominante, com o seu emissor desempenhando o papel de líder monetário internacional, existe uma série de fatores que coloca em cheque a continuação desse arranjo. Entre esses fatores estão a diminuição do papel dos Estados Unidos no crescimento econômico mundial, a crescente autonomia das políticas monetárias dos países emergentes e em desenvolvimento e a emergência de possíveis desafios ao dólar americano como a moeda chave de reserva internacional. A situação se apresenta por meio de um dilema quanto ao potencial futuro de um processo de cooperação monetária. Essencialmente, na ausência de um sistema hegemônico respaldado por um poder estrutural, como os países concordarão em ajustes mútuos adequados? Com essa questão em mente, esse estudo começa discutindo a cooperação monetária entre países e examina o papel do poder produtivo na coordenação de políticas. Por fim, o estudo procura testar as condições que permitem que os países designam responsabilidade por ajustes de política por meio da aplicação de tal poder. / The future of international monetary relations is uncertain. While the world economy has long relied on a dominant international currency, with its emitter playing the role of international monetary leader, there are several factors that place the continuance of this arrangement into doubt. Amongst these factors is the diminishing role of the U.S. economy in global output, the enhanced monetary policy autonomy of emerging market and developing economies, and the emergence of possible challengers to the U.S. dollar for the position of key international reserve currency. This situation presents us with a dilemma as to the future potential for monetary cooperation. Essentially, in the absence of a systemic hegemon, backed by structural power, how will countries come to agree on proper mutual adjustments? With this question in mind, this paper begins by discussing international monetary cooperation and examines the role of productive power in policy coordination. Finally, the paper looks to test for the conditions that allow for countries to assign responsibility for policy adjustments via the application of such power.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a mecânica dos processos políticos internos do Federal Reserve System e sua interação com o Departamento do Tesouro dos Estados Unidos no período entre o auge da crise financeira global no final de 2008 e o impasse sobre a elevação do teto da dívida pública em 2011. Foram analisados documentos oficias das duas instituições, bem como pronunciamentos de seus dirigentes. O estudo mostra que as estratégias desenhadas pelos formuladores de política monetária e fiscal complementaram-se durante a maior parte do período considerado, com a criação e implementação de variados instrumentos e programas de grande impacto. Nesse processo, o papel internacional do dólar foi reforçado. / This research aims at analyzing the mechanics of the internal political processes of the Federal Reserve System and its interaction with the U.S. Department of Treasury between the height of global financial crisis, late 2008, and the deadlock around the debt ceiling raise in 2011. To this end, the study was based on official documents issued by the two agencies and statements made by their representatives. The analysis indicates that the strategies designed by monetary and fiscal policymakers were complementary during most of the period in focus, through the creation and implementation of different policy tools and programs of great impact. In this process, the international role of the dollar was reinforced.

O futuro das relações monetárias entre países é incerto. Enquanto a economia mundial há tempos tem contado com uma moeda internacional dominante, com o seu emissor desempenhando o papel de líder monetário internacional, existe uma série de fatores que coloca em cheque a continuação desse arranjo. Entre esses fatores estão a diminuição do papel dos Estados Unidos no crescimento econômico mundial, a crescente autonomia das políticas monetárias dos países emergentes e em desenvolvimento e a emergência de possíveis desafios ao dólar americano como a moeda chave de reserva internacional. A situação se apresenta por meio de um dilema quanto ao potencial futuro de um processo de cooperação monetária. Essencialmente, na ausência de um sistema hegemônico respaldado por um poder estrutural, como os países concordarão em ajustes mútuos adequados? Com essa questão em mente, esse estudo começa discutindo a cooperação monetária entre países e examina o papel do poder produtivo na coordenação de políticas. Por fim, o estudo procura testar as condições que permitem que os países designam responsabilidade por ajustes de política por meio da aplicação de tal poder. / The future of international monetary relations is uncertain. While the world economy has long relied on a dominant international currency, with its emitter playing the role of international monetary leader, there are several factors that place the continuance of this arrangement into doubt. Amongst these factors is the diminishing role of the U.S. economy in global output, the enhanced monetary policy autonomy of emerging market and developing economies, and the emergence of possible challengers to the U.S. dollar for the position of key international reserve currency. This situation presents us with a dilemma as to the future potential for monetary cooperation. Essentially, in the absence of a systemic hegemon, backed by structural power, how will countries come to agree on proper mutual adjustments? With this question in mind, this paper begins by discussing international monetary cooperation and examines the role of productive power in policy coordination. Finally, the paper looks to test for the conditions that allow for countries to assign responsibility for policy adjustments via the application of such power.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a mecânica dos processos políticos internos do Federal Reserve System e sua interação com o Departamento do Tesouro dos Estados Unidos no período entre o auge da crise financeira global no final de 2008 e o impasse sobre a elevação do teto da dívida pública em 2011. Foram analisados documentos oficias das duas instituições, bem como pronunciamentos de seus dirigentes. O estudo mostra que as estratégias desenhadas pelos formuladores de política monetária e fiscal complementaram-se durante a maior parte do período considerado, com a criação e implementação de variados instrumentos e programas de grande impacto. Nesse processo, o papel internacional do dólar foi reforçado. / This research aims at analyzing the mechanics of the internal political processes of the Federal Reserve System and its interaction with the U.S. Department of Treasury between the height of global financial crisis, late 2008, and the deadlock around the debt ceiling raise in 2011. To this end, the study was based on official documents issued by the two agencies and statements made by their representatives. The analysis indicates that the strategies designed by monetary and fiscal policymakers were complementary during most of the period in focus, through the creation and implementation of different policy tools and programs of great impact. In this process, the international role of the dollar was reinforced.

No description available.

Rivers belong to the world’s most complex ecosystems but increasing demands for water are degrading rivers worldwide. The increase in human populations and activities has resulted in an intense and difficult conflict between the development of rivers as a natural resource and their function as living ecosystems. It is now widely recognized that a naturally variable flow regime is required to sustain freshwater ecosystems. Many countries that experience river degradation have started to implement environmental flows, i.e. the unallocated flow purposely preserved in a river. The objectives of this thesis are twofold. The first aim is to briefly describe the concept and science of environmental flows and the different methodologies for calculating environmental flows. This was done based on a literature review of the subject. The second aim is to present a case study calculating the environmental flow requirements. The case study was conducted through a field study in the Buzi River basin in Mozambique and the subsequent modeling of the environmental flow requirements. The literature study showed that not only the quantity of water is important; the timing and frequency of floods, droughts, low flows and high flows are very important as well. The literature study also showed that the advances in environmental flow science have been remarkable while the water policy and management has not been equally successful in implementing environmental flow standards. The calculation of environmental flow requirements was done with the Desktop Reserve Model developed in South Africa. The results indicated that to maintain the ecological status in the Buzi River at a largely natural condition (ecological category A) an average allocation of 57 % of mean annual runoff (MAR) is required. The present ecological status was determined in Revue River, which is one of the three major tributaries to Buzi River. To maintain the Revue River at its present ecological state requires an environmental flow between 23-37 % of MAR. The major environmental threats in Revue River are erosion and flow modification. The erosion is a consequence from artisanal gold mining, inadequate farming practices and deforestation. The flow alterations are caused by the large Chicamba Dam constructed for the generation of hydropower. One of the questions this thesis aimed to answer was if it was possible to set the present ecological state with a limited amount of data. This study showed that it could be possible but that the confidence level will be low. The relationships between ecological metrics and flow alterations must be investigated in detail for this region before environmental flow requirements can be successfully calculated and implemented. / Floder hör till jordens mest komplexa och känsliga ekosystem, men ett ökat tryck på våra vattenresurser har försämrat situationen för många av världens floder. Befolkningsökningen och den globala utvecklingen har resulterat i en intensiv och komplicerad konflikt mellan utnyttjandet av floder som en naturresurs och bevarandet av deras funktion som unika ekosystem. Det är nu allmänt accepterat att den naturliga flödesvariabiliteten behövs för att bevara våra sötvattenekosystem. Flera länder där försämringen av floder är ett faktum har börjat införa miljöanpassade flöden, det vill säga vatten som medvetet tilldelas flodens ekosystem. Det finns två syften med det här examensarbetet. Det första är att genom en litteraturstudie beskriva miljöanpassade flöden och de modeller som används för att beräkna detta flöde. Det andra målet är att göra en fallstudie och beräkna det miljöanpassade flödet och bestämma den ekologiska statusen för Buzi floden i Moçambique. Litteraturstudien visade att det inte bara är kvantiteten av vatten som är viktigt; tidpunkt och återkomsten av översvämning, torka, lågflöden och högflöden är mycket viktiga om man vill efterlikna det naturliga flödet. Litteraturstudien visade även att framstegen i kunskapen om miljöanpassade flöden har varit stora medan vattenlagstiftningens anpassning och införandet av miljöanpassade flöden har varit svag i flera avseenden. Modellerandet gjordes med den sydafrikanska Desktop Reserve Model. Resultaten från modellen visade att för att bibehålla den ekologiska statusen för Buzi floden i ett nära naturligt stadium (ekologisk klass A) krävs en tilldelning på 57% av medelårsavrinningen. Den nuvarande ekologiska statusen bestämdes i Revue floden, som är en av tre huvudfloder i Buzi avrinningsområdet. För att behålla Revue floden i sitt nuvarande tillstånd skulle kräva ett miljöanpassat flöde på mellan 23-37% av medelårsavrinningen. De största ekologiska hoten i Revue floden visade studien var erosion och flödesförändringar. Erosionen är en konsekvens av guldutgrävning, jordbruk med fel teknik, och skogs­­avverkning. Flödesförändringarna härrör från den stora vattenkraftsstationen Chicamba Dam. En av frågorna den här studien syftade till att besvara var om det är möjligt att bestämma den nuvarande ekologiska statusen med en begränsad tillgång till data. Studien visade att det är möjligt men att osäkerhetsnivån i resultatet kommer att vara stort. Studien visade även att modellen Desktop Reserve Model kan användas för snabba beräkningar av det miljöanpassade flödet, men att mer utförliga studier som till exempel Building Block Methodology måste genomföras innan resultatet med säkerhet kan verifieras. Relationen mellan ekologiska förändringar och flödesvariationer måste utredas i detalj för studieområdet innan de miljö­anpassade flödesbehoven kan bli implementerade med framgång.