The Okavango Delta is an extremely dynamic system with variable vegetation comprised of permanent swamps, seasonal swamps, dry islands, floodplains and dry grassland, savanna and woodland. The system is largely driven by the interaction between fire and the annual flood, which filters down from the Okavango River catchments in Angola. While extensive research has been conducted on the flood-driven vegetation little is known about the dry woodland and savanna regions bordering these flood-driven habitats. A taxonomic classification of woody species composition resulted in eleven vegetation types. These data were then reanalyzed in terms of woody species morphology allowing these eleven vegetation types to be grouped into four functional response groups in order to provide a platform for improving the understanding of how dry woodland and savannas interact with the environment. These four groups were the savanna group mixed thornveld and the three woodland groups; mixed broadleaf woodland, shrub mopane woodland and tall mopane woodland. Burning in mixed thornveld and mixed broadleaf woodland was found to decrease woody species density and grass fuel loads and could be used for grazing management to remove unpalatable growth and improve grass species composition, while burning in shrub mopane woodland and mixed mopane woodland merely decreased the woody understory and is not recommended. Utilization dominated by grazing livestock resulted in overutilization of the grass sward leading to bush encroachment in both mixed thornveld and shrub mopane woodland, while utilization by goats alone resulted in underutilization of the grass sward and a dominance of herbaceous annuals. Livestock utilization had no effect on the occurrence of Pecheul-loeschea leubnitziae, a shrubby pioneer previously thought to be an indicator of overgrazing, however extensive P. leubnitziae cover was associated with a sward dominated by shade-tolerant grasses with low forage quality. Shrub mopane woodland and tall mopane woodland appear to be more stable vegetation states than mixed broadleaf woodland and mixed thornveld being less vulnerable to colonization by pioneer species and alteration as a result of utilization or environmental factors. For this reason management and monitoring of mixed thornveld and mixed broadleaf woodland is essential to prevent vegetation degradation and to ensure optimal forage availability for both livestock and wildlife. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

D.Litt.et. Phil. (Historical Studies) / This thesis focuses on Oil and the Ijaw people of Niger Delta States: 1956 to 1998. The rationale and motivating factor is to trace the general environmental problems associated with oil production in the Ijaw village communities that have impacted on the livelihood of the Ijaw people. The thesis is the product of research conducted into the Ijaw environment before the discovery of crude oil, to determine whether their socio-economic and political activities impacted on it through conflict as a result of oil-related pollution and degradation in the 1990s. Oil was discovered in commercially viable quantities in 1956 in the Oloibiri Ijaw community. Extraction by Shell-BP and Chevron started soon afterwards. It examines the complexities of the operations, management and control strategy employed by the federal government under a joint venture agreement with the oil multinationals, particularly through the various regulatory laws passed to protect the Ijaw inhabitants and their environment. This thesis explores and investigates the impact of oil production, particularly of the perennial pollution and flaring of gas, on the soil, vegetation and climate in areas allocated to major oil producers in the Ijaw community. It contributes to existing knowledge on the responses of the federal government and the oil multinationals to pollution and its impact on the traditional fishing and farming of most Ijaws. It explains the main reason the Ijaws demanded greater control of oil resources and a fair share of revenue in the 1990s. The government’s repressive responses exacerbated the environmental struggle by the local protesters against both government and oil companies. This thesis explores the various steps undertaken by the federal government to resolve the conflict associated with environmental problems in Oloibiri, Nembe, Otuasega, Imiringi, Anyama, Kolo-Creeks, which constitute some Ijaw oil-producing communities. The performances and functioning of government agencies, such as NDDB (1961), FEPA (1988) and OMPADEC (1992), at local level are investigated. The main reason for survival strategy in adapting to the environmental problems associated with oil pollution by the Ijaws, and why they were unsuccessful, is also examined.

This thesis explores the manner in which the conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta in Nigeria is represented in western Anglophone media. Large oil reserves in the Niger Delta have contributed millions of dollars towards the growth of Nigeria's export economy. Despite this, the Niger Delta is the least developed region in the country and is characterised by high rates of inequality. Residents of the Niger Delta have been outraged by the lack of action on the part of the Nigerian government and multinational oil corporations. Their discontent over the inequalities in the region has resulted in the proliferation of armed groups and militants who often use violent and criminal tactics to communicate their disgruntlement. This thesis closely examines the representations of the violent insurgency in the Niger Delta by conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis of 145 news texts selected from four western Anglophone newspapers from 2007 to 2011. The depiction of the conflict as it appears in the four newspapers is discussed in relation to an overview of scholarly literature which explores the portrayal of Africa not only in western media, but also in other forms of western scholarship and writing. The research undertaken in this study reveals that to a significant extent representations of the Niger Delta conflict echo and reflect some of the stereotypical and age-old negative imagery that informs meanings constructed about the African continent. However, the analysis of the news texts also shows that there are certainly efforts amongst some newspapers to move beyond simplistic representations of the conflict. The disadvantage however, is that these notable attempts tend to be marred by the use of pejorative language which typically invokes negative images associated with Africa. This study argues that the implications of these representations are highly significant as these representations not only affect the way in which the conflict is understood, but also the manner in which the international community responds to it.

Since the discovery of oil in Nigeria, way back in 1950s, the country has invariably suffered some negative environmental consequences such as oil pollution resulting from gas flaring and oil extraction, loss of mangrove trees, which before now was a source of livelihood for the indigenous people and habitat for the area’s biodiversity. Oil production activities have caused contamination of marine life, and habitat, which in turn have had negative consequences on the health of humans, who consume the sea food. Inadequate attention had been paid by the successive Governments of Nigeria and the oil companies to these environmental problems over the years. In this study, an assessment of the effects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation on the nearby communities in some of Chevron’s operational areas was carried out using the Ugborodo community as a case study. Furthermore, investigations were carried out on the toxicity effects of the Escravos crude oil on aquatic organisms like Tilapia and a terrestrial organism such as the Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris,). The study established the effect and the impact of crude oil when exposed to such organisms mentioned above. The rate of death of barbus fingerlings of Tilapia and the Earthworm (Lumbricus Terrestris) at different concentrations of crude oil was determined and reported. The community survey undertaken by polling data shows the dwindling of the natural resources of the area due to oil exploration and the survey indicate the impacts on natural resources from pollution by crude oil and the consequences on the affected communities using the Ugborodo community in the Chevron’s Nigeria Limited Operational base as a case study. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Chen, Yanyan. / "Septembet 2011." / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-148). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research Problem and Objective --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Significance --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4 --- Methodology --- p.5 / Chapter 1.5 --- Organization of Thesis --- p.14 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- State Rescaling and Regional Planning: Concepts and Issues in the Western Countries and China --- p.16 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2 --- The Reworking of State Power --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Rescaling Concept --- p.19 / Chapter 2.4 --- "The State Rescaling Concept, Regional Development and Rescaling Process in Regions" --- p.24 / Chapter 2.5 --- The Regional Scale of Politics: Expressions of State Rescaling --- p.29 / Chapter 2.6 --- The State Restructuring and the Rise of Regions in China: A Review --- p.32 / Chapter 2.7 --- Summary --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Conceptualizing Spatial Planning as a Process of State rescaling: towards an Analytical Framework --- p.38 / Chapter 3.1 --- Conceptualizing the Spatial Planning as a Process of State Rescaling --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2 --- Regional Planning in China --- p.44 / Chapter 3.3 --- Towards a Theoretical Framework --- p.53 / Chapter 3.4 --- Summary --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- The State in Transition: A Need for Planning Coordination in Cross-boundary Railways --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1 --- Changing Political Economy --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2 --- Institutional Structure in Planning Regional Railways --- p.71 / Chapter 4.3 --- Pearl River Delta: the Railway Planning Context --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4 --- General Propositions on Planning Coordination of Regional Railways in China --- p.86 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Planning the Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway: Institutional Form and the Planning Mechanisms --- p.90 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.90 / Chapter 5.2 --- Planning the PRD Intercity Railway: an Introduction of Three Planning Phases --- p.90 / Chapter 5.3 --- The Planning Process of the PRD Intercity Railway: Interaction among Multiple Jurisdictions --- p.96 / Chapter 5.4 --- The Scalar Changes of Central-provincial-local State: State Rescaling Process --- p.122 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.128 / Chapter 6.1 --- Major Findings --- p.128 / Chapter 6.2 --- Suggestions for Further Studies --- p.133

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

Since the discovery of oil in Nigeria, way back in 1950s, the country has invariably suffered some negative environmental consequences such as oil pollution resulting from gas flaring and oil extraction, loss of mangrove trees, which before now was a source of livelihood for the indigenous people and habitat for the area’s biodiversity. Oil production activities have caused contamination of marine life, and habitat, which in turn have had negative consequences on the health of humans, who consume the sea food. Inadequate attention had been paid by the successive Governments of Nigeria and the oil companies to these environmental problems over the years. In this study, an assessment of the effects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation on the nearby communities in some of Chevron’s operational areas was carried out using the Ugborodo community as a case study. Furthermore, investigations were carried out on the toxicity effects of the Escravos crude oil on aquatic organisms like Tilapia and a terrestrial organism such as the Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris,). The study established the effect and the impact of crude oil when exposed to such organisms mentioned above. The rate of death of barbus fingerlings of Tilapia and the Earthworm (Lumbricus Terrestris) at different concentrations of crude oil was determined and reported. The community survey undertaken by polling data shows the dwindling of the natural resources of the area due to oil exploration and the survey indicate the impacts on natural resources from pollution by crude oil and the consequences on the affected communities using the Ugborodo community in the Chevron’s Nigeria Limited Operational base as a case study. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

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

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning