Invasive alien species (IAS) pose a serious threat to ecosystems and societies worldwide. Local ecological knowledge (LEK) is increasingly valued as a means of understanding environmental issues; however, its application in the context of IAS research has been limited. The overall objective of this study was to document the LEK of farmers and Weed Supervisors to gain insight into a recent IAS, Odontites serotina. I conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers and Weed Supervisors with O. serotina management experience. Results indicated that the socio-economic impacts for farmers were severe in affected rural communities. However, participants had developed promising control techniques, including the application of compost mulch. I used this LEK as well as data on species occurrence, environmental variables, and measures of propagule pressure to forecast the potential distribution of O. serotina across Manitoba. The risk map generated will be useful for guiding future monitoring and public outreach efforts.

The aim of the thesis is a description and characterization of the most important impacts and effects which are associated with the renewal of monument. The renewal has a huge impact on the monument itself. It is a way how to preserve the existence of monument for the future. When the monument is integrated again into a contemporary community, it brings new economic benefits which give the monument a new sense of being and give it the chance to be conserved and protected for next generations. This new economic role of the monument has to be considered only with the respect to its historical and artistic value. The existence of monument affects also its surroundings in many ways. Monument has an obvious impact on landscape, the view of horizon and also influences the quality of life of people living in the vicinity. Monument can enrich leisure time of local people or turists. It can be also the key factor for developing of tourism, incoming investments and prosperity of this locality. Monument could not be considered in isolation of its surroundings because it creates together a complex which influences the monument, and on the other hand, which is influenced by the monument.

This project seeks to assess the impact of the sachet water industry on the health, socio-economic and the environmental situation of the inhabitants of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. In addressing the situation, the driving forces which have fuelled the shift of consum-er taste from the normal tap water and the traditional hand-tied-ice water products to the plastic sachet water (commonly known in as "Pure Water") are identified. Lack of access to continuous flow of improved water and the perceived poor quality of the urban water supply system as results of poor management structure are identified as some of the factors for the shift in consumers’ taste for plastic sachet and bottled drinking water. The quality of the plastic sachet is also assessed through the review of previous research results. These are confirmed by laboratory analysis of about six brands of plastic sachet water and two brands bottled drinking water. The laboratory analysis carried out assessed the microbial, physical and chemical quality of the various samples. To assess the health impacts of the products, the results from the analysis are compared with WHO guideline values and other international guideline values. Questionnaires are also administered to ascertain the socio-economic impacts of the products on the life of the young men and women as well sachet water manufacturers. From this, some measures are suggested as to how to mitigate the activities of the sachet water business to reduce its negative effects on the health, the environment and the socio-economic status of the inhabitants of the city.

This diploma thesis deals with the project of Kindergarten construction in Svatobořice-Mistřín. The thesis focuses on the evaluation of economic efficiency of project in the form of CBA analysis, where is possible decide is the plan as suitable or unsuitable for implementation. The theoretical part describes life-cycle of project, project financing, economic evaluation of investment, methods of evaluation and cost-benefit analysis.

This thesis is focused on the revitalization of brownfield implemented through public producrement and selected in the city of Brno. The theoretical part includes basic concepts that explain the issue of brownfields, public procurement, and more specifically the assessment of their economic efficiency. The practical part is focused on the specific case of brownfield revitalization through public procurement including its economic assessment. The use of econimic analysis, namely Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), will be utilized to assess the effectiveness, and socio-economic impacts will also be determined. The purpose of the second part is to determine whether the revitalization thus made more economically advantageous for the city of Brno.

Asian countries are urbanizing at an unprecedented rate, which has led to significant demand for sand. While sand mining fuels infrastructure development, creates livelihoods, and stimulates local economic activity, it also drives a series of environmental and socio-economic consequences which cannot be ignored. These include erosion, the destruction of habitats and loss of biodiversity, the deterioration of traditional livelihoods, forced displacement of communities, and damage to homes and infrastructure. On the one hand, this thesis uses mixed methods to study the multifaceted impacts of sand mining along the Red River in China, near the Vietnamese border. On the other hand, using qualitative methods, it explores how these impacts unfold along the Mekong River in Cambodia, near Phnom Penh. Using a political ecology approach, it identifies the actors involved in sand mining, their motives, and their impacts on the environment and local communities. The extractivism framework is used to describe sand mining activities and practices. In doing so, this thesis contributes to the literature on the understudied sand mining industry and its far-reaching impacts.

This study focuses on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the three basins of the Witwatersrand’s goldfields in the Vaal River System in South Africa. AMD has become a highly contested issue. A difference in its definition exists between two groups of role-players identified in the study: government and consultants/activists/NGOs. This study unpacks the differences in the way AMD is defined, the situation of AMD in each of the three basins and the socio-economic implications caused by AMD. A crucial finding was that these definitions determine how the issue is understood and what solutions these role-players propose. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether the South African government’s policy response was appropriate given the socio-economic impacts of AMD and imperatives of sustainable development. This study concluded that, in the policy, there was no clear indication as to what the socio-economic impacts are, and limited attention was therefore given to these impacts. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

In South Africa, gentrification has a huge impact on the makeup of city spaces where it has been used as a redevelopment tool in order to restore and enhance these spaces. However, socio-economic turmoil is created when development benefits mainly the elite minority whilst marginalising the poor majority, which occurs in many instances of gentrification. In the worst cases, gentrification creates a trickle-up affect whereby the benefits of such a process are felt predominantly by the urban elite. This is evident in this study, where gentrification at the Point Precinct in Durban led to the marginalisation of residents of the Ark, a Christian-run homeless shelter that was forced to shut down as its residents no longer fitted in with the image-conscious ideals of the redeveloping area. These residents were displaced and ultimately relocated to a severely under-developed area known as Welbedacht approximately 30km away. This study aimed to explore the negative socio-economic impacts of displacement as a result of this gentrification and found that these impacts are vast, severe and long-lasting, including the social implications of isolation and exclusion coupled with the economic loss of living along the periphery. The implications of displacement are severe primarily due to the following reasons: the community’s displacement from the core to the urban periphery, the lack of social justice in the area, and the high levels of social exclusion. Furthermore, the implications of the gentrification process itself has resulted in a cycle of impoverishment in which Welbedacht has become entrenched. Due to the neo-liberal policies favoured by developers and policy makers, the urban poor are pushed out of the core and into the periphery with little support from local government, thereby resulting in the further marginalisation of a vulnerable community. Developers and policy makers should therefore strive for development that is equitable for all parties. Furthermore, facilities such as homeless shelters which provide countless services to the urban poor should not be shut down, but rather local government should strive to either redevelop such facilities or relocate them to an area that offers the same characteristics for the continued successful socio-economic development of the urban poor. / Geography / M. Sc. (Geography)

This study focuses on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the three basins of the Witwatersrand’s goldfields in the Vaal River System in South Africa. AMD has become a highly contested issue. A difference in its definition exists between two groups of role-players identified in the study: government and consultants/activists/NGOs. This study unpacks the differences in the way AMD is defined, the situation of AMD in each of the three basins and the socio-economic implications caused by AMD. A crucial finding was that these definitions determine how the issue is understood and what solutions these role-players propose. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether the South African government’s policy response was appropriate given the socio-economic impacts of AMD and imperatives of sustainable development. This study concluded that, in the policy, there was no clear indication as to what the socio-economic impacts are, and limited attention was therefore given to these impacts. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

A structured questionnaire was used to survey the perceptions of programme coordinators, fieldworkers and beneficiaries of the role of church-based programmes in addressing HIV and AIDS in the inner-city of Durban. One hundred and ninety two respondents were recruited from seventeen churches. Findings indicate that fear of HIV- and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination abound. The material and spiritual roles of church-based programmes in addressing the needs of people infected with HIV and affected by HIV and AIDS were stressed by the respondents. Whereas programme coordinators were well informed about HIV and AIDS, information that can dispel fears about stigma and correct myths about HIV-transmission should be tailored to reach ordinary men and women. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the preventive aspects of church-based programmes in the Durban inner-city. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)