This dissertation is an attempt to analyse and address some of the many and complex issues revolving around protected area - community relationships. The success of these relationships are essential if the mission of protected areas are to be achieved. Due to large scale agriculture, high density populations and environmental degradation protected areas are often looked upon as a means to conserve biodiversity. It is for this reason that they play an important role in the natural environmental of South Africa. However, there is a growing realisation that protected areas will not survive unless they become relevant to the communities that surround them. These cOI11nlunities are often characterised by high density populations and low levels of infrastructural and economic development. These developmental requirements need to be considered by protected area management, and a dedicated effort is required by protected areas to assist in meeting these needs. However, the relationship between protected areas and C0111nlunities should not simply focus on meeting the developmental needs of the community, relationships need to allow for communities to participate in decisions and activities that directly impact of their lives. Benefits need to accrue to communities from protected areas for them to support the concepts of conservation. Benefits need to be tangible, intangible and empowering for them to have real meaningful impacts on the communities. Communities need to be actively involve in all aspects of the protected area management and links need to be forged between conservation and development, so that the socio-economic condition of those living closest to protected areas improves. This study uses the relationship between Mthethomusha Game Reserve and the surrounding Mpakeni conmunity, and the Pilanesberg National Park and the neighbouring Bakgatla community to investigate many issues, including the manner in which communities participate and benefit from conservation. The findings of this study reflect that the relationships between communities and protected areas are dependent on a number of factors including~ ownership~ socio-economic condition of the surrounding community~ institutional structures and capacity of the community formal agreements; history of the fonl1ati~n of the protect~d a~ea~ reliance on the protected area for survival and the meaningfulness and appropriateness of the benefits received from the protected area. The experiences of the two case studies has been analysed and compared to develop a theoretical model for community - protected area relationships. This model indicates the primary prerequisites which will contribute to effective and equitable relationships between protected areas and surrounding communities. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa's system of socio-economic development planning is complex and ine ective. There are many regulatory authorities involved, often with unclear responsibilities and inadequate procedures of implementing objectives. Planning for development in South Africa needs to take various factors into account. Economic growth is pursued, while social imbalances are addressed and the environment is protected against unreasonable damage. The term Sustainable Development is an important concept in the vision of many of the regulating authorities, however, the implementation of sustainability is di cult. This study considers an approach which aligns activities in a specifi ed region to the vision and objectives of the applicable regulatory authorities, as an alternative to achieving objectives strictly through enforcing regulations. This thesis developed an integrated evaluation model which can be used to evaluate the alignment of a small-scale farm to the visions and objectives of certain regulatory authorities. Four small-scale farms in the Letaba catchment of the Limpopo Province were used as a case study to be evaluated against national and regional development visions. On a national level the National Development Plan (NDP), the National Framework for Sustainable Development (NFSD), the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS) and the principles of Water Allocation Reform (WAR) were regarded. For regional categorisation, the relevant municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Spatial Development Framework (SDF), Local Economic Development (LED) plan and the applicable Catchment Management Strategy (CMS) were considered. The Letaba catchment area has speci c development constraints regarding water. For this reason, the impact the four farms have on the water of the region was evaluated in addition to their alignment with regional development visions. The hydrological evaluations were performed through the use of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Hereby it was determined whether objectives of development planning were realistic in terms of water availability. It was established that the location of a farm is a determining factor of the impact it has on the catchment area's water supply. The developed Integrated Evaluation Model combined all the visions and objectives of the mentioned strategic documents to speci cally assess the contribution a small-scale farm makes. The evaluation results provide insight into the alignment of activities to the ideals of a region and can be useful when formulating actions to reach a common vision. Small-scale farms are well-aligned to the objectives of WAR, the CMS and ISRDS. The farms have a limited contribution to the ideals of the NDP and NFSD and results against the IDP, the SDF and the LED di er considerably for each farm. Furthermore, the results of the farms' alignment with regional objectives do not correspond to the hydrologically ideal locations. Therefore, the development of small-scale farming should take hydrological information into consideration. The Integrated Evaluation Model proves to be valuable, understandable and applicable to evaluate the alignment of small-scale farms to the visions of regulatory authorities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika se sisteem van beplanning vir sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling is ingewikkeld en one ektief. Daar is verskillende regulatoriese owerhede betrokke wat maklik aanleiding gee tot onsekerheid ten opsigte van verantwoordelikhede asook tot onvoldoende benaderings tot implementering. Om ontwikkeling in Suid-Afrika suksesvol te laat geskied, moet verskeie faktore inaggeneem word. Behalwe vir die strewe na ekonomiese groei, moet sosiale agterstande gelyktydig aangespreek word en moet hierdie ontwikkeling van so 'n aard wees dat die omgewing nie onnodige skade lei nie. Volhoubaarheid is 'n gemeenskaplike ideaal van die meeste partye betrokke by die beplanning van Suid-Afrika se ontwikkeling. Die implementering van hierdie oogmerk is egter onduidelik. Hierdie studie oorweeg 'n benadering wat alle handelinge in 'n bepaalde gebied in ooreenstemming bring met die visie en doelwitte van die toepaslike regulatoriese owerhede. Hierdie benadering word as 'n alternatief gestel teenoor 'n benadering om doelwitte slegs deur regulasies te bereik. Hierdie tesis het 'n Geïntegreerde Evalueringsmodel ontwikkel wat die mate waartoe 'n klein plaas 'n bydrae maak tot die visie en doelwitte van regulatoriese owerhede meet. Vier kleinskaalse boerderye in die Letaba Opvangsgebied in Limpopo was ondersoek as 'n gevallestudie. Hierdie plase is geëvalueer teen nasionale- en streeksontwikkelingsvisies. Op 'n nasionale vlak is die Nasionale Ontwikkelings Plan (NOP), die Nasionale Raamwerk vir Volhoubare Ontwikkeling (NRVO), die Geïntegreerde Volhoubare Landelike Ontwikkelings Strategie (GVLOS) en die waardes van die Water Toekenning Hervorming (WTH) beskou. Ten opsigte van streeksontwikkeling, is die betrokke munisipale Geïntegreerde Ontwikkelings Plan (GOP), die Ruimtelike Ontwikkelings Raamwerk (ROR), Plaaslike Ekonomiese Ontwikkeling (PEO) plan en die gepaste Opvangsgebied Bestuurs Plan (OBP) inaggeneem. Water is 'n beperkende faktor tot ontwikkeling in die Letaba opvangsgebied. Omrede, word die vier plase se impak op die watertoestand van die gebied bepaal, sowel as die bydrae tot die visie van die regulatoriese owerhede. 'n Opstelling van die studie-area is gemaak met die Soil and Water Assessment Tool ten einde hidrologiese a eidings te maak. Hierdeur is bepaal of die visies en doelwitte soos gestel deur die beplanningsdokumente vir ontwikkeling, realisties is ten opsigte van die waterbeskikbaarheid. Die studie het bevestig dat die ligging van 'n plaas 'n bepalende faktor is tot die plaas se uitwerking op die gebied se water. Die ontwikkelde Geïntegreerde Evalueringsmodel kombineer die visies en doelwitte van die bogenoemde strategiese dokumente om die bydrae van 'n klein plaas te meet. Die evalueringsresultate verskaf insigte rondom die ooreenstemming van plase teenoor die visie van 'n streek en kan nuttig gepas kom wanneer spesi eke aksies beplan word om 'n gemeenskaplike doelwit te bereik. Kleinskaalse boerdery is in lyn met die doelwitte soos bepaal deur die OBP, GVLOS en WTH. Die bydrae wat die plase ten opsigte van die NOP en NRVO se ideale maak is egter beperk. Verder verskil die resultate grootliks vir elke plaas ten opsigte van die bydrae gelewer tot die visies van die GOP, ROR en PEO. Gewensde resultate ten opsigte van bydrae tot ontwikkelingsvisies het nie ooreengestem met die liggings wat aanbeveel is deur die hidrologiese studie nie. Dus moet hidrologiese inligting inaggeneem word tydens besluitneming vir die ontwikkeling van kleinskaalse boerdery. Die Geïntegreerde Evalueringsmodel bied waarde, is toeganklik en is toepaslik om kleinskaalse boerdery te meet tenoor die visies van regulatoriese owerhede.

The investigation used the Ecological Footprint as an educational tool to assist Environmental Management and Water Care learners at Technikon Northern Gauteng, Soshanguve learners in gaining insight in their consumption of natural renewable and non-renewable resources and generation of wastes. In addition, it also aimed to assist them in understanding the ecological impacts of their behavior on the available international and national productive land and thus on planet earth. The results of the investigation indicated a significant decrease in the post-test questionnaire knowledge, attitude, and behaviour scores of the learner group. The implication however was clear; the Ecological Footprint did not directly have an effect on the attitude and behaviour of the learners but indirectly influenced the knowledge base of the learners, which then should have an impact on their attitude and behaviour over time. The Ecological Footprint could thus be an educational tool that could be incorporated into the curricula of the two academic programs at TNG, viz Water Care and Environmental Management for increasing knowledge and improving the attitude and behaviour of learners towards a more sustainable lifestyle. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)

The Government of the Eastern Cape Province introduced the Massive Food Production programme, which is a cornerstone within the agrarian reform initiative of the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP). The programme has been going on for more than seven years, however little has been documented on its impact. The main objective of the study was to investigate the impact of the Massive Food Production Programme on the livelihoods in Nkonkobe Municipality. This study did not only investigate its impact on the participants but also assessed its impact on the recipient communities. Accordingly, the specific objectives of the study were to investigate the impact of the Massive Food Programme on the asset base of participants, the general livelihood activities, and the livelihood outcomes. Among other livelihood activities, the study made an in-depth investigation on the impact of the Massive Food Production Programme on maize crop production. This is because the Massive Food Production was aimed at maize crop production. Previous studies investigated on the indicators of success that can be used to measure the impact of this programme. After the wide-ranging evaluation of views, arguments and research findings, a model to measure impact of the programme was designed. The asset base improvement was used as the proxy of impact. Nine factors were selected from the principal component analysis of the many factors that were taken to affect participation. Three other dummy variables to proximate location, participation and group turnover were added to the regression model that was developed to measure impact. The DFID Sustainable Livelihood Framework was used to investigate the impact of the Massive Food Production Programme. This approach was used in both conceptualizing the study and the selection of variables. The DFID Sustainable Livelihood Approach was selected because unlike the CARE or UNDP Sustainable Livelihood models, it was designed for such purposes. Data collection was accomplished through observation, interviewing, and focus group discussions. The researcher also made use of project annual reports on change of livelihoods, baseline survey reports, project log frame, internal reports, work plans, budgets and mid-term evaluation reports as sources of secondary data. v The research findings were analysed using several analytical procedures, including the conventional descriptive statistics, principal components analysis, and linear regression analysis. The use of the different types of analysis was driven by the research questions under investigation and the theories on which they are based, and by the available data. The study revealed that to some extent the Massive Food Production Programme has managed to improve the asset base of the farmers. However, its impact on ensuring food security is still debatable. Findings of the study revealed that most of the participants and the non-participants communities experienced food shortages in the last season 2007/8 for at most three months. The study revealed that the highest agricultural income is from livestock sales. The varying locations showed the potential of livestock production. It is recommended that development agencies consider livestock production as an agricultural strategy with immense potential for enhancing sustaining rural livelihoods

In recent years, immense effort has been channelled towards the Information and Technological development of rural areas. To support this development, telecommunication networks have been deployed. The availability of these telecommunication networks is expected to improve the way people share ideas and communicate locally and globally, reducing limiting factors like distance through the use of the Internet. The major problem for these networks is that very few of them have managed to stay in operation over long periods of time. One of the major causes of this failure is the lack of proper monitoring and management as, in some cases, administrators are located far away from the network site. Other factors that contribute to the frequent failure of these networks are lack of proper infrastructure, lack of a constant power supply and other environmental issues. A telecommunication network was deployed for the people of Dwesa by the Siyakhula Living Lab project. During this research project, frequent visits were made to the site and network users were informally interviewed in order to gain insight into the network challenges. Based on the challenges, different network monitoring systems and other solutions were deployed on the network. This thesis analyses the problems encountered and presents possible and affordable solutions that were implemented on the network. This was done to improve the network‟s reliability, availability and manageability whilst exploring possible and practical ways in which the connectivity of the deployed telecommunication network can be maintained. As part of these solutions, a GPRS redundant link, Nagios and Cacti monitoring systems as well as Simple backup systems were deployed. v Acronyms AC Access Concentrators AMANDA Automatic Marylyn Network Disk Archiver CDMA Code Divison Multiple Access CGI Common Gateway Interface.

Many rural South African people depend on natural resources for their survival. Wetlands provide some of those natural resources. These are presently are under pressure due to high demand, overexploitation and poor land management. The history of South Africa has been characterised by exclusion of local communities in the process of decision-making and general management of natural resources. Participation of all stakeholders is crucial for successful sustainable natural resource management. Various South African departments are engaged in a number of strategies for promoting meaningful participation of local communities. The South African laws promoting protection and sustainable use of natural resources incorporate democratic principles that require high level of participation from resource users, local communities in particular. Most of the participation techniques used are focused on satisfying political mandates and do not respond to the social context of the resource users. The aim of the study was to review the participation of stakeholders in the project of promoting the sustainable use and protection of the Lake Fundudzi catchment. The idea was to probe stakeholder interests more carefully, and to research tensions that arise in the participation process, using qualitative methodologies. Through the use of questionnaires, observations and document analysis stakeholders’ interests were identified to assess their influence in the process of participation of local stakeholders. The review of stakeholders’ participation in the Lake Fundudzi Project showed that stakeholders’ interests are crucial for meaningful local community participation, communication and education influence. They enable meaningful participation and empowerment. A multi-stakeholders approach enables stakeholders to share roles and responsibilities and the participation process offers an opportunity for local stakeholders to participate democratically in the Project. Power relations affect stakeholder participation, capital dependant participatory initiatives are likely to be at risk, participatory processes are likely to promote the empowerment and knowledge exchange amongst stakeholders, the views of local stakeholders are not always considered by outside support organisation and multi-stakeholder participatory approaches enable the initiative/activity/project to achieve its objectives.

Small towns internationally and in South Africa are becoming increasingly marginalised, and they are often experiencing economic downturn, demographic shifts and a rearticulation of their role in the urban hierarchy. In the case of South Africa many of these small towns are also faced with low levels of social development. The urgent need to address such conditions is evident by the fact that a large proportion of the South African population resides in small towns, and their surrounding hinterlands. This said, there are examples of small towns, internationally and in South Africa which, through the use of various Local Economic Development actions, have managed to remain sustainable, and in some cases become economically viable localities once again. In light of the above, the research conducted for this thesis seeks first to establish the socio-economic changes occurring over time in three small towns in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, namely Stutterheim, Bedford and Hamburg. Secondly, the research aims to identify the nature of LED activities in the three small towns, highlighting those factors contributing to the success of LED initiatives as well as those factors inhibiting LED in small towns. This is done with the intention of developing future lessons for LED in small towns. The research was conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative data generated through the interviews with key role players in each town, as well as secondary data sources. Findings from the research suggest that the small towns investigated are characterised by low levels of socio-economic development. In addition, it appears that the development opportunities for the towns are limited. Current initiatives are being driven by private role players with local government being largely uninvolved. Such initiatives are limited in nature, with benefits only felt by small groups of the local community. However, examples do exist of where LED has successfully benefited the broader spheres of the local community, thus suggesting that if implemented properly such an approach does have potential to assist in the socio-economic development of small towns. In light of this, a number of lessons are identified for LED in small towns, including the need for strong leadership, community involvement, partnerships between role players, and planning for project sustainability.

South Africa is recognised as one of the megadiverse nations of the world. In recent years, the South African Government has prioritised human needs, without adequately safeguarding the country’s natural resources. Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet, responsible for human health, well-being and ultimately, the preservation of the environment. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that processes and policy frameworks recognise the significance of biodiversity and its role in ensuring a sustainable future for the country while at the same time ensuring essential services delivery to its people. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of environmental governance on biodiversity management at the local government level in South Africa. The study was conducted in three Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from officials of these municipalities. Variables that were assessed include capacity assessment, intergovernmental relations, budget and biodiversity management. Interviews were conducted with the Heads of the environmental departments of the municipalities. A review of the defining national and international environmental law was conducted to evaluate the transformation, challenges and successes of biodiversity mangement at the local government level in South Africa. The results of this study highlight the challenges faced by local governments in implementing biodiversity management such as capacity constraints, lack of resources and the absence of a biodiversity mandate at the local government sphere. Integrating biodiversity management at the local level will only be possible through more robust policy development, stronger cooperation and communication among the different levels of government, as well as enhanced capacity (skills) and resource provision in the municipalities. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

South Africa, emerging from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism embarked on an ambitious land reform programme during the 1990’s. It was anticipated that land reform would take place effectively and sustainably. However, evidence to date revealed that land reform has been a failure and the cause thereof can be attributed to the lack of post settlement support. The focus of the research was to find out whether post-settlement support is the reason behind successful projects and if so to highlight the necessity of post-settlement support in land reform projects. The methodology used was through review of literature, legislations and policies on land reform and analysis of case studies. Outcome of the research indicates an intricate relationship between land reform and post-settlement support. The transfer of land to land reform beneficiaries must go hand in hand with the effective provision of post-settlement support for projects to be success and sustainable. / College of Law / LL.M

Over the last century, developing countries have undergone rapid urbanisation resulting in marked social, economic and environmental changes. Africa is the least urbanised continent in the world but trends indicate that it is also the most rapidly urbanising region, accompanied by rising urban poverty. Urbanisation processes are often most pronounced in smaller urban centres since they experience the most severe pressures of population growth. Little is known about the role natural resources play along the rural-urban continuum and even less is known about the contribution of these resources within an urban context, particularly in small urban centres. In many sub-Saharan African cities, urban agriculture (the informal production of food in urban areas) has been used as a strategy to cope with increasing poverty levels but its role remains widely debated and uncertain. This thesis seeks to analyse the impacts of urbanisation on livelihoods and natural resource use, including home gardening and the collection of wild resources, in two South African towns and data was collected along the rural-urban continuum in Queenstown (Eastern Cape province) and Phalaborwa (Limpopo Province). Practices and contributions associated with agriculture and wild resource use were found to be significantly higher in Phalaborwa and this could be attributed to favourable environmental conditions and accessibility to wild resources due to the surrounding Mopani Bushveld. Rural households in Queenstown and Phalaborwa were more reliant on natural resources than their urban counterparts, but still diverse and incorporated a number of land-based and cash income generating strategies. Urban households tended to rely on one primary cash income strategy such as wage employment or state grants. However, natural resources did appear to play a subtle role in urban settings and particularly in the townships, where exclusion of natural resource contributions saw poverty levels increase up to 5%. Home gardening was practised by a wide range of people and not restricted to any one income group and, not surprisingly, wealthy cultivators who had access to resources such as land, water and fertilizer enjoyed increased benefits such as high produce yields. The results obtained suggest that rural-urban dynamics are complex and natural resource use in local livelihoods is contextualised within environmental settings, social preferences and historical contexts. Increasing pressures from the influx of people into small urban centres calls for a better understanding to how these processes are affecting livelihoods and natural resources to ensure sustainable management in the future.