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Thousands of rural households along the South African coast rely on fisheries resources, forest products and agricultural resources in order to support their livelihoods. These customary livelihoods have continued in many rural areas despite restrictive policies and laws during the colonial and apartheid administrations. More contemporary restrictions have emerged in the post-1994 democratic state due to an expansion of the conservation estate and increased efforts to improve compliance in existing protected areas. This conservation drive is due largely to environmental concerns as well as the country’s international and national commitments to enhance biodiversity protection. Statutory conservation governance in rural areas in South Africa often operates in parallel to traditional and customary systems of governance. This results in confusion and conflict emanating from the plurality of governance systems, actors and institutions whose powers, roles and approaches are informed by different norms, discourses, values, images and worldviews. This study seeks to enhance understanding about the conceptual linkages between livelihoods and plural governance systems, using the case study of Kosi Bay, a coastal region in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This was done using a case study methodology and empirical research to: a) describe livelihood strategies; b) identify and document statutory, traditional and customary governance structures linked to coastal resource governance; c) explore the norms, discourses, images, values and worldviews that have informed coastal resource governance in this area; d) review and analyse the influences of plural coastal governance systems on livelihood strategies; e) contribute towards conceptual frameworks that link livelihoods and governance and; f) make recommendations for improved livelihoods and governance in rural areas in the South African context and beyond. The study underscores the manner in which legal pluralism and historical context affect and influence governance processes, and demonstrates that the day-to-day livelihoods of rural people are diverse and dynamic, and can be profoundly affected by meta-level and institutional governance processes and practices. It concludes by highlighting the manner in which legal pluralism and historical context significantly affect and influence governance processes that shape rural livelihoods, and provides a set of recommendations for consideration.

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Magister Legum - LLM / In order to address the challenge of global environmental degradation and natural resource depletion, a complex and multi-layered environmental governance structure has materialised over the past few decades. There is widespread agreement that the current international environmental regime is too complex and inadequate to effectively address global environmental challenges. Thus, in order to control the threat of environmental degradation, many countries, authors, commentators and academics alike have opined that one centralised body be created for the effective control and governance of environmental matters on an international level. Governance is not the same as government. It includes the actions of the state and, in addition, encompasses actors such as communities, businesses, and Non-Governmental Organisations (hereafter referred to as NGOs). Within the context of the evolution of global environmental politics and policy, the end goal of global environmental governance is to improve the state of the environment and to eventually lead to the broader goal of sustainable development. The efficacy of global environmental governance will ultimately depend on implementation at global and domestic levels. National implementation is the ultimate key, both to the efficacy of the GEG system and to meaningful environmental improvements. In the following composition, I will critically analyse the concept of a Global Environmental Organisation (hereafter referred to as a GEO) and discuss whether the formation of such an establishment is indeed necessary to handle environmental matters on an international scale.

This thesis examines whether the concept of good (environmental) governance provides a useful tool and legal base for the achievement of water sustainability in South Africa's mining sector. The thesis introduces water pollution as one sustainability challenge that South Africa is facing in its mining sector. The main question is how the legal framework should promote and guide water sustainability through good environmental governance. The question results from the fact that mining is a constant threat to water resources. Mining is one of the leading causes of water pollution which adversely affects human life among others when water contaminated with heavy metals is consumed. Farming, as an essential component of food security, is under constant threat in places like Mpumalanga as soils are rendered less productive by mine-contaminated water infiltrating from topsoil or rising from underground mines. Similarly, polluted water adversely affects biodiversity, thus, destroying ecosystems and vegetation which serve as livestock feed. The analysis of sustainability, governance and good governance theories and specific concepts underpinning them shows that they can inform water protection in the South African mining sector. Sustainability, found to be a broad and interdisciplinary concept, is a necessary guideline for the pursuit of water governance in the mining sector. Despite conflicting perceptions or facts regarding sustainability, it is evident that for water to be preserved, sustainable practices are essential. This requires mining activities to be conducted while always minimising the occurrence of water pollution to ensure water sustainability in the South African mining sector. The thesis also expounds that water sustainability pursued through governance practices is likely to be effective in alleviating or preventing water concerns. Thus, the concept of governance is presented as a tool with which individuals or organisations can achieve effective water sustainability, through decision-making, planning and law enforcement. Governance as a concept is complex, multifaceted and interdisciplinary, but can ensure water sustainability and the wellbeing of members of society who depend on the natural environment. The thesis further highlights that water sustainability is more likely when pursued through governance in its best possible form. The concept of good environmental governance is therefore explained as a theory that can guide effective decisionmaking and serve as a tool at the disposal of interested and affected parties to judge the performance of administrative officials. Effective decision-making processes and its elements are to be promoted through cooperative governance, accountability, transparency and public participation, for effective administrative action. The thesis then analyses the South African legal framework and establishes that water governance in the mining sector is extensively catered for therein. The Constitution sets the water sustainability mandate based on which legislation is enacted, both followed by legal interpretation in the courts. The analysis, however, show that there are various shortcomings relating to the implementation and enforcement of the law through administrative action. Nevertheless, the analysis remains hopeful that water sustainability can still be achieved in the mining sector. Despite the existence of environmental provisions and various attempts to achieve water sustainability, the current South African legal framework still fails to control water pollution effectively. The failure may be attributed to the shortcomings of the said framework, but it is, to a larger extent, a result of poor implementation and enforcement. One main reason is less effective administrative action due to inefficient decision-making processes, which implies that the quality of governance regarding water protection in the mining sector is inadequate. Such findings show that water sustainability could have been achieved or improved if decisionmakers had relied fully on good governance principles to implement and enforce provisions aimed at water protection in the mining sector. Hence, this thesis finds that no new regulation is required; rather it suggests a reform of various provisions within the existing legal framework to improve water sustainability. This is subject to improved implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Corporate environmental responsibility is an emerging concept in developing countries, especially ones where environmental legislation regulating business activity is not enforced. In some instances, business actors voluntarily organize a collective action to institute the adoption of environmental best practices within a given industrial sector. This is the case of the cement industry in Morocco. This research aimed to determine why and how Moroccan cement companies chose to green their industrial processes and adopt environmental best practices. Using a process tracing methodology, this research showed how the adoption of environmental best practices was induced in the cement industry. By conducting in-depth interviews with actors involved in the cement environmental program, and analyzing relevant documentation on the global Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), this research identified how the pressure from financial institutions and global NGOs was instrumental in inducing change. The role of governmental institutions was relegated to facilitating and coordinating the activities of these companies. This research also explores the reach of norms and regulations beyond a given country's frontiers, so that they directly influence the organizational fields of other countries. In this research, European institutions were found to be directly influencing the environmental performance of the cement industry in Morocco through the trade relations that existed between organizations in both geographical areas. / Ph. D.

¡@Ecological and environmental problems of the 21st century are a serious threat to human survival and economic development. From open policy, Mainland China has made remarkable achievements in economic development, but also pays a heavy consideration for the resources and environment, unbalanced regional development and environmental diplomacy issues with neighboring countries. This paper tries to use literature, induction, case analysis of three research methods to analysis. This paper tries to find wrong creation of "because of" on Mainland China environmental problem. This paper comes by experience of developed countries to examine transformation of politics, economy, society policy in Mainland China, and tries in the economic development and pollution of the environment to achieve a balance. ¡@¡@Ecological environment has the properties of public goods and externalities. Central government is main actor of ecological environmental governance is no doubt. But state and society relations began to change with the transformation of the social and institutional change. Originally, Government monopoly to supply public goods began to shift to multiple actors supply model. This paper presents enterprises, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), citizens of the three non-governmental actors and the relationship of the ecological environmental governance, and explores the interactive relationship between of central government and local government. On this basis, ecological environmental governance network theory as the core, proposed new ways to analysis the necessity and feasibility of ecological environmental governance network, and construct multiple actors of collaboration the new model of governance network. ¡@¡@The serious of environment problem in Mainland China faces severity influence economy growth, society security and people healthy. The environment depravation degree forces the environment non- government organization and citizen to joins. This paper used the case in the Huaihe River Valley. The environmental NGO, Huaihe River Guider, successes to connect with central government, citizen, and enterprise. Mainland China's central government still needs to strengthen rule of law construction and market mechanism establishment, particularly lawmaking guarantee the citizen participate, the solution mechanism of environment dispute, an arrange taking of dirty tax and fees etc., and then to expand this model to the pollution of various type in each city. Government absorbs the environmental governance experience, funds and technique of developed country by attending global governance, and then raises the environment quality of earth.

This thesis concerns a boom in hydropower development in the central Mexican state of Veracruz. There has been a recent resurgence in hydropower globally, re-framed as clean energy and financed by private investors. Along with this, there has been a surge of interest in small hydropower, which is presented as more sustainable than large dams. Focusing on one river basin, the Bobos-Nautla where numerous small/private hydropower projects are currently being contested, I seek to understand how the trajectory of this process is shaped by (re)configurations of actors and institutions at multiple scales, and how this leads to particular places being constructed as sites of development. My theoretical approach draws on environmental governance, political ecology and Science, Technology and Society (STS), to build a framework for answering these questions. In order to contextualize the conflicts that are at the center of this research, I first consider the historical background of dam conflicts, both internationally and with a focus on Mexico. In the latter part, I trace the history of the electric industry in Mexico, its connections with water governance and the way that authority over rivers has been redefined through this process. Turning to the Bobos-Nautla river basin, I begin by following the history of hydropower development in these rivers, showing the numerous parallels between conflicts in the early 20th century and the current moment. I then follow the politics of environmental regulation surrounding the currently contested projects, arguing that defining what counts as protecting nature is a key terrain of struggle. In the final chapter, I look at the contested impacts of development on river flows and springs that supply water to rural communities, contrasting a narrative of untapped abundance espoused by project proponents with a narrative of scarcity and depletion advanced by opponents. Ultimately, I argue that these projects are planned in a way that systematically ignores their potential impacts and sidelines the communities most directly affected by them. But I end on a hopeful note, arguing that the shift to small/private hydropower provides opportunities for a different approach, even if currently the one being followed favors an extractive model of development.

International bi-lateral agreements to support the conservation of rainforests in order to mitigate climate change are growing in prevalence. Through the concept of REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) these look to incentivise developing countries to maintain their natural forests. Guyana and Norway formed such an agreement in 2009, establishing Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). In this research I examine the extent to which the government of Guyana has achieved in facilitating the participation and inclusion of Guyana’s indigenous population within the LCDS. This is conducted through a single site case study, focussing on the experiences and perceptions from the Amerindian community of Chenapou. I conducted 30 interviews with members of the community, supporting this with participant observation and an analysis of relevant documents. I find that a deficit of adequate dialogue and consultation has occurred in the six years since the LCDS was established. Moreover, I identify that key indigenous rights, inscribed at both a national and international level, have not been upheld in respect to the community of Chenapou within the LCDS. These findings largely support prior research, identifying a consistent failure of the LCDS to achieve genuine participation and the distinct marginalisation of Amerindian communities. It is suggested that the status quo of marginalisation of Amerindian forest users in Guyana is reinforced within the LCDS. Critique is made of the LCDS model and the perceived failure to act on previous research. It is suggested that contextualised governance, which supports the engagement of marginal forest dependent communities, is required if the LCDS and REDD+ programmes are to be effective. Failure to do so can be deleterious for all interested parties.