Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-78). / In today's world of increasing energy costs and rapid ecosystem service decay, a result of direct human disturbance from development, habitat loss and fragmentation and the increasing frequencies of extreme weather events, it is critical that building practices in the next decade adopt a more adaptive and holistic approach to building design.

Bibliographical references. / This study was undertaken to provide information on interest groups or voluntary organisations which involve themselves in environmental conservation. The primary aim was to identify and list all those groups which together make up the environmental lobby in South Africa. Further aims were to determine the environmental orientation and characteristics of the groups, and to determine the degree of involvement they offer to the general public. The groups which were identified as comprising the environmental lobby are listed in a detailed form in part 2 of this study. They appear to concentrate largely on the conservation of the natural environment. The results of the study suggest that the environmental lobby contains a relatively small number of groups which register limited support. This support is drawn largely from the white section of the population. The groups themselves are well organised, but in general display a low financial base. A greater reliance appears to be made on the development of specialist skill than on the promotion of group cohesion and the generation of public support. It is believed that this may have led to the restriction of opportunities for general public involvement in group activities. It is suggested that groups in the lobby need to expand their interests to include conservation of the built environment, and so increase their appeal to the public. The opportunities for public involvement in group activities at all levels also need to be increased.

Bibliography: pages 85-89. / The Klein River Estuary is situated at Hermanus in the Western Cape, South Africa. The estuary mouth is normally closed by a sand berm during the summer and open to the sea during the wetter winter months. The estuary forms a shallow lagoon which is becoming increasingly popular for recreational activities. Several management problems have arisen which are now becoming important with the increase in recreational pressure. The main problems are: uncertainty about appropriateness of water levels, marine sand influx and accumulation, flooding of low lying developments, flooding of agricultural lands, decrease in fish catches and indecision about the ideal position of the estuary mouth in the sand berm. This study concentrates mainly on the effects of different possible water levels. The conclusion is that the estuary water level should be permitted to rise at least as high as the highest level investigated. The estuary should be allowed to breach the sand berm. Developments on low lying land, prone to flooding, should be prohibited and only those structures which would not be damaged by flooding should be allowed in such areas.

Bibliography: pages 64-67. / This study constitutes a preliminary assessment of the behaviour of effluent-associated vanadium, and its possible effects on the biotic components of land treatment sites, used for the disposal of liquid industrial wastes from a chemical plant in the eastern Transvaal. A review of the literature showed that although the emission of vanadium into the environment is on the increase, very little information is available regarding its behaviour and impact as an environmental pollutant. This study is therefore important not only in the context of the land treatment operation in question, but clearly in a more universal context as well. The study involved a three-phase approach to the problem. Firstly, vanadium sorption was considered in four soils encountered on the sites in question. Secondly, an investigation was conducted into the potential toxicity of vanadium to relevant plant species. Finally, the potential inhibition of soil biological activity at increasing levels of vanadium was examined, although the results of this experiment were inconclusive.

Bibliography: leaves 96-101. / Recent research in the eastern escarpment area of South Africa has documented enhanced NO₃- concentrations in soil solution and stream water resulting from afforestation. There has been much research in the Northern Hemisphere regarding the qualitative and quantitative causes and consequences of N saturation in forest ecosystems. In order to assess the significance of local observations of afforestation-induced NO₃- enhancement in a global context, a study was conducted to evaluate the influence of forest plantations (Pinus spp.) on N form and mobility in soils in the eastern escarpment area of South Africa. Twenty soil samples were taken, half in grassland and half in forest, in the Graskop and Kaapsehoop areas of the eastern escarpment. Forest samples were taken as composites of approximately five individual samples in each stand from the top 20-25 em of soil, combining partially decomposed organic litter layer with the subjacent upper mineral soil horizon. Grassland samples were taken, again as composites, consisting of the upper mineral soil horizon (an organic litter layer was for the most part absent). Approximately three-quarters of each sample was air-dried, and crushed to pass through a 2-mm sieve and stored for analysis. The remaining quarter of each sample was passed through a 2-mm sieve and refrigerated at about 4°C in order to maintain field-moist conditions and to inhibit microbial transfornlations. Refrigerated samples were used for KCI-extractable NO₃- and NH₄+ analyses and N mineralisation experiments. The remaining analyses were performed on the air-dried samples. This study included two facets: physical and chemical characterisation of soil samples; and a series of laboratory experiments. The solid phase of the soils was analysed for organic carbon, total nitrogen and particle size distribution. The soil solution was investigated by making saturated paste extracts which were analysed for major ions, trace elements, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH. Extractable base cations, acidity and inorganic nitrogen (NH₄+ and NO₃-) were also analysed after extraction with NH₄OAc or KCl solutions. The laboratory experiments, intended to investigate the apparent differences in soil N transformations and mobility resulting from vegetation, consisted of both aerobic and anaerobic incubation to assess N mineralisation, a NO₃- sorption experiment and a soil to extract ratio dilution experiment.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-166). / Co-management, which boasts sharing of power and responsibilities amongst all stakeholders involved, has been adopted as an approach to small-scale fisheries management in South Africa. However, the relative success of co-management differs between provinces, provinces which also have different institutional arrangements supporting co-management. In KwaZulu-Natal, arrangements continue to function whereas in the Eastern and Western Cape many have collapsed. Increasing research indicates that fostering shared perceptions (of objectives, approach, desired outcomes and communication infrastructure) towards resource management can improve management practices by obtaining greater community support, increasing understandings of site-specific conditions and improving conflict resolution amongst stakeholders. Thus it is the overall aim of this research project to identify stakeholders’ perceptions towards co-management theory and practice at four case study sites (Mfazazana, Nonoti, Swartkops, Ebenhaeser) to decipher any differences in perceptions and to discuss factors that are influencing these perceptions towards co-management. This has been achieved through a review of the relevant literature, a series of interviews with 40 different stakeholders (primarily fishers and government) and visits to the four case study sites.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Recognizing its constitutional obligation to ensure environmental sustainability, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC) has adopted a bioregional planning approach to promote sustainable development in the province. One of the mechanisms designed by the PGWC and advocated for implementing bioregional planning at the local level is the Special Management Area (SMA)...This research is motivated by a desire to understand the nature of such a partnership arrangement, how it was established and sustained and how it functions to ensure successful transitions to sustainability. The researcher decided to explore these questions by examining the NW SMA.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-152). / This thesis examines the recent experience of resettlement through a case-study of the Metema Woreda resettlement site, located in the Amhara Regional State from a disaster risk lens through the application of the sustainable livelihoods framework. Specifically, the study sought to examine the vulnerability and risk context of resettled households. It also aimed to investigate the ways in which household livelihoods are configured and differentiated in the new environment.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-145). / This dissertation proposes a conceptual and methodological framework for the creation and implementation of a Composite Sustainable Development Indicator for a retail corporate entity. It provides a review and evaluation of existing approaches to sustainability development, and in particular Corporate Sustainability. The study selects and combines aspects of existing conceptual frameworks into a new conceptual framework for a Composite Sustainable Development Indicator for the retail context. It then applies this framework and general principles and criteria of sustainability assessment, in the selection and adaptation of an existing CSDI framework, namely the Barometer of Sustainability. An illustrative example of the application of the proposed methodological framework is also provided. The study was initiated based on the need for more research into the complexity of Composite Sustainability Indicators. The study also attempts to address the lack of effective methodologies for assessing, measuring and managing sustainability within a corporate environment. It thus proposes a more rigorous approach to sustainability that may enhance the current culture of reporting.

Bibliography: leaves 99-105. / This report describes a study of land degradation in adjacent portions of land comprising a section of the Cathedral Peak State Forest (park and private land) and segments of three wards of the former Kwazulu homeland district of Okhahlamba. The study region is known as the Cathedral Peak Area. The report aims to describe and account for the historical development of land degradation in the Okhahlamba District using the Cathedral Peak Area as a case study. Sequential aerial photographs from 1945, 1964 and 1992 were employed to conduct a temporal comparison of area effected by changes in number of homesteads, area of cultivation, forests, eroded areas or surfaces and gullies and drainage density. The results show that for number of homesteads and cultivated area in the Cathedral Peak Area, there has been an exponential (geometric) and constant (arithmetic) increase respectively during the period under investigation. These increases in anthropogenic activities in the Cathedral Peak Area have resulted in a consequent increase in pressure on environmental resources of the area.