Environmental monitoring initiatives are typically conceived as strictly scientific affairs designed to provide support for managerial decision-making; as a consequence most initiatives are centered on a formal mandate or an overarching mission statement that provides direction for monitoring activity. But official frameworks tend to marginalize lay perspectives as experts pursue disciplinary rigor at the expense of public input, a situation not in keeping with the spirit of the biosphere reserve concept. This thesis argues that an alternative design approach that reaches beyond scientists and resource managers is necessary. Environmental monitoring under an ecosystem approach is subject to scientific, social, and bureaucratic demands that defy easy disentanglement. A medley of factors influence how data are collected, interpreted, and used; neglect of these 'soft' dimensions runs the risk of failing to win the enduring support of stakeholders. There is a need to coordinate activity and to partially align multiple perspectives-this is the 'soft underbelly' of integrated monitoring that gets short shrift in most designs. While there is much monitoring being done in and around the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, there is little coordination among monitoring groups and no obvious way to combine disparate data sets in a meaningful way. This thesis describes the elements of a locally-sensible framework for monitoring practice that is mainly concerned with trying to make sense of confusing and ambiguous situations; it strives to integrate the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of monitoring in as transparent a manner as possible by crafting 'boundary objects' that help to congeal understanding and provide centers of coordination. Using principles of participatory design in the soft-systems tradition, the overall intent is to primarily support sense-making, not decision-making; to generate searching questions, not final solutions; to facilitate learning, not control.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

It is claimed that high returns can be achieved from hunting and ecotourism operations. As a result wildlife production is a rapidly growing form of land-use in South Africa. Lately, rural African communities have approached regional conservation agencies for aid to establish small game reserves so that they too may benefit from wildlife production. However wildlife operations have high input costs relative to domestic stock operations and no attempt has been made to determine the effect of property size on the costs and revenue generated by wildlife. It is thus necessary to conduct a Cost-Benefits Analysis to ascertain this effect by determining the opportunity cost incurred by choosing wildlife over other land-uses suitable in semi-arid savannas, namely communal subsistence production and commercial beef production. This project attempts to quantify the revenue generated, and the variable costs and fixed costs incurred by wildlife production, subsistence production and commercial beef production in order to observe their behaviour against property size and by this means to establish the size ranges for which each of the three land-uses is most appropriate. Mathematical modelling is used to define each of the three land-uses and how their revenue and cost curves interact with property size. The resultant profit curves are able to assess only the financial benefits from each of the land-uses to the local community. An assessment of the full economic benefits to the local and broader community would require different criteria and apportionment of costs and revenue. The effect of property size on fixed costs is the single most important factor which distinguishes the behaviour of the profit curves of the three land-use options: subsistence production has negligible fixed cost input and so is able to achieve greater profitability than either beef or wildlife at small property sizes. Beef has high input costs per hectare at small land sizes which diminish with each unit of additional land. Wildlife operations also have high input costs at small land-sizes which decrease per hectare with additional land added. However due to the service industry nature of wild life operations, fixed costs increase per hectare after some point (in this case it is assumed to be 2000 ha). This is because the attractiveness of game reserves to tourists increases with size due to the inclusion of "many" species of game, which in turn increases the number of people entering the park per hectare and as such the fixed cost input required to accommodate those extra people. The specific results derived from the model indicate that the profit curve of wildlife rises far more steeply than those of either subsistence production or commercial beef production. However, due to the effect of input costs, both commercial beef and subsistence production are more profitable at land sizes of less than 3000 ha. This indicates that investing large sums of money into small game reserves of less than 3000 ha may not be justified on the basis of profits alone. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Successful and convincing examples where local peoples' development needs have been effectively reconciled with biodiversity conservation remain difficult to find. One important reason for this is that little progress has been made in researching critical new areas such as developing indices to monitor qualitative concepts such as local participation. In this study, current approaches to the problems with measuring participation in Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) are reviewed. A theoretical framework combining the works of several practitioners is used to monitor the Nsonga Valley Forum (NVF), in the Hlatikulu Valley, Kwazulu-Natal as an example of an emerging ICDP. The NVF was formed in 1997 after a visit by the provincial parliamentary committee on Conservation and Environment. The Forum aims to act as a mouthpiece for the local Nsonga community and as a capacity building structure, while maintaining the ecological integrity of the Hlatikulu Vlei and adjacent Afromontane Hlatikulu Forest. Two sets of indicators are used in this framework. The prevalence indicators trace the nature of participation in the various stages of the development of the NVF's operation - i.e. in decision making and implementation, in benefit sharing and evaluation. The opportunity indicators refer to the level of opportunity or access available to the local people through the implementation of the Forum by analyzing its organisation and access to resources. According to this framework, the NVF would currently be classified as falling into the 'participation by consultation' category of an assumed legitimate typology of participation. Ultimately, empowerment properly defined, would be the goal of community development in the Hlatikulu Valley but would require a much greater participation of the community than is evident as present. In order to prevent biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic development from becoming no more than an attractive slogan, participatory development research needs to be replicable, cost-effective and realistic. Recommendations are accordingly made for the future assessment, monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the NVF and other similar ICDP projects. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Mining and mineral exploration have been a source of considerable tension in the developing world and specifically where they take place on indigenous lands. This thesis investigates the nature of the relationships between different stakeholders to a mineral exploration project in Fiji. It is an examination of the obstacles to community participation, a key component of even-handed development, in the planning and policy-making process. It is argued that the Namosi exploration project has been the locus for emergent social disruption. It is also argued, that the causes of this conflict are anchored in a flawed process of policy-making between the state and exploration companies and the contest for authority between key actors, which has led to the disempowerment of some villagers from both within and outside the community. Equally, the political ideology of the state and the contentious history of mining in Fiji, have played a part in the tendency towards social conflict in association with minerals exploration. / The starting point for analysis has been a comparison with the social conflict literature as it applies to Papua New Guinea. The purpose has been first, to confirm the relevance of that work to situations encountered in Fiji, and second, to provide a broader critique of the literature than previously available; one that further develops understanding of social conflict related to natural resource development. Given the circumstances of state and village politics in Melanesia, the question is asked, whether the normative 'fully realised communities' anticipated by Selznick in his communitarian idyll can be achieved. The thesis concludes that the nature of community involvement in development planning for mineral exploitation, creates a very different type of participation than that outlined in the literature of mining corporations and states. Although some actors have recourse to other means of empowering themselves, this is not a prelude to development for the wider community.

No description available.

Proponents and advocates of transfrontier conservation in southern Africa have postulated rural communities living adjacent to conservation areas as one of the main determinants of the success of such initiatives and thus they should be potential beneficiaries along with the state and the private sector. This assertion is reflected in the various memoranda of understanding (MOU), treaties, policies and agreements establishing transfrontier conservation initiatives. For community participation to be effective, the laws, policies and institutions establishing transfrontier conservation in southern Africa must lead to the empowerment of these rural communities who commonly subsist on local natural resources and perceive them as opportunities to earn a living. I derive a principle and set of criteria and indicators that are used to analyse the legal, policy and institutional framework and its implications for community participation and empowerment in transfrontier conservation in southern Africa. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park provides a case study. I argue that while provisions for community participation are made in the laws, policies and institutions under which transfrontier conservation is being initiated and implemented in the region, they are not sufficiently prescriptive about empowering communities to secure commitment from conservation agencies to enable communities to effectively participate in transfrontier conservation. It is suggested that as presently defined, the laws, policies and institutions may lead to community disempowerment from transfrontier conservation, as they allow too much scope for interpretations that weaken options for censure where agencies are not demonstrating commitment to community participation and empowerment in conservation. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Rangelands in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world support livelihoods through their provision of multiple goods and services. Livestock production, for example, occurs in rangelands both as extensive ranching under freehold tenure and as collective ranching under communal tenure systems. However, the sustainability of rangelands is threatened and has been a major concern this century, leading to a variety of interventions. Holistic management (HM) is one such example, designed by its proponents as a panacea to halt degradation and, recently, climate change effects in the rangelands of Africa and beyond. HM has been implemented in the Hwange Communal Lands (HCLs) of Zimbabwe since 2010. In principle, the programme is aimed at restoring degraded watersheds and croplands through utilising properly managed livestock. To achieve this, two principles are promoted under HM, namely (i) holistic planned grazing (HPG) and (ii) animal impaction of crop fields. However, the effects of HM on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries currently are poorly understood. In order to address this lacuna, this study aimed to determine both the intended and unintended effects of a community-based land restoration programme called Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) in the HCLs of Zimbabwe on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries through a conceptual framework that combined an actor-oriented livelihoods approach with concepts of everyday politics and resistance. This was done by exploring the impact of HLLM on the six types of farmers’ assets, adoption patterns, farmers’ reactions to the introduction of HLLM, and challenges preventing farmers from adopting HLLM. Case studies employing a qualitative and exploratory research design were undertaken in three communities that were selected purposively from a total of 18 communities in which the HLLM programme had been promoted by the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) in order to discover different perspectives on the effects of the programme on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries. The study employed qualitative Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, focus group discussions, participant observation, document analysis, and key informant and semi-structured interviews. These lines of enquiry enabled triangulation and cross-checking of information to enhance the reliability and validity of the research findings. The study showed that adoption levels were disappointingly low across all the study sites. Several challenges, including livestock diseases, predation, cultural stigma, labour constraints and witchcraft fears, were among the barriers explaining the low rate of adoption in the HCLs. The findings reveal that the farmers were concerned more with immediate problems, especially lack of water, than with land degradation, which is the primary focus of HLLM. Thus the farmers responded by complying, accommodating and covertly resisting the ACHM’s efforts to implement HLLM in order to suit their needs, using creative everyday politics and resistance. The study concludes that, although HLLM is required in such semi-arid environments, it is not sufficient to sustain rural livelihoods in its current state. While the main focus of HLLM is to improve the natural capital (i.e. restoring degraded watersheds), it should be complemented by and aligned with the farmers’ other development priorities, especially those relating to water / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING:Weiveld in die halfdor- en dor gebiede van die wêreld ondersteun menslike lewensbestaan deur die verskaffing van ’n verskeidenheid goedere en dienste. Veeproduksie, byvoorbeeld, kom in weivelde voor as beide ekstensiewe veldbeesboerdery onder grondbesit en kollektiewe veldbeesboerdery onder gemeenskaplike eiendomsreg. Die volhoubaarheid van weiveld word egter bedreig en het in hierdie eeu ’n groot bron van kommer geword, wat gelei het tot ’n verskeidenheid ingrypings. Holistiese bestuur (Holistic management (HM)) is een van hierdie en is deur sy voorstanders ontwerp as ’n wondermiddel om degradasie, en meer onlangs die effekte van klimaatsverandering op die weivelde van Afrika en verder, stop te sit. HM is reeds sedert 2010 in die Hwange gemeenskaplike gronde (HGG’e) in Zimbabwe geïmplementeer. In beginsel is die doel van die program om gedegradeerde waterskeidings en landerye te herstel deur gebruik te maak van behoorlik bestuurde vee. Om dit te bereik word twee beginsels onder HM bevorder, naamlik (i) holisties beplande weiding (holistic planned grazing (HPG)) en (ii) dier-impaksie van landerye (animal impaction of crop fields). Die effekte van HM op die lewensbestaan van sy begunstigdes word tans egter swak begryp. Om hierdie leemte aan te spreek, was die doel van hierdie studie om die bedoelde en onbedoelde gevolge van ’n gemeenskapsgebaseerde grondherstelprogram (Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM)) in die HGG’e van Zimbabwe op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te bepaal deur middel van ’n konseptuele raamwerk wat ’n akteur-georiënteerde lewensbestaansbenadering met konsepte van alledaagse politiek en weerstand gekombineer het. Dít is gedoen deur die impak van HLLM op ses soorte van bates wat boere het, hulle aannemingspatrone, boere se reaksies op die invoering van HLLM, en uitdagings wat verhoed het dat boere HLLM aanneem, te ondersoek. Gevallestudies met gebruik van ’n kwalitatiewe en verkennende navorsingsontwerp is in drie gemeenskappe onderneem wat doelbewus uit ’n totaal van 18 gemeenskappe waarin die HLLM-program deur die Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) bevorder word, geselekteer is om verskillende perspektiewe van die effekte van die program op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te ontdek. Die studie het kwalitatiewe Deelnemende Landelike Takseringsgereedskap (Participatory Rural Appraisal), fokusgroepbesprekings, deelnemerwaarneming, dokument analise en sleutel-informant en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude gebruik. Hierdie ondersoeklyne het triangulasie en kruiskontrole van die inligting moontlik gemaak, wat die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die navorsingsbevindings verhoog het. Die studie toon dat aannemingsvlakke teleurstellend laag was in al die studieliggings. Verskeie uitdagings, insluitend veesiektes, predasie, kulturele stigma, arbeidsbeperkings en vrese vir heksery was onder die hindernisse wat die lae aannemingstempo in die HGG’e verklaar. Die bevindinge wys dat die boere meer besorgd was oor onmiddellike probleme, veral die tekort aan water, as oor grondagteruitgang, wat die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is. Die boere het dus gereageer deur instemming, aanpassing en onderlangse weerstandbieding tot die ACHM se pogings om HLLM te implementeer om sodoende hulle eie behoeftes te pas deur kreatiewe alledaagse politiek en weerstand te gebruik. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat hoewel HLLM in sulke halfdor omgewings nodig is, dit nie in sy huidige staat voldoende is om landelike lewensbestaan te onderhou nie. Hoewel die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is om die natuurlike kapitaal te verbeter (m.a.w. deur gedegradeerde waterskeidings te herstel), moet hierdie rol gekomplementeer word deur en belyn word met die boere se ander ontwikkelingsprioriteite, veral dié wat verband hou met water.

Providing adequate sanitation facilities for the poor remains one of the major challenges in all developing countries. In South Africa, an estimated 11,7% of the schools are without sanitation. The South African government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate sanitation. When sanitation systems fail, or are inadequate, the impact of the health of the community, on the health of others and the negative impact on the environment can be extremely serious. In rural South African schools, many Enviro-Ioo toilets are available today. They are designed to suit a variety of water scarce areas and where there is a high risk of contamination of ground water resources. It is important to realize that any Enviro-Ioo system programme requires an education programme to ensure that the principles of use and maintenance are clearly understood by the user group. Their maintenance requires more responsibility and commitment by users. This study is an interpretive case study that indicates how sanitation in a rural Ramashobohle High School in Polokwane municipality was managed through an EcoSchools Sanitation Community of Practice, and how this developed action competence for sanitation management in the school. The study established that the earlier practice and knowledge of the Ramashobohle Eco-Schools community of practice exercised in maintaining Enviro-Ioo systems was inadequate; unhealthy and unsafe according to the data generated through focus group interviews, observations, interviews, action plan, workshops and reflection interviews. The data generated also indicates that the Eco-Schools community of practice was not committed to maintaining sanitation in their school because they were not sharing sanitation knowledge; they were not communicating and not updating one another concerning Enviro-Ioo systems maintenance as they had no adequate knowledge as to how to maintain the facilities; and the school management was also not supportive and was not taking responsibility. The study shows how this situation was turned around as an Eco-Schools Sanitation Community of Practice focussed on developing action competence in the school community. It provides a case based example of how knowledge and action competence, supported by an Eco-Schools Community of Practice, can find and implement solutions to inadequate sanitation management practices in rural schools, and shows how members of the school community can be engaged in learning how to manage and maintain school sanitation systems through a participatory process that develops action competence. The study points to important dimensions of developing action competence, such as providing knowledge and demonstrations, inviting experts to the school, involving learners in observations and monitoring and in ensuring that adequate facilities are available. In particular, a workshop conducted by Enviro-Ioo consultants, organised and supported by the Eco-Schools Sanitation COP, together with a follow up action plan, provided the main impetus for changes in practice in the school and served to support action competence development. Finally the study provides research findings and recommendations for further research.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is a shift by conservation authorities in post-apartheid South Africa away from management strategies based on law enforcement towards strategies aimed at facilitating local community participation in the management of natural resources. South African National Parks has established community forums in order to facilitate better communication with the communities neighbouring it parks, especially around issues of natural resource consumption. However, at its largest Park, the Kruger National Park, a pervasive miscommunication between the Park and the communities appears to exist despite the ongoing activities of its forums. This study attempted to identify what miscommunication, if any, was occurring between three groups of participants in the Conservation Discourse related to the Kruger National Park environment. The participants were (i) South African National Parks (SANParks) conservation managers, (ii) Kruger Park community outreach officials, and, (iii) members of local communities settled on the borders of the Kruger Park. Specifically, the study was interested in how different perceptions of various participants, who also represent different cultural communities, were foregrounded in relation to different communicative goals. It is suggested that an understanding of where the different Discourses diverge can help identify where possible misunderstandings are occurring which may be resulting in communicative problems. My primary research questions were: (1) how do different communities of practice take part in and construct Conservation Discourse related to the Kruger Parks conservation goals, in particular, those related to the use of natural resources; and, (2) how do members of at least three interest groups construct their own identities in relation to conservation matters in the course of various discursive events where SANParks conservation programmes, particularly those related to the use of natural resources, are topicalised. My assumption was that the Parks conservation officers would have a common Conservation Discourse, and that the local communities would have a common discourse but one which deviates entirely from that of the Parks. From 23 September 2008, I conducted three semi-structured interviews with the Parks conservation officers, I was an observer of a Park departmental meeting as well as a Park Forum, and I conducted a focus group with eight members from one of the local communities. This approach enabled me to collect data from a number of different types of communicative events in order to collate a multidimensional picture of the complete Discourse on Conservation. A number of different Conservation Discourses were identified, some of which present significant discrepancies, and which, as in the case of the two of the departments, may be contributing towards what appears to be a serious breakdown in communication. The communities show that while they are supportive of the populist concept of nature conservation, they are completely unaware of the Parks conservation policies. This lack of awareness indicates a failure of the existing communication between the Park and its neighbouring communities despite the Park Forums having been set-up. Finally, the different discourses also appear to be resulting in misunderstandings and feelings of animosity between the different participants. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In post-apartheid Suid-Afrika beweeg bewaringsliggame weg van bestuurstrategieë wat op wetstoepassing gebaseer is, na strategieë wat daarop gemik is om die plaaslike gemeenskap se deelname in die bestuur van natuurlike hulpbronne, te fasiliteer. Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Parke het gemeenskapsforums in die lewe geroep om beter kommunikasie met die gemeenskappe wat aan sy parke grens, te bewerkstellig, veral rakende kwessies rondom die verbruik van natuurlike hulpbronne. By die grootse Park, te wete die Kruger Nasionale Wildtuin, kom dit egter voor asof miskommunikasie endemies is tussen die Park en sy aangrensende inheemse gemeenskappe, ten spyte van die forums se aktiwiteite. Hierdie studie het nagegaan watter miskommunikasie, indien enige, tussen drie groepe deelnemers aan die Bewaringsdiskoerse rondom die Krugerpark, plaasgevind het. Die deelnemers was (i) Suid- Afrikaanse Nasionale Parke (SANParke)-bewaringsbestuurders, (ii) Krugerpark Gemeenskapsuitreikbeamptes, en (iii) lede van plaaslike gemeenskappe wat op die grense van Krugerpark gevestig is. Die studie het spesifiek gekyk na hoe verskillende persepsies van die onderskeie deelnemers, wat ook verskillende kulturele gemeenskappe verteenwoordig, in die diskoerse op die voorgrond geplaas is afhangende van verskillende kommunikatiewe doelwitte. Daar word voorgestel dat begrip van waar die verskillende diskoerse uiteenloop, kan help om te identifiseer waar moontlike misverstande wat tot kommunikasie-probleme lei, ontstaan. My primêre navorsingsvrae was: (1) hoe neem verskillende gemeenskappe wat rondom gedeelde praktyke gevestig is deel aan Bewaringsdiskoerse wat die Krugerpark se bewaringsoogmerke (en veral daardie oogmerke wat met die gebruik van natuurlik hulpbronne te make het) en hoe konstrueer hulle daardie Diskoerse; en (2) hoe konstrueer lede van ten minste drie belangegroepe hul eie identiteite vis à vis bewaringskwessies in die loop van verskeie diskursiewe gebeurtenisse waar SANParke se bewaringsprogramme, veral daardie wat met die gebruik van natuurlike hulpbronne te doen het, bespreek word. My aanname was dat die Park se bewaringsbeamptes 'n gemeenskaplike Bewaringsdiskoers sou hê, en dat die plaaslike gemeenskappe 'n gemeenskaplike Diskoers sou hê wat heeltemal van die Park s'n verskil. Ek het van 23 September 2008 drie semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met die Park se bewaringsbeamptes gevoer, ek was 'n nie-deelnemende waarnemer by een van die Park se departementele vergaderings asook by 'n Park Forum, en ek het 'n fokusgroep met agt lede van een van die plaaslike gemeenskappe gelei. Hierdie benadering het my daartoe in staat gestel om data van verskeie tipes kommunikatiewe gebeurtenisse in te samel, om sodoende 'n multi-dimensionele beeld van die volledige Bewaringsdiskoers saam te stel. 'n Aantal verskillende Bewaringsdiskoerse is geïdentifiseer, waarvan party noemenswaardige diskrepansies toon en wat, soos in die geval van die twee departemente, moontlik bydra tot wat lyk na 'n ernstige breuk in kommunikasie. Die gemeenskappe toon dat, hoewel hulle die algemene konsep van natuurbewaring ondersteun, hulle heeltemal onbewus is van die Park se formele bewaringsbeleid. Hierdie gebrek aan 'n bepaalde soort bewussyn dui op mislukking van die bestaande kommunikasiestrukture tussen die Park en aangrensende gemeenskappe, ten spyte van die instelling van die Park Forums. Uiteindelik blyk dit dat die verskillende Diskoerse ook lei tot misverstande en gevoelens van vyandiggesindheid tussen die verskillende deelnemers.