Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-56). / When addressing the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is necessary to identify risk factors which are shared by populations, as well as those which may place populations uniquely at risk. Although Canada is a developed country, its Aboriginal population shares socio-economic characteristics with the world's developing populations. This thesis explores the shared risk factors among the Aboriginal population in Canada, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is increasing despite relatively low national prevalence rates, and South Africa's African population, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is particularly acute. The present analysis compares the profile of the African South African HIV/AIDS epidemic with risk factors that also occur among Aboriginal people. The results of this analysis show that the Aboriginal population has an epidemic risk profile that is similar to that of African South Africans. This points to the potential for a rapid increase of HIV/AIDS among Aboriginal people, as has been the case in the African South African population over the past two decades.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of urbanisation on the use of, and access to, NTFPs in three settlements in the Chobe District of northern Botswana. Specific objectives were to determine the extent of NTFP use occurring in these areas; the purposes of use; the factors that influence use and access in the rural/urban context, particularly government rules and regulations; and implications for future NTFP use in this region. Research was conducted in three settlements: Kasane, Kazungula and Lesoma. Kasane is an urban town, Kazungula is less urbanised and Lesoma is a rural village. All areas are surrounded by state-owned Forest Reserves and the Chobe National Park. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods including household interviews (30 in Kasane, 30 in Kazungula and 25 in Lesoma), four key informant interviews, two focus groups with youth and the collection of other grey literature relating to government harvest permits and market data. Households in all three areas used NTFPs despite the different rural and urban contexts in which they exist. Kasane and Kazungula showed a less diverse range of resource use, with fuelwood and wild foods the most commonly used resources in all three areas. These resources were used mainly for subsistence purposes. Harvest locations varied but were most commonly in and around the settlements themselves. Households in Kasane and Kazungula expressed the desire to use fewer resources in the future, mainly for conservation reasons, while those in Lesoma wished to use more. The government rules and regulations, particularly the DFRR permit system, were found to restrict resource access. Despite this, households in the more urban areas felt that the laws were necessary while those households in Lesoma thought that the laws conflicted with community livelihood needs. The majority of respondents believed conservation management to be a barrier to resource access as the presence of wild animals and anti- poaching units in the harvesting areas compromised safety. The general absence of resource commercialisation and market opportunities in the settlements, especially the urban towns of Kasane and Kazungula, were other commonly cited barriers to resource access. The perceived degradation of traditional practices due to modernity and urbanisation was evident for most households in all three areas but the actual loss of indigenous knowledge was most apparent in the urban areas. Wider implications for this case study are the application of the findings to further research into the impacts of urbanisation. This study can add to the literature around the implementation of improved urban development strategies, including the reliance on NTFPs and declines in cultural and environmental degradation. Recommendations provided in this study include further investigations into resource use; the application of resource co-management; improved market infrastructure and the implementation of ecotourism and local craft-making projects.

Increased management through domestication is the predicted, and often necessary, commercialisation outcome of a wild resource which is subject to a demanding market that promotes competition amongst producers and the depletion of wild stocks. This has been the case for commercial buchu (Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata), a historically wild collected plant which has been cultivated on a large-scale in selected areas of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Buchu is an endemic, aromatic shrub around which a lucrative industry spanning diverse and distant markets has developed. Alongside its medicinal properties, buchu is primarily valued for its essential oil which is exported for use in international flavour and fragrant industries. The aim of this study was to conduct an overview of the local buchu industry with a focus on how cultivation has impacted on the general trade, the different actors involved and the conservation of the plant. A shift in buchu production to large-scale, agricultural enterprises raises certain questions for the involvement of rural harvesters in the trade, especially with regard to their inclusion and the sharing of benefits arising from commercialisation. Accordingly, this research sought to identify the social and economic impacts of buchu cultivation while also exploring the environmental impacts associated with large-scale farming of the plant. The methods employed in this research were primarily qualitative, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors involved in the buchu trade, including harvesters, farmers, industry representatives and environmental authorities. The study revealed that while the harvesting of buchu is an important economic activity for harvester communities, the cultivation of buchu has played a limited role in local livelihoods with cultivation mainly being confined to large-scale, commercial operations in the hands of wealthy farmers and private processing companies. The findings of this research also shed light on the shortcomings of national access and benefit-sharing legislation which has failed to secure commercial benefits for the rural poor involved in the trade. From an environmental perspective, the cultivation of buchu has contributed to the conservation of the plant in the wild through offsetting harvesting pressures experienced by wild populations, but has also contributed to the destruction of naturally occurring vegetation.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-97). / Includes abstract. / This thesis considers the power of United States popular media to construct both conceptions of "Africa" and knowledge of HN / AIDS among exchange students in Cape Town, South Africa. Arguing that the reification of myths about Africa influenced respondents' arrival stories and initial experiences, I exhibit how being in South Africa produced very different associations, particularly with regard to intimate relationships. Drawing on theoretical work that looks at the tendency to imagine disease as a product of "foreign" or "other" people, and building on respondents' imaginary Africa, the conceptual linking of Africa to AIDS is highlighted in their discussions of expectations. The linking of HN / AIDS to Africa affects respondents decision to study in South Africa, as well as their initial interactions; highlighting the tendency of respondents to describe their motivation for studying in South Africa a result of a sense of "responsibility" they feel to "save" Africans from AIDS. Respondents' urge to "save" is in tension with their initial tendency to distance themselves from HIV / AIDS in Africa through an imaginary matrix of immunity exhibited through rhetorics of difference. Evolving from respondents' motivation to "save," a discussion of "moral tourism" and ''voluntouring'' is explored. The thesis argues that the combination of voluntary services and living in Cape Town has the ability to change perceptions that were previously used as explanation for high levels of contraction rates of HIV / AIDS on the African continent and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

In a world confronted by rapid urbanization linked with dramatic population growth rates, there is a general consensus that quality urban green spaces are important components of urban landscapes. Urban green spaces are defined as open spaces in urban areas primarily covered with vegetation, which are available to users within the community. They have the ability to shape the image of cities and provide various important socioecological benefits, which can contribute to improving the quality of life within these urban communities. In Cape Town, the provision of readily accessible quality urban green spaces is often overridden by other conflicting demands, such as biodiversity conservation and infrastructure development demands. The literature suggests that Cape Town has ample available green spaces. However, the accessibility of this green space is linked to issues of poor management and maintenance, and as a result poor urban spaces are often associated with criminal activities, and are therefore unavailable to benefit urban communities. This is particularly evident in areas which have a low socioeconomic status. This study explores the ecosystem services offered by the Khayelitsha Wetlands Park in the Khayelitsha Township on the Cape Flats. A variety of methods were used to establish the condition of the Wetlands Park and assess the impacts of various uses (e.g. recreation, agriculture etc.) on the vegetation structure and water quality. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were also conducted to assess the local community's uses and perceptions of this green space. A Complex Adaptive Landscape (CAL) approach was adopted to derive the positive and negative social-ecological impacts of the Khayelitsha Wetlands Park. The vegetation structure assessment results showed a dominance of emergent and invasive vegetation, such as Typha capensis and Acacia cyclops, and indicates a high level of degradation and a lack of indigenous vegetation species. The water quality analysis reveals high concentrations of physiochemical and microbial pollutants, where a majority exceeded the Targeted Water Quality Ranges (TWQR) recommended by the Department of Water Affairs for livestock watering, irrigation and human use. Findings from the semi-structured interviews, revealed that a majority of users v visit the Park for multiple activities offered by the Park. These include relaxation, creating and maintaining social relations, sports and recreation and agricultural use. The CAL framework revealed negative and positive feedback mechanisms at play in this urban green space. The negative feedback effects are illustrated and confirmed by poor water quality and a predominantly alien infested vegetation structure. The poor ecological condition of the Wetland is linked to a number of anthropogenic influences, including the discharge of treated waste and untreated waste from both agricultural and urban waste sources, indicating the complexity of managing the Khayelitsha Wetlands Park. Since a number of users and management institutions are connected to the Khayelitsha Wetlands Park, their involvement in the management thereof is crucial for effectively solving the issues identified.

This study interrogates the role of Open Streets Cape Town's day-long street events in disrupting complex systems and hierarchies of everyday street mobility that maintain the mobile, spatial and social divides of Cape Town. The test was whether OSCT events 1) bridged the mobile divide by replacing car-dominated streets with people-centred public space; 2) bridged the spatial divide by bringing fluidity to the mobility of people between usually isolated public spaces; and 3) bridged the social divide by replacing practices of avoidance and exclusion with an everyday cosmopolitan sensibility. The investigation used mobile methodologies and an embedded approach. OSCT proved to be successful at bridging the mobile divide by creating a shared public space, but had mixed success with bridging spatial and social divides. A greater sensitivity to how existing social and spatial divides can be reproduced during events would improve this. Sager's (2006) freedom of mobility framework was reworked and proved to be useful in monitoring individuals situated differently in the shifting complex of power, identity and everyday life across a changing motilities landscape. The underlying mobility framework revealed a need for developing better street navigation skills to create robust and equitable freedom of mobility for street users, necessary for independence from mediators such as cars, private street security and prejudice ideas about people and places that perpetuate division. OSCT events are useful in opening up people's eyes to what could be, but the value is diminished if there are no ongoing interventions sustaining this new understanding. Interventions that tackle the everyday systems supporting the divisions are needed to supplement the interventions of OSCT events. This will add substance between events and enhance the value of the events themselves.

This study utilizes a cyclical socio-ecological systems approach to explore change in natural vegetation and land use within the Kannaland Municipality of the Klein Karoo. Repeat ground photography, historical climate and agricultural data, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to assess environmental, political and socio-economic change in the study area since the early 1900s. Few studies have had the opportunity to augment the analysis of repeat ground photography with contextual information from in-depth interviews making this study unique in its approach. For most of the 20th century agricultural land use within the Klein Karoo has undergone fluctuations of increased and decreased productivity. However, during the later decades a noticeable decline in agricultural land use, especially sheep and goat production, has been recorded. Largely due to this, and contrary to degradation projections for this area, evidence of growth in cover of natural vegetation, especially over the last 20 years, was found. From the mid 1990s change from largely agricultural to recreational game and weekend farming as well as tourism-related land use has increased. Implications of recent land use change are perceived as both positive and negative. Increases in natural vegetation cover and potential associated biodiversity improvements are considered positive implications associated with the demise in extensive agricultural land use for the area. A decline in farm-based employment and agricultural productivity are considered negative implications of this land use change. Substantial increase in game farming within the study area is perceived to require stringent monitoring and research into the long term implications of this land use on natural vegetation. For optimal land use management and conservation of natural vegetation this study recommends building the capacity of the agricultural and conservation extension services within the Klein Karoo. The study further promotes the diversification of land use inclusive of agricultural production, conservation of biodiversity and development, particularly within the tourism sector, as optimal for the sustainability of land use in the Klein Karoo.

Food production has been a constant feature of food security policies. This narrative has continued despite findings showing that food insecurity is structural, and more driven by issues of access than availability, particularly for low-income households in cities who live in a cash economy. While usually considered a rural issue, the urban poor with low and unreliable incomes also face food insecurity which manifests differently to that of their rural counterparts. Thus, this creates the need to understand how the urban poor get their food. Garneton, a low-income area in Kitwe, Zambia, was chosen as the case study area for understanding the food system that feeds the urban poor. Fish and the fish value chain were used as the lens with which to understand the food system. The primary aim of the study was to understand the flow of fish in the food system and how it gets to low-income households in Kitwe. A qualitative methodology using semi-structured in-depth interviews was used. A bottom up and systems approach which started by finding out what the low-income consumers ate, and following the fish value chain systematically up to the producers enabled the study to capture the actual food system that feeds the poor and uncovered the different issues affecting the food system. The study had three main findings. The first finding was that the low-income households bought their food from both formal and informal markets but were more highly dependent on the informal markets. The factors that drove their purchasing decisions included income, proximity and volumes of fish sold. Secondly, the study also found that informal traders bought their fish mainly through the informal markets although the imported fish was bought from the formal market. Thirdly, the study found that there were a number of factors that affected the food system. These included policy, economic and environmental factors. The pathways of fish were also found to change in accordance with the fish ban. The thesis argues that, there is greater need to have policy that addresses the needs of the urban poor. Food should also be looked at as a cross cutting issue with different food systems perceived as complementing each other to addressing the food needs, particularly of the urban poor. Finally, more attention must be paid to the informal market which plays a significant role in meeting the food security needs of the urban poor.

Includes bibliographical references. / This case study explores the evolution of South African policy on prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT). It employs the advocacy coalition framework developed by Paul Sabatier to analyse the factors that have hindered and facilitated the alteration and subsequent implementation of PMTCT policy. It provides a clear illustration of the impact that actors outside of the government can have on policy change and policy implementation.

Environmental campaigns have generally relied upon using information alone as a way to get messages across to the public. This approach is based on the assumption of a linear relationship between information and behaviour: it is believed that educating people will lead them to be more environmentally responsible. An example of this is the information deficit model. The information-deficit model (Blake, 1999), suggests that experts inform individuals about the environment in order to achieve behaviour change. Contrary to this model, dissenters claim that the information-deficit model is not participatory or deliberative and that human behaviours are determined by factors such as individual lifestyle. This dissertation tests the assumption behind the idea that added information leads to improved environmental behaviour. The research used a case study of an urban South African environmental education program: the Smart Living Campaign in the City of Cape Town. The study is split into two sections, the first which focuses on the workplace of the companies. The second which is aimed at the households of the employees of the companies. The study focused on two variables, the impact of waste management in terms of recycling, and energy usage in terms of electricity consumption on their behaviour.