The dissertation is rooted in the implications of the policy on Transfrontier Conservation Areas. It is a comparative policy analysis study of sustainable development in South Africa between the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area and Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Resource Area. Qualitative research methodology and theoretical analysis are used in this research. Qualitative research answers the question, “what is going on here?” (Bouma, 1996: 169). The research on the two Transfrontier Conservation Area is investigated through literature review and to a lesser extent by conducting face to face interviews with government officials dealing with the two Transfrontier Conservation Areas. The approach in the research is the Managerial approach. “The focus of the management approach is the improvement of the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the public sector by the utilisation of techniques which were once regarded purely appropriate to the private profit sector” (Parsons, 1995: 479). The dissertation also examine the effects of the two TFCA’s in question on Ecotourism, Economic growth and the conservation of biodiversity for sustainable development in South Africa within the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative. Chapter one is the introduction, the rationale for the dissertation, background and objectives of the study. Chapter two is the theoretical framework in detail which define the managerial approach technique used in the research. Chapter three explain Sustainable Development. It looks at various arguments by the different school of thoughts. It also explains the link between the economy and the environment. In chapter four Environmental Economics and the TFCA’s are looked into as part of the aim of the dissertation to establish whether the policy of the TFCA’s on economic growth and sustainable development is viable or not. Chapter five examine Ecotourism as one of the sub-themes of the dissertation. Ecotourism is defined and the value of ecotourism is examined. Integrated tourism plan is also discussed in the chapter in order to determine the effects of TFCA’s in question on ecotourism. Chapter six deals with the case study no. one of the dissertation which is the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. It is an indepth study on this TFCA i.e. history of the region of these protected areas, management structures, zonation rivers, diseases etc. Chapter seven is a further expansion on the case study no. one and looks at the developmental aspects of the TFCA. Chapter eight deals with the second case study of the dissertation which is the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area. It describes in detail the composite parts of this TFCA. It also looks at sociological, cultural and historical resources of the TFCA in question. Opportunities for development and the activities that can boost the economic growth of the region and the surrounding communities. Chapter nine is the concluding chapter of the dissertation which gives findings and recommendation of the dissertation. / Dissertation (MA(Political science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Wetlands are unique ecosystems that are acknowledged among the world’s most productive and valuable ecosystems. They are recognized as being essential to sustainable development and human welfare due to their unique environmental and socio-economic value. These highly productive ecosystems provide functions such as recycling of nutrients, watershed protection and flood control as well as grazing resources. Wetlands provide the basis for human livelihoods in Africa through ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems are affected by internal and external factors within and outside their catchments, hence the importance of monitoring those changes around these wetlands. The aim of this study was to identify the major land use and land cover changes (LULC) from two selected wetlands (i.e. Makuleke and Nyslvei) and their impacts on water quality within the Limpopo Transboundary River Basin, South Africa. To achieve this aim, firstly the study assessed the impacts of LULC changes on these two wetlands between 2014 and 2018. Multi-date Landsat series data were used to map and estimate the rate of LULC changes in Makuleke and Nylsvlei wetland ecosystems during the study period. The results obtained showed that the spatial extent of Makuleke declined by 2% between 2014 and 2018, whereas the Nylsvlei wetland decreased by 3%. Some of the noticeable changes were that the coverage of natural vegetation tends to increase during the wet seasons. Secondly, Chlorophyll-a was predicted and mapped for Makuleke and Nysvlei between September 2018 and June 2019. Moderate resolution Landsat 8 images and in-situ field measurements were used to estimate and map chlorophyll-a concentrations from these two wetlands. Landsat-derived chlorophyll-a concentrations were validated using field-derived chlorophyll-a measurements. The results showed a variation of chl-a concentration in these two wetlands, with Makuleke wetlands concentrations ranging from 0 to 1.15 μg/L whereas for Nylsvlei wetland the ranges varied between 0 and 1.42μg/L. The finding of this study can be used in enforcing of wetland legislation and LULC management practices and highlights the relevance of remotely sensed data in assessing and routine monitoring wetland water quality.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology in Environmental Health In the Faculty of Applied Sciences Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies At Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Southern Africa region is experiencing a multiplicity of transfrontier conservation projects, which simply put in its metaphorical name ‘Peace Parks’. The rapid growth of transfrontier conservation areas present the fulfilment of a vision of a ‘boundless’ and ‘borderless’ Southern Africa, straddling geo-political boundaries of once colonially imposed cartography of sovereign statism. The ecological amalgamation of these vast conservation areas are underpinned by various social, political, ecological and economic fundamentals envisioned by governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region together with conservation partners to transform the life of people and enhance sustainable management of natural resources. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) that involves Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, was born out of this vision. Equally so, from its conceptualisation, the GLTP sought to achieve sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, promote economic growth, support rural development, be a building block for peace and regional economic integration. The planners also criticized inappropriate geo-political boundaries imposed by colonialism, which historically separated biospheres and the people of identical culture. The artificiality of boundaries, therefore, obstructed cultural links of communities and restricted wildlife migration as well. This affected natural dispersion of fugitive wildlife. Thus, the GLTP’s ambitious conservation plan address these issues. In so doing, the GLTP governance architecture as it stands today produced multi-level governance institutions whose approaches were found in this study to be at variance with local people’s livelihood expectations and conservation processes. It is in this view that this research sought to examine the impact of governance institutions on communities’ livelihoods and sustainable conservation of natural resources in the GLTP. Using various methods of empirical research such as interviews, household questionnaires, focus group discussions (including using the Schutte Scale), field observations and secondary data analysis, the researcher found that the current GLTP institutional configurations and its resource governance philosophy are at variance with local natural resource governance processes, and contradict local resource needs. Thus, there is inherent mistrust and conflict over skewed natural resource benefits. Most of them benefits accrue to government entities and the private companies that invested in tourism. Furthermore, it was found that the GLTP administrative governance architecture from the onset, presented complex competing environmental interests among conservation stakeholders against those of communities. The GLTP resource governance as it stands, is conspicuously not inclusive with the local communities playing a minimal role to leverage on the abundant natural resource for to support local livelihoods. One thing that came out clearly from the research is that they are not included to participate in conservation of the GLTP natural resources. This study therefore argues that there is potential to jeopardize prospects for the GLTP to achieve its objectives of sustainable conservation, promoting rural development and reduction of rural poverty. Empirically, it was also confirmed that the GLTP is at cross-purpose with the expectations of the communities. Local participation in sustainable conservation is consequentially subdued and weak. Perhaps, if the lofty aims of the GLTP are to be achieved, this study noted that the local people prefer the natural resources governance, conservation decision-making processes and conservation stakeholder relationships to be fair and acceptable to a cross-section of stakeholders. This includes ascertaining broad participation of the local people in conservation and environmental decision-making as crucial ingredients in guaranteeing local livelihoods and motivating communities to support conservation initiatives through use of wildlife proceeds for the development of communities. In addition, a concern was raised that powerful state agencies and conservation organisations are at the fore in defining institutional processes and resource governance systems with no regard to the local institutions. Thus, the envisaged win-win situation in conservation to transform rural communities is far from being realised. The GLTP governance structure forecloses the local people from participation. Consequently, local conservation morale and collaboration has adversely diminished, with overt preponderance of multi-level institutional processes over local processes in terms of natural resource management. This has tended to marginalise local institutions and prevent the local people from complementing conservation efforts. Manifestly, there is deep-seated livelihood insecurity, local environmental conservation marginalisation. This led the study to question the sustainability of the GLTP considering its exclusionary governance approach when dealing with communities. Another major concern is that planning of eco-tourism projects are paternalistically government led processes and exclusively private sector driven than being community oriented. Concerns arise that the much-lauded and publicized promise of eco-tourism benefits to the communities, have not materialised in the last ten years since the GLTP establishment in 2002. This has led local communities to question the GLTP’s economic benefits and impact on their lives. Instead of working with communities as equal stakeholders, the GLTP governance architecture has isolated them from playing an effective collaborative role in conservation and reaping of benefits. It was observed that the attendant GLTP governance trajectories reflect a narrow web of contesting conservation interests at variance with communities’ expectations. The heavy-handed administrative role of multi-level institutions and that of conservation agencies, have therefore, not fostered synergies for local residents’ participation in the management of natural resources. The elusiveness of the GLTP governance therefore puts it far from ensuring that the local people are part of conservation processes, hence falling short of capturing local contributions and local buy-in. Such governance injunctions complicate guaranteeing equal opportunity of resource access and equity, and it is less enabling for communities to hold together, cooperate and collaborate in conservation. Perhaps, an ideal situation would be to have a resource governance system that prevents the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and at the same time preventing the ‘tragedy of the local common man’. In this regard, this research made proposal in chapter 8, suggesting a synergised governance, decision-making and an a cocktail of an amalgam economic framework that can be adopted to solve the problems identified. These frameworks enable local people’s resource rights to be realised and the fusion of local expectations for conservation sustainability. This study aimed at examining the GLTP governance process impact on Makuleke and Sengwe communities in terms of their livelihoods, local participation in natural resource conservation and participation in natural resource decision-making process in the governance of the GLTP.

Si la question de l'organisation de l'action collective, qui constitue un problème autant scientifique que public, a été largement étudiée notamment en sociologie et en sciences politiques, elle a été peu analysée dans des contextes socio-urbains transfrontaliers. Pourtant, sur le plan opérationnel, la question de l'organisation se situe au coeur de l'aménagement du territoire transfrontalier, en particulier en Europe occidentale. Un travail scientifique sur ce sujet semble d'autant plus pertinent que la question de l'organisation est rendue beaucoup plus complexe par la présence de frontières : démultiplication des acteurs et des échelles,conflits de positionnement, etc. Nous verrons que loin de disparaître, ces frontières sont en mutation et jouent un rôle essentiel dans la manière dont l'action s'organise. Dans cette perspective, ce travail explore de manière fine les mécanismes de coopération entre acteurs institutionnels d'une part, et s'interroge d'autre part sur le rôle des frontières dans la production d'une métropole transfrontalière, à travers le cas de l'agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise / If the question of the organization of collective action, which constitutes a problem at once public and scientific, was largely studied particularly in sociology and political sciences, it remains poorly studied in transfrontier socio-urban contexts. However, operationally, the question of the organization is at the heart of the transfrontier urban planning, especially in Western Europe. A scientific research on this subject seems even more pertinent that the question of the organization is made more complex by the presence of frontiers: multiplication of actors and scales, conflict of positioning, etc. Far from disappearing, these frontiers are changing and play a crucial role in the way that the action is organized. In this perspective, this thesis explores precisely the mechanisms of cooperation between institutional actors on the one hand, and questions the role of frontiers in the production of a transfrontier metropolis on the other hand, through the case of agglomeration franco-valdo-genevoise

In 1996, two years after the election of a fully democratic government and the return of South Africa as an acceptable member of international society, the Premier of South Africa's Limpopo Province met with his counterpart, the Governor of Gaza Province, in Mozambique, to discuss the potential of establishing business links between these two adjacent regions. As a result, an International Agreement to establish the Great Limpopo National Park (GLTP) was signed in 2000. Areas included in the GLTP are the Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa, Limpopo National Park (LNP) in Mozambique and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe. Other areas earmarked for inclusion are the Sengwe Communal land in Zimbabwe, and Zinave and Banhine National Parks in Mozambique. This thesis explores the processes of decision making throughout the administrative hierarchy of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP), and evaluates these in terms of social and environmental justice principles. The three main objectives are: to identify decision making procedures and approaches currently being used in the setting up of the GLTP; to determine the extent to which decision making approaches have incorporated concerns relating to social and environmental justice; and to assess public participation in the GLTP to date - particularly at the community level. Findings indicate that the popular rhetoric surrounding the GLTP has, to date not taken place in reality. Many of the flagship projects have been met with opposition from the community. Social justice is not sufficiently prioritised within the GLTP, as shown by ongoing power differentials, prioritising of wildlife over people in terms of water rights, ongoing harsh treatment of "poachers", the disruption of traditional land use activities, and resettlement of villages into new and potentially different communities. Findings displayed in the questionnaire results, indicate that policies and action plans for the GLTP were developed by the state with little public participation. The community's powerless to influence any decisions or affect any change is encapsulated in the fact that they are, at present living with introduced wild animals. A public participation technique that took the form of a community barriers meeting did take place. This however did not contribute to the community having a say in the park plans. One cannot deny that decision makers have realised their mistake of bypassing community consultation and moving directly to implementation. It seems more effort is being made to bring communities into the process, through the formation of the Project Liaison Board, and thereby ensuring that they receive their promised benefit from the development of the GLTP. It is very difficult to try and categorise the type of approach to community conservation in the GLTP. Certain elements from all three relationships are evident, but more so from Protected Area Outreach. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The ultimate goal of conservation planning is to ensure persistence of biodiversity. Biodiversity patterns and ecological processes are important aspects in conserving biodiversity. Although most researchers in conservation planning have focused on targeting biodiversity patterns, ecological and evolutionary processes can ensure persistence of biodiversity if incorporated into conservation planning. Ecological processes are the main drivers or sustainers of biodiversity. The aim of this research was to identify and map the spatial components of ecological processes in a portion of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area to aid in the implementation of biota movement corridors. Different methods have been used to identify suitable corridors but not much has been done on defining and mapping ecological processes that will ensure that the corridors maintain and generate biodiversity. A thorough literature survey was done to make a list of ecological processes that are important in maintaining the biodiversity in the area. Spatial components of ecological processes were mapped as surface elements aligned along linear environmental interfaces or gradients. The last part of the research was to suggest suitable movement corridors based on ecological processes. The results include five spatial components: riverine corridors, areas of high carbon sequestration, edaphic interfaces, upland-lowland interfaces and ecotones. Riverine corridors were mapped using a 1000 m buffer on either side of low lying rivers and 500 m buffer around rivers in the uplands. A map showing the carbon sequestration potential of vegetation in the study area was made using Moderate-Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived NDVI data and the National Level Carbon Stock dataset done by the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) Pantropical. Edaphic interfaces were idenfied using by a 250 m buffer around contrasting soil types. Upland-lowland interfaces identified by a 250 m buffer along upland and lowland habitats. Classification of Landsat 8 was used to identify ecotones in the study area. The results of the spatial components were then compared with the habitat transformation map which shows populated areas. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die uiteindelike doel van bewaringsbeplanning is om voortbestaan van biodiversiteit te verseker. Biodiversiteitspatrone en ekologiese prosesse is belangrike aspekte in die bewaring van biodiversiteit. Alhoewel die meeste navorsers in bewaringsbeplanning fokus op teiken biodiversiteitspatrone, kan die voortbestaan van ekologiese en evolusionêre prosesse van biodiversiteit verseker word deur insluiting in bewaringsbeplanning. Ekologiese prosesse is die belangrikste drywers, of onderhouers, van biodiversiteit. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was dus om die ruimtelike komponente van ekologiese prosesse in 'n gedeelte van die Kavango Zambezi oorgrensbewaringsgebied te identifiseer en te karteer om te help met implementering van biota bewegingsdeurlope. Verskillende metodes is al gebruik om gepaste deurlope te identifiseer, maar min navorsing is gedoen oor definisie en kartering van ekologiese prosesse om te verseker dat die deurlope biodiversiteit sal onderhou en genereer. 'n Deeglike literatuurstudie is gedoen om 'n lys op te stel van ekologiese prosesse wat belangrik is in die handhawing van biodiversiteit in die gebied. Ruimtelike komponente van ekologiese prosesse is gekarteer as oppervlak elemente gebonde aan lineêre omgewingskoppelvlakke of gradiënte. Die laaste deel van die navorsing was om geskikte bewegingsdeurlope, gebaseer op ekologiese prosesse, voor te stel. Die resultate sluit vyf ruimtelike komponente in: rivierdeurlope, gebiede van hoë koolstofsekwestrasie, edafiese koppelvlakke, hoogland-Laeveld koppelvlakke en grensekotone. Rivierdeurlope is gekarteer met behulp van 'n 1000 meter buffer aan weerskante van laagliggende riviere en 500 meter buffer rondom riviere in die hooglande. ‘n Kaart wat die koolstofsekwestrasiepotensiaal van plantegroei in die studie area toon is gemaak met behulp van Moderate-Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) afgeleide NDVI data en ʼn koolstofvoorraaddatastel (National Level Carbon Stock dataset) voorsien deur die Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC). Pantropiese edafiese koppelvlakke is geïdentifiseer met behulp van 'n 250 meter buffer rondom kontrasterende grondtipes. Hoogland-Laeveld koppelvlakke is geïdentifiseer deur 'n 250 meter buffer langs die berg en laagland habitatte. Klassifikasie van Landsat 8 data is gebruik om ekotone in die studie area te identifiseer. Die resultate van die ruimtelike komponente is vergelyk met die habitattransformasiekaart wat bevolkte gebiede toon.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Thesis (MScAgric (Conservation Ecology and Entomology)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This study assessed (a) the inclusion of local communities in the process of the establishment and management of Parque Nacional do Limpopo (PNL); (b) local community resources use practices, livelihoods strategies, land resources use and ownership and institutional arrangements at the grassroots; and (c) attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards the park and its implications for the sustainability of the park. The study shows that local stakeholders were left out in the planning and implementation processes of the park, which was through top-down approach. There was a lack of involvement of local communities and co-ordination with local stakeholders concerning on-the-ground activities. Local community participation occurs through consultation, thereby depriving primary stakeholders of any decision-making power. However, the study notes that the ongoing interaction between the park management, community advocacy organisations and local communities in the park represents a positive step towards the evolving practice of participatory governance of the protected area. It is also shown that local communities have diverse livelihood strategies, including subsistence agriculture, livestock herding, forest products harvesting, small businesses, handicrafts and cash remittances by migrate labourers. It is worth noting that land and forest resources use constitutes the foundation of their livelihood strategies. Local communities considered land to belong to traditional land chiefs who head local socio-cultural and political organizations in rural areas. They allocate land and control access to natural resources. Other community members asserted that the land belongs to the respective families that inherited and use it. The legal framework in Mozambique authorises the establishment of new institutions at the grassroots. This overlaps with the pre-existing traditional institutions in the rural areas, resulting in power conflicts and in some cases disruption of local institutions for governance ...