The West Coast of the South Island has a particular history distinct from other regions of New Zealand because of its physical isolation, its sparse and fragmented Maori occupation, its lack of suitability for farm settlement, and its social and economic links with Australia through nineteenth century shipping routes; many of the goldminers who first populated the region came via the Victoria goldfields and had little relationship with other South Island settlements. This thesis begins with a chronological annotated bibliography of imaginative writing with the West Coast as its setting, then analyses this writing in terms of the West Coast landscape, its settlement history and its four major physical resources – pounamu, gold, coal and timber – and the way in which each has influenced the literature. It further examines the work of five West Coast writers, Jean Devanny, Peter Hooper, Keri Hulme, Jeffrey Paparoa Holman and Peter Hawes, in the context of their imaginative portrayal of the characteristics of the region. It concludes that there is a discernible perception among New Zealanders, fostered particularly by novelists and film-makers who have set their work on the Coast, that the region has iconic status and represents values and attitudes which appeal to the wider audience as distinctive. In his 1940 attempt to encourage a national literature, Monte Holcroft wrote that, “…the spirit of a country, recognisable in history and literature, is a kind of collective definition undertaken by a line of creative writers.” New Zealand has long since developed a healthy diversity of creative literature, but it is argued in this thesis that Holcroft’s definition can now be restated in regional terms; the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand has its own spirit, is in a sense another country, and has been so defined by its creative fiction.

I propose to design a fish market in Puerto Real, a fishing village in the West Coast of the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Being the most important fishing village in the island and fishing being the principal economic activity of this town, this fish market takes the place of a social and cultural center for residents and visitors of the village. The materials and the modern architectural design of the building evoke and interpret the vernacular and picturesque architecture of the structures around town. The location in the water of the fish market pays tribute to the natural resources of the village as well as fulfills the needs of the fishermen and customers to perform their daily activities in the market. The activity around the market becomes a spatial experience that begins with the open plaza that diffuses in the metal structure bridge which ends in the concrete base tower that visually connects the town with the water and the people with the market. The metal and concrete base structure, as well as the white fabric roof of the market, complete the architectural experience and transform this space into the Center of a Little Town. / Master of Architecture

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With only 1.76% conserved West Coast Renosterveld remaining it is crucial to prioritize the conservation and management of this fragile vegetation type. Because of its occurrence on fertile soils, renosterveld has been cleared for cultivation and other agricultural use and is thus fragmented to a critical point. These remaining fragments are subject to extensive edge effects and the exact parameters of a viable fragment must still be determined. The extent of alien grass species invasion into remnant renosterveld patches was determined using data collected using the line-intercept method. Sampling included three different management treatment areas adjacent to old lands: 1) a recently burned area, 2) a grazed area and 3) an unburnedlungrazed area providing a control sample. Additionally all small-scale soil disturbances along the lines were recorded. Results showed that Briza spp., Bromus spp. and Avena fatua were the most significant invading alien grass species. There was a significantly high variation between alien grass cover in each treatment, with the grazed area containing the highest overal! level of alien grass invasion. The control area, with the exclusion of fire and animal activity, showed minimum alien grass invasion. Edge effects were apparent in all treatments, but were lowest in the control area, where percentage alien grass cover significantly decreased after a distance of fifteen meters into the remnant patch. A weak positive correlation between the occurrence of alien grass and indigenous grass was found, as well as evidence of a weak association between alien grass cover and shrub cover. The possibility that small-scale soil disturbances could be an important contributing factor to alien grass invasion was supported by the positive correlation between disturbances and percentage alien grass cover. A positive correlation was found between the occurrence of indigenous grass and small-scale soil disturbances, while shrub cover tended to be less associated with animal activity. It is concluded that the correct management regime could effectively control the excessive invasion of alien grass species into the remnant renosterveld patches. Grazing (including all animal activity and small-scale soil disturbances) was the main facilitator of alien grass establishment - even dominating the prominent consequences of edge effects by facilitating alien grass establishment much deeper into the remnant patches. It could be assumed that a precise balance of low-pressure grazing and fire management should be established to enable the effective control of alien grass species while maintaining optimum biodiversity. Keywords: renosterveld, alien grass, grazing, fire, management, small-scale soil disturbances / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Met slegs 1.76% oorblywende Weskus Renosterveld wat bewaar word, is die beskerming en effektiewe bestuur van hierdie bedreigde plantegroei 'n prioriteit. Die vrugbare grond waarop renosterveld voorkom, het veroorsaak dat dit uitgeroei word om eerder die kultivering van ekonomies produktiewe landbou gewasse moontlik te maak. Dus het renosterveld verminder en gefragmenteer tot 'n kritieke punt. Hierdie ooblywende klein areas bedek met renosterveld, is blootgestel aan ekstensiewe invloede van die omliggende areas en die presiese afmetings vir 'n effektiewe grate renosterveld fragment vir bewarings doeleindes, moel nog vasgestel word. Die male van uitheemse gras spesie indringing in hierdie renosterveld fragmente is ondersoek deur die versameling van data deur die lyn-onderskep metode. Drie verskillende bestuursstelsels vir renosterveld is ondersoek om vas te stel wat die ergste graad van uitheemse gras indringing voorkom. Die studie het 'n 1) onlangs gebrande area, 2) 'n beweide area en 3) 'n kontrole area (wat nie gebrand of bewei is nie) ondersoek. Alle kleinskaalse grond-versteurings langs die lyne is ook aangeteken. Die resultate het aangetoon dat Briza spp., Bromus spp. en Avena fatua, as uitheemse grasse, die belangrikste indringers was en dus die grootste bedreiging inhou. Daar was 'n beduidende hoë variasie tussen die mate van uitheemse gras bedekking aangeteken in elk van die bestuurs-stelsels. Die beweide area het die hoogste graad van uitheemse gras indringing getoon, terwyl die kontrole area (in die afwesigheid van vuur en weidings aktiwiteite) die meeste weerstand teen uitheemse gras indringing getoon het. Die invloed van die omliggende omgewing was ook duidelik sigbaar in al drie die bestuurs-stelsels, maar was duidelik minder in die kontrole area waar die persentasie uitheemse gras indringing aansienlik verminder het na 'n afstand van vyftien meter in die renosterveld fragment in. 'n Swak positiewe korrelasie tussen die voorkoms van uitheemse grasse en inheemse gras spesies was aangeteken, asook bewyse van 'n swak negatiewe assosiasie tussen die uitheemse gras spesies en die inheemse bosse. Soos verwag, is daar bewyse gevind vir die teorie dat kleinskaalse grond-versteurings 'n belangrike fasiliterende faktor is vir uitheemse gras vestiging. Daar was 'n duidelike positiewe korrelasie tussen hierdie grond-versteurings en die persentasie uitheemse gras grondbedekking. Dieselfde positiewe assosiasie was gevind tussen die inheemse gras en hierdie kleinskaalse grond-versteurings, terwyl die inheemse bossie duidelik minder verbind was met die verskynsel. Die gevolgtrekking is gemaak dat 'n korrekte bestuurs-plan die indringing van uitheemse grasse effektief sal kan beheer. Dier aktiwiteite (insluitende beweiding, grawe van gate, mier en termiet neste ens.), en dus kleinskaalse grond-versteurings. was die grootste fasiliteerders van uitheemse gras indringing en vestiging binne hierdie renosterveld stukke. Dit oorheers selfs die aansienlike effek wat invloede van die omringende omgewing op hierdie areas het, deur die uitheemse gras indringing selfs dieper in die fragmente in aan te help. Daar kan dus aangeneem word dat 'n presiese balans tussen lae-intensiteit beweiding (en dus fauna aktiwiteit) en veld brande vasgestel moet word vir die effektiewe beheer van uitheemse gras spesies terwyl die optimum bio-diversiteit terselfde tyd gehandhaafword. Sleutelwoorde: renosterveld, uitheemse grasse, beweiding, vuur, veldbestuur, kleinskaalse grond-versteurings

Analysis of Regional Economic Cooperation Strategies between Penghu and Mainland Special Economic Zones on the West Coast of Taiwan Straits Abstract After the establishment of air and sea transportation links between Taiwan and China, Penghu, which is geographically situated in the center of the cross-strait links shall make good use of its transfer function, by taking advantage of its tax incentives (duty-free) stipulated in "Offshore Island Development Act" and "Cross-strait Mini Three Link Policy" to develop new industries that can satisfy the requirements of "import consumption" and "export promotion." Penghu may foster closer economic and trade ties between Taiwan and Fujian Province, promote cross-strait tourism, expand cultural exchange, and develop sustainable industries that are necessary for continuing the economic prosperity. This study was conducted by a team of three students using the interactive management approach to tackle the main theme of regional cooperative strategies between Penghu and the Mainland special economic zones on the west coast of Taiwan Straits. The researchers looked into the sub-title issues from the economical, social, and governmental aspects respectively. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the public affairs management and research method -- Interactive Management (IM). To make the research results more comprehensive, the interactive management approach was combined with two methods often used in framework analysis: nominal group technology (NGT) and interpretative structure model (ISM). Together with literature review, expert interviews and data collection methods, the researchers gathered all relevant information about Penghu so as to provide a more objective basis for exploring the strategic economic cooperation between Penghu and the Mainland special economic zone on the west coast of Taiwan Straits. To ensure good progress in the panel discussion and anticipate fruitful results from discussions of various sub-titles to turn into specific strategies, the interactive discussion seminar invited local representatives in order to incorporate the views of the people in Penghu. This information can provide reliable reference for the central government planning units in their policy formulation process. Using this approach can solve the problem of suspending issues whenever the interactive management (IM) is used. The seminar was joined by 27 representatives from all walks of life. The NGT process started from exposing the issues, clarifying the issues, voting for the issues, to making paired comparisons, supplemented by ISM software, and finally resulted in enhanced structural clearness and visually understandable connectivity. After panel discussions over the structural charts, appropriate revisions, and confirmation of a final version, 12 economic strategies were produced from discussions of regional cooperation between Penghu and the Mainland special economic zone on the west coast of the Taiwan Straits.These recommendations are given below: (1) requesting the Ministry of Communications to instruct the maritime and aviation companies to open scheduled transport lines within the shortest time for Makung-Kinmen, Penghu-Xiamen, and Penghu¡VShantou lines, and to extend the links gradually to other cities on the west coast of the straits; (2) directing Penghu to work with officials of mainland special economic zones on the west coast of the Straits for development of free trade zones ; it should be consulted through the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) to establish a fair and transparent cooperative mechanism in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of people on both VI sides of the Straits; (3) transforming Penghu into an international duty free zone; (4) requesting Penghu County Government units or related non-governmental organizations to communicate with relevant parties on the other side of the Straits to open forums for discussion of co-operative strategies between Penghu and mainland special economic zones on the west coast of the straits; (5) suggesting the Penghu County Government to ask for more funding for establishing marine life and culture zones, in order to promote green tourism and economic development; (6) requesting Penghu County Government to promote tourism and gaming industries, and also to give more thinking on other possibilities (for example ocean biotech industry); (7) requesting the central government to release the remote island transportation lines to outside operators using market competition to reduce the cost of air fares and enhance tourism competitiveness; (8) suggesting Penghu to proactively develop indoor and outdoor theme parks, on land and at sea, as well as opening of other shopping malls; (9) requesting the central government to lift the bans on the islands development so as to allow foreign and mainland investments to participate in Penghu's preferential land and housing projects, in turn to boost the prosperity of the Penghu area; (10) recommending the Penghu County Government to ask the Taiwan Power Company to strengthen the capacity of wind power, and asking the Taiwan water company to enhance the production of desalination water; (11) suggesting the government agencies to map out the development plans for Penghu and to find suitable areas that can draw the interests of outside contractors in order to strengthen the development and enhancement of their own standards, and to attract more mainland tourists to the island; and (12) suggesting the two sides of the Straits to sign reciprocal tax agreements to reduce the time and labor costs so as to enhance the marketing and promotion of special products with Penghu characteristics. The relationship between individual strategies needs to be further clarified for strengthening and production of enhanced structural connections, in order to determine the priority of strategies and their objective goals. The participants also felt that the most urgent task is to integrate the communication platform between the central and local government units in order to establish effective communication that will help the planning and implementation of cross-strait policies, and in turn conducive to smooth working with other strategies. More public forums shall be set up for open dialogue with various government units. This issue is to be delayed no further, and all strategies shall be given the best implementation, and shall ask local people to take part in public discussions that can facilitate the building of a citizen society. Keywords: Penghu County, Economic Zone on the West Coast of Taiwan Straits,Public Affairs Management¡]PAM¡^, interactive management, regional cooperation

Tesis (MSc) -- Stellenbosch University, 1995. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A map of the different plant communities in a part of the West Coast National Park (WCNP) is presented. The approach of the Zurich-Montpellier school is used for the phytosociological studies. Thirty plant communities are described and related to environmental factors. One new alliance, two sub-alliances, seventeen associations, seven sub-associations and three variations are described. It is suggested that the Willdenowio -- Diospyretum austro-africanae is raised to alliance level and the Eucleo -- lschyrolepion eleocharidis lowered to sub-alliance level. The different floristic groups in which the plant communities fell were Strandveld, Proto-fynbos, marsh, strand and ecotones between Strandveld and Fynbos. A further extensive survey was conducted in the Postberg Nature Reserve (PNR), which forms part of the West Coast National Park, to determine the possible cause of decline in small antelope numbers (duiker, grysbok and steenbok). The potential production of the vegetation of the Postberg Nature Reserve is about 561.64 kg DM/ha/yr. Rumen analyses of the small antelopes were performed in an attempt to assess the possible relationship between plants and animals. It is found that the small antelope utilizes a big spectrum of plants. Different plant communities were structurally examined and it is proved that the steenbok are bolder than the other two small antelope and are prepared to feed in areas having a lower plant density. Duiker and grysbok preferentially prefer plant communities taller than 60 cm. KEYWORDS Braun-Blanquet, community structure, distribution, Fynbos Biome, habitat, plant communities, Raphicerus campestris, Raphicerus melanotis, Strandveld, Sylvicapra grimmia. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Plantgemeenskapskaart is vir 'n deel van die Weskus Nasionale Park (WNP) opgetrek. Die Zurich-Montpellier fitososiologiese benadering is gebruik om die plantegroei te analiseer en te beskrywe. Dertig plantgemeenskappe is geklassifiseer, beskryf, gekarakteriseer en ekologies geinterpreteer. Ben nu we alliansie, twee sub-alliansies, sewentien assosiasies, sewe subassosiasies en drie variasies is beskryf. Daar is voorgestel dat die Willdenowio -- Diospyretum austro-africanae tot alliansievlak verhoog en die Eucleo -- Ischyrolepion eleocharidis na suballiansievlak verlaag word. Die verskillende floristiese groepe waarin hierdie plantgemeenskappe geval het bestaan uit Strandveld, Protofynbos, strand-, vleiland-, en ekotone tussen Strandveld en Fynbos. 'n Verdere intensiewe studie is in die Postberg Natuurreservaat (PNR), wat deel uitmaak van die Weskus Nasionale Park, ondemeem om 'n moontlike verklaring te vind vir die afname van kleinwildsoorte (duiker, grysbok en steenbok). Die produksiepotensiaal van die Postberg Natuurreservaat (PNR) is bepaal op ongeveer 561.64 kg DM/ha/jaar. Maaginhoud ontledings van die kleinwildsoorte is gebruik om 'n moontlike verhouding tussen plant en dier te bepaal. Daar is bevind dat die kleinwildsoorte 'n groot spektrum van plante kan benut. Verskillende plantgemeenskappe is t.o.v. plantegroeistruktuur ondersoek en daar is bewys dat die steenbok minder skugter as die grysbok en duiker is en in oop areas, met 'n laer plantdigtheid, sal beweeg. Die duiker en grysbok verkies plantgemeenskappe wat meer as 60 cm hoog is. TREFWOORDE Braun-Blanquet, Fynbosbioom, gemeenskapstruktuur, habitat, plantgemeenskappe, Raphicerus campestris, Raphicerus melanotis, Strandveld, Sylvicapra grimmia, verspreiding.

Coastal shell middens, a prominent feature of the Mesolithic (11,500–6000 cal BP) archaeological record of western Scotland, suggest a maritime economy based on fishing and shellfish. Despite evidence for the importance of fish and shellfish to diet, virtually nothing is known as to the methods of procurement. Initially, work focussed on the palaeoenvironments of Scottish West Coast Mesolithic coastal sites, to establish the resources available to Mesolithic coastal dwellers. A range of archaeological/ethnohistorical fishing gear and food procurement strategies is described, together with views of field archaeologists, bushcraft practitioners and experimental archaeologists. These perspectives together with palaeoenvironmental data were considered when producing fishing gear utilising resources and technologies available during the Mesolithic. Fieldwork and experiments were conducted at the Scottish West Coast Mesolithic coastal sites of Ulva Cave, the Oban area, the island of Oronsay, and Sand, together with South Uist and the Urr estuary on the Solway Firth. The fishing gear manufactured reflects current debates as to fishing strategies, as such, several archaeological ‘models’ were tested. The gear also enabled an attempt at targeting the main fish and crab species found in the middens; Pollachius virens, Labridae, Pollachius pollachius, Carcinus maenas, Liocarcinus depurator and Cancer pagurus. In addition to fishing experiments, ecological surveys and forage exercises established the species present and available to a contemporary coastal forager, providing an indication as to the vigour and abundance of shoreline species. This data was compared to data from the middens, providing an insight into potential collection strategies. Exploratory procurement and manufacture experiments were conducted that tested a variety of materials, including their suitability for use, while bait tests assessed bait desirability. The results suggest that for Mesolithic groups to successfully exploit the coastal environments adjacent to the West coast midden sites, knowledge of tides and species together with simple manufacturing skills would have been sufficient.

The secondary productivity of communities is inherently influenced by the availability and quality of food resources. Movement of organic matter (OM) across landscapes can connect adjacent systems by providing subsidies of carbon and nutrients, implying that alterations of environments from their natural state may affect the productivity of neighboring food webs. The intact terrestrial and marine environments of Fiordland provide a setting to study linkages between the land and the sea. The first general objective of this study was to determine if large but nutritionally poor (nitrogen-poor, carbon-rich) inputs of forest litter support marine secondary production, and to identify pathways for incorporation of this material into upper trophic levels. Pools of marine and terrestrial OM had distinct values of [delta]�⁵N, [delta]��C and [delta]�⁴S, providing high power to estimate the relative use of these sources by the food webs of the fjord-head deltas. Deposit feeding invertebrates (e.g. Echinocardium cordatum, Pectinaria australis) directly assimilated plant detritus. Heterotrophic bacteria on the surface of the sediment assimilated forest litter and provided a potential food source for invertebrates. Chemoautotrophic bacteria fix CO₂ that originates from decomposing forest litter, thus providing an indirect pathway for incorporation of forest litter into the food webs. In the deep basins the strength of the flux of uptake by chemoautotrophic bacteria through the benthic food web into the upper trophic levels was demonstrated by hagfish (Eptatretus cirrhatus) obtaining 38-51% of their nutrition from these bacteria. The ability of a community to utilize discrete sources of OM relies on the presence of specific functional feeding guilds. Marine algae provide a highly nutritive (nitrogen-rich) food source for the fjord communities and fluxes of algae into food webs are facilitated by grazing invertebrates and filter feeders. The second general objective of this study was to determine how the effective loss of filter feeders from inner Doubtful Sound would alter the flux of marine-derived OM to the food webs of the delta communities. The low salinity environment imposed by the hydroelectric power station in Doubtful Sound caused a large reduction in the abundance of the infaunal bivalves Austrovenus stutchburyi and Paphies australis from delta habitats. Clams could tolerate periods of freshwater exposure of [less than or equal to]20 days duration, but the constant freshwater conditions in Doubtful Sound decreased survivorship. In 2004/05 the biomass of these species in inner Doubtful Sound (7.28 tonnes) was 29 times smaller than in Bradshaw Sound (214.12 tonnes). The associated loss of biodeposits (~91 tonnes(DW) yr⁻� in Bradshaw Sound vs. 1 tonne(DW) yr⁻� in inner Doubtful Sound) may have also altered the flux of nutritive OM to the infaunal community. The river delta communities in inner Doubtful Sound appear to have a higher reliance on forest litter than those in Bradshaw Sound, which is apparent as low values of [delta]�⁵N and [delta]��C for estuarine fish (Notolabrus celidotus, Hemerocoetes monopterygius), which act as integrators of the benthic community. This study demonstrates important linkages between terrestrial and coastal marine ecosystems and highlights the role of functional diversity in facilitating fluxes of organic material through food webs.

Analysis of the Social Aspect of the Strategy for Cooperation between Penghu and China's Economic Zone on the Western Side of the Taiwan Strait Abstract In this study, we (Wen-Chang Hsu, Chen-yu Wu and myself) analyzed possible strategies for cooperation between Penghu and China¡¦s Economic Zone on the Western Side of the Taiwan Strait (SWZ) within the aspects of economy, government and society. The study is based on the public affairs management (PAM) framework. Applying the interactive management (IM) method used from PAM policy analysis, as well as the nominal group technique (NGT) method and the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) method used for project analysis, interactive management seminars were held with participants from industries, government, academic fields, people¡¦s representatives and media representatives. The participants were engaged in sessions for idea generation, opinion writing and recording onto panel papers on the wall. The sessions also included in-sequence description and discussion to clear up problems, categorization of problems according to fields, key problem voting, problem sorting by votes and fields, and problem selection according to scores. The ISM method was then used to build and interpret problematic structure, overlap problem areas, and generate an enforcement structural diagram, which was reviewed and revised to come up with the strategic analysis in the social aspect of ¡§cooperation between Penghu and China¡¦s Economic Zone on the Western Side of the Taiwan Strait¡¨. Through clearing up the enforcement relationship between each item, an enforced structural relationship diagram was created to identify the priority and enhancement sequence of each policy in its implementation, as well as the objectives and directions. Twelve strategies have been identified as follows in our strategic analysis in the social aspect of ¡§cooperation between Penghu and China¡¦s Economic Zone on the Western Side of the Taiwan Strait¡¨. They are: 1.Establishment of communication between the two sides and a mechanism for handling disputes over civil and commercial matters, as well as fishing disputes, arising after intensive cross-strait exchanges, in order to achieve the purpose of rapid processing; a civil communication mechanism and civil or arbitration system can be relied on to rapidly deal with the issues in a professional manner before a general-purpose processing mechanism is established; 2.With consensual support of the majority of county people, effort should be spent in getting the central government¡¦s consent for setting Penghu as the sole gaming district and in formulating a concrete plan for improving the competitiveness of Penghu; 3.The local government should extensively accept the views of non-governmental organizations to develop viable and effective business strategy, and to proactively win the central government¡¦s recognition in placing emphasis upon further development of infrastructure to enhance the people's livelihood and to improve on the competitive business environment in Penghu; 4.Combine local characteristics with related industries such as the featured villas, aragonites, and seafood and cultural landscapes, in order to leverage favorable resources through an established certification mechanism; also strengthen promotion and advocation in the quality of the tourism environment provided; 5.Both sides should set up reasonable, equally treated and mutually trusted counterparts in interaction units to resolve any uncertain issues such as inspection of animals, plants and goods, as well as health care and education, that may occur at any time during cross-strait cooperation. 6.The media and channel of both sides should be leveraged to devise a theme-based marketing plan in order to address the unique history of cultural assets, as well as the unique natural landscape of local resources and humanistic care, environmental protection and green buildings; 7. Investments and exchanges should be planned for the cooperation of cross-strait agricultural and fishery businesses, as well as the tourism industry, on a complementary ground to boost interaction among cross-strait fishing groups and academic communities in order to enhance competitive advantage, technology, management and marketing capacity; 8.Marketing programs should be developed to leverage favorable factors of Penghu in terms of hardware (e.g., natural resources and historic buildings) and software (e.g., human resources, service quality and tourism image), and be effectively managed; 9.Severe punishment on fishing with electricity, toxics and banned gears should be implemented for the protection of cross-strait fishery assets and marine ecology; incentives should be provided for reporting on such misconducts; 10. Passenger cruises and regular chartered flights should be provided within the limit of allowed airway and seaway transportation, in order to enhance the competitive advantage of Penghu; 11.Urge the Government to set up a supervision unit in support of renewable marine resources, for sustainable development of such renewable natural resources; 12.To address cross-strait exchange issues, the government agencies should build a strong planning and leading team for devising comprehensive supportive packages and set-up a unified window for advising on planning matters,. The well-established community forum and neighborhood general assembly have long been a channel for the public sector to voice opinions on governmental order or to seek people¡¦s support on specific policy or construction, despite the participation of some people who merely express their opinions without much interactive discussion and mutual communication, and therefore are not very effective in the implementation of public affairs. By examining the results of this interactive management seminar, it is recognized that the public would be enthusiastic to participate in public affairs, to help in getting the public policies implemented and to boost the administration quality, if the public sector can adopt the approach of a public forum for participants to fully express their views, discuss objectively, study and analyze the issues mutually, and formulate feasible solutions. Keywords: Penghu County, Economic Zone on the West Coast of Taiwan Straits ,interactive management (IM), nominal group technique (NGT), interpretive structural modeling (ISM)

The secondary productivity of communities is inherently influenced by the availability and quality of food resources. Movement of organic matter (OM) across landscapes can connect adjacent systems by providing subsidies of carbon and nutrients, implying that alterations of environments from their natural state may affect the productivity of neighboring food webs. The intact terrestrial and marine environments of Fiordland provide a setting to study linkages between the land and the sea. The first general objective of this study was to determine if large but nutritionally poor (nitrogen-poor, carbon-rich) inputs of forest litter support marine secondary production, and to identify pathways for incorporation of this material into upper trophic levels. Pools of marine and terrestrial OM had distinct values of [delta]�⁵N, [delta]��C and [delta]�⁴S, providing high power to estimate the relative use of these sources by the food webs of the fjord-head deltas. Deposit feeding invertebrates (e.g. Echinocardium cordatum, Pectinaria australis) directly assimilated plant detritus. Heterotrophic bacteria on the surface of the sediment assimilated forest litter and provided a potential food source for invertebrates. Chemoautotrophic bacteria fix CO₂ that originates from decomposing forest litter, thus providing an indirect pathway for incorporation of forest litter into the food webs. In the deep basins the strength of the flux of uptake by chemoautotrophic bacteria through the benthic food web into the upper trophic levels was demonstrated by hagfish (Eptatretus cirrhatus) obtaining 38-51% of their nutrition from these bacteria. The ability of a community to utilize discrete sources of OM relies on the presence of specific functional feeding guilds. Marine algae provide a highly nutritive (nitrogen-rich) food source for the fjord communities and fluxes of algae into food webs are facilitated by grazing invertebrates and filter feeders. The second general objective of this study was to determine how the effective loss of filter feeders from inner Doubtful Sound would alter the flux of marine-derived OM to the food webs of the delta communities. The low salinity environment imposed by the hydroelectric power station in Doubtful Sound caused a large reduction in the abundance of the infaunal bivalves Austrovenus stutchburyi and Paphies australis from delta habitats. Clams could tolerate periods of freshwater exposure of [less than or equal to]20 days duration, but the constant freshwater conditions in Doubtful Sound decreased survivorship. In 2004/05 the biomass of these species in inner Doubtful Sound (7.28 tonnes) was 29 times smaller than in Bradshaw Sound (214.12 tonnes). The associated loss of biodeposits (~91 tonnes(DW) yr⁻� in Bradshaw Sound vs. 1 tonne(DW) yr⁻� in inner Doubtful Sound) may have also altered the flux of nutritive OM to the infaunal community. The river delta communities in inner Doubtful Sound appear to have a higher reliance on forest litter than those in Bradshaw Sound, which is apparent as low values of [delta]�⁵N and [delta]��C for estuarine fish (Notolabrus celidotus, Hemerocoetes monopterygius), which act as integrators of the benthic community. This study demonstrates important linkages between terrestrial and coastal marine ecosystems and highlights the role of functional diversity in facilitating fluxes of organic material through food webs.

Masters of Science / Monitoring of groundwater levels provides a basis for assessing the availability of water in aquifers, thereby informing the decisions on abstraction and uses of such water for various purposes. It provides an understanding of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic influences on aquifer, on temporal and spatial dimensions In South Africa and on a global scale, the lack of adequate implementation plan for the monitoring of groundwater levels has resulted in the lack of data and information on groundwater levels. Resultantly, preventing managers from making practical and appropriate decisions on how groundwater needs to be governed. Currently, there is a growing acknowledgement that adequate monitoring of groundwater levels depends on an implementation plan whereby citizens or local communities are considered crucial partners in generating data and information on groundwater levels. An important contribution of the thesis is the method used is aimed at understanding the current challenges in terms of the implementation of the monitoring of groundwater levels within the institutional setting and to what extent can citizen science lead to the planning of a more collaborative plan for monitoring of groundwater levels. Adopting of the Integrated Water Resource Management framework, in South Africa, further position citizens (community) at the crux of effective monitoring of groundwater levels. This is important to ensuring that groundwater is governed through a bottom-up approach, whereby groundwater resource is managed at local level where groundwater resides, is used and can be best managed. However, this position citizens as ‘citizen scientist” and further demand that they participate collaboratively with other stakeholders such as the Department of Water and Sanitation, Municipalities, Consultants amongst others. In effect, an adequate implementation plan needs to be developed based on the understanding of the involvement of citizens in science, in addition to collaboration between citizens and institutions responsible for the monitoring of groundwater levels. Such implementation plan must clearly defined roles and responsibilities based on the contextual institutional framework. Thus, the study making use of an exploratory qualitative approach, established current practices of monitoring of groundwater levels based on the institutional arrangement and determined current gaps and barriers in term of the implementation of monitoring of groundwater levels. Furthermore, the study and collective management to develop a collaborative action plan for the monitoring of groundwater levels. These drivers were identified as fundamental to collaboration in groundwater resource management, good groundwater governance and within the context of the Integrated Water Resource Management that drive management of groundwater in South Africa. The study identified the lack of adequate participation and collaboration between institutions responsible for the monitoring of groundwater levels. It further revealed that the current institutional setting contrast the bottom-up approach as anticipated under the Integrated Water Resource Management framework. In term of implementation of the monitoring of groundwater levels, challenges identified included the complexity of hydrogeological setting, limited scientific knowledge of the aquifers in West Coast, lack of adequate capacity, vandalism, poor access, lack of adequate funding and poor community participation. Currently, these challenges are aggravated as a result of the lack of collaboration as well as institutional voids due to inactive Catchment Management Agencies. Citizen Science have been acknowledge in hydrological monitoring, as an effective means of project design, data collection, verification of data, community engagement and collaboration between citizen and relevant institutions. Thus, the study recommended a citizen science approach for developing a collaborative monitoring of groundwater levels plan, as it doesn’t not only aligns with the Integrated Water Resource Management Framework but aligns and strengthens the bottom-up approach that is fundamental to Integrated Water Resource Management and good governance of groundwater resources. Based on the amalgamation of the citizen science framework with collaborative drivers, a collaborative action plan was developed. The plan outlined and defined roles and responsibilities for successful collaboration. The recommendations included the need for the development of the Catchment Management Agencies to enable the integration of stakeholders in the management of groundwater resource. Additionally, there is a need to develop a community of knowledge and the integration of Water Users into groundwater resource management. / 2021-04-30