This thesis investigates the role of Venda culture in nature conservation and natural resource management. The project is based on the premise that the survival of human beings is entirely dependent on the extent to which different cultures conserve the natural environment. The researcher assumes that the scientific approach is not the only one that is capable of addressing environmental issues but that indigenous technology has a positive role to play. The study specifically looks at the relationship between the Venda culture and conservation of land, water, plants and animals. In order to achieve this goal, the study was divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter includes the statement of problem, delimitations of the study, the definitions of concepts, the assumptions, and the significance of the study. The literature review provides an overview of the indigenous strategies of nature conservation and natural resource management from a broader international approach to a specifically Venda approach. The researcher looked at the cultural perspective of the four areas under investigation. This chapter is followed by themethodological justification that discusses the social survey as a researchmethod for carrying out this study. The results presented in the fourth chapter comprise raw data from the three sectors of respondents, namely traditional leaders, traditional healers and villagers. Under each item, common responses have been grouped together for presentation and specific responses for the three sectors were presented independently from one another. This has provided the researcher with the opportunity to identify areas of similarities and differences among the three sectors. Both complementary and conflicting ideas are summarised and used as a basis for analysis. The results reflect a high degree of agreement among respondents. The discussion in chapter five was based on the results and relevant literature. The researcher’s approach was to depict the most common views among the three sectors and their conservation implications. In the discussion, the strengths and weaknesses of the Venda cultural approach were exposed in relation to the five sub-problems under investigation. The recognition of the Venda indigenous technology of natural resource management has been proposed because of its importance in nature conservation. In the recommendations the formulation of policy that overlooks local values was criticised. The use of the Venda approach as a basis for the development of conservation projects was strongly recommended. Lastly, itwas proposed that further investigations of specific aspects of the Venda cultural be considered for possible incorporation in future management of the natural environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10975 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Khorommbi, Konanani Christopher |
| Publisher | Port Elizabeth Technikon, Faculty of Science |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MTech (Nature Conservation) |
| Format | 141 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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