Social learning for public participation in environmental governance: the case of Knysna Municipality
- Authors: Currie, Bianca
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Environmental policy -- South Africa -- Knysna -- Social aspects , Environmental management -- South Africa -- Knysna
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/29852 , vital:30785
- Description: Democratic environmental governance in complex systems requires an adaptive management approach involving a diversity of stakeholders in collaborative learning and decision-making. The decisions are value-laden, and local municipalities are struggling to reconcile the diversity of values, and balance varied and diverse social and ecological needs, for sustainability. Social learning has emerged as a promising approach but the challenge lies in effective implementation, practice and assessment of social learning. This thesis explored public participation practices in environmental governance in the Knysna Municipality and went on to develop a social learning procedural model for public participation, as well as assessment criteria for monitoring social learning processes. The model and criteria provide a foundation and the tools needed to operationalise social learning for adaptive management in environmental governance in complex systems.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Investigating the effectiveness of microcatchments at enhancing transplant performance in Nama-Karoo riparian ecosystem restoration
- Authors: Jackson, Andrew St. John , Wigley, Benjamin , Schumann, Bonnie , Currie, Bianca
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Arid regions agriculture , Environmental degradation , Range ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7469 , vital:21782
- Description: Globally agricultural rangelands have been subjected to degradation through over-utilization. The loss of productivity of agricultural rangelands around the world has led to the development of methods to restore the productivity of these areas. In South Africa, extensive areas of the Nama-Karoo have been degraded or transformed due in part to unsustainable agricultural activities. The development of restoration methods which are easily implementable and financially viable could increase the probability of stakeholders implementing restoration activities on privately owned land. The removal of the degrading factor is not sufficient to reverse the degradative trend in dryland environments. Active measures must be implemented to arrest the degradation cascade. The climatic conditions of the rangelands of South Africa are limiting to plant performance and the favourable conditions are sporadic. The translocation of plants should be combined with the amelioration of the local conditions. This study tested the restoration technique of microcatchments in association with plant translocation. The effects of microcatchments and planting combinations which were best suited to the survival and performance of the transplants were determined through a field trail. The results showed that microcatchments created microsites which were conducive to transplant survival and growth, including nutrient accumulation and increased soil moisture. The success of the method was dependent on the planting combination used. Plants which are adapted to inundation and the saline conditions of the site performed better. Plants which were older at the time of translocation had higher survival rates than younger transplants. In the conditions of this site, planting adjacent to the microcatchments was necessary to avoid inundation induced mortalities. The environmental conditions of the Nama-Karoo necessitate the coordination of restoration activities with the predicted favourable conditions in order to improve the success of restoration activities.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Cost-benefit analysis of land restoration in the Assegaaibos Catchment Area with regard to water yield and tourism benefit
- Authors: Currie, Bianca
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Reclamation of land -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Assegaaibos Catchment Area , Land use -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Assegaaibos Catchment Area
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10751 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/726 , Reclamation of land -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Assegaaibos Catchment Area , Land use -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Assegaaibos Catchment Area
- Description: With the emergence of the new field of resource economics, one now has the ability to value and to include natural resources in decision making. This thesis aims to explore the valuation of natural resources by reviewing the economic values, techniques, methods and ecological aspects of restoration. Assegaaibos mountain catchment in the Western Cape Province has been used as a case-study example. A cost-benefit analysis of the restoration of the mountain catchment, in terms of the direct benefits of water and tourism, has been performed. The costs of restoration were observed to see whether they outweighed the benefits (income) derived (water and tourism). The results show that the water and tourism benefits did outweigh the costs of a basic restoration scenario. However, the basic restoration scenario did not fulfil the ecological requirements of the project. The results also illustrated that in the moderate restoration scenario, costs only outweighed the benefits when a three percent discount rate was applied. With the optimistic restoration scenario, costs outweighed benefits only when an eight percent discount rate was used. In the comprehensive restoration scenario, costs were shown to outweigh by far the water and tourism benefits over a thirty-year time frame. However, it should be noted that the deterioration of the environment (accelerated erosion, reinvasion, reduced water quality) was not factored into the costs of failure to rehabilitate.
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- Date Issued: 2007