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Understanding the relationship between mangrove composition, stand dynamics and resource use in the Ntafufu estuary, Eastern Cape, as basis for sustainable resource use

  • Authors: Mvakade, Monica , Rajkaran, Anusha
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Aquatic ecology , Marine sciences , Fresh water
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49215 , vital:41611
  • Description: Traditionally, coastal communities along the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, used mangrove forests for their livelihoods and socio-economic needs. Mangroves along the Eastern Cape coast are threatened by both natural and human factors. The wood obtained from the mangroves by rural households was used as poles for house and fence construction, firewood, and traditional medicine. This is a threat to the status of several mangrove species in this and surrounding areas. The harvesting of mangrove trees will have a direct and indirect effect on the other biotic and abiotic components of the mangrove ecosystems. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) (currently the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, or DEFF), through the National Forest Act no 84 of 1998, was directly responsible for the wellbeing of the national forests in South Africa. This also includes the mangroves as a specific national forest type. Several estuaries with mangroves occur within state forests. The harvesting and clear-felling of trees for timber and land conversion and associated waste of harvested mangrove poles and laths causes the many changes in mangrove forests. The aim of this study was to develop a framework for sustainable management of the mangroves for the Mtambalala forest management unit. This was done in relation to the requirements of the current legislation, policy guidelines and business plan of the management authority. The aim was pursued through two specific objectives. The first objective was to understand the variation in the composition in different parts of the Ntafufu Estuary, and the population dynamics of the main mangrove species, as basis for the development of sustainable resource use practices. Plots along transects were used to measure seedling to adult ratios, population structure and abiotic characteristics. The second objective was to understand the community use and requirements of mangrove wood from the Ntafufu Estuary. A participatory approach was followed to collect demographic data from each community, the requirements of mangrove poles and behaviour of harvesters. This was used to set up a framework to guide the sustainable management of mangroves based on the current status and stand dynamics of the mangrove communities. There are three mangrove species found in the Ntafufu Estuary: Bruguiera gymnorhiza (black mangrove) regenerates under the mangrove canopy and forms layers of even-aged stands. Avicennia marina (white mangrove) does not regenerate under a mangrove canopy i.e. the seedlings establish outside the canopy. A few Rhizophora mucronata (red mangrove) trees exist in the lower intertidal zone and form multiple stems on stilt roots. The mangrove associate, Hibiscus tiliaceus (wild cotton tree- mangrove associate), forms dense clusters of scrambling stems. Some of the Avicennia individuals show signs of mangrove bleeding and one individual of Bruguiera showed indications of disease. Mngazana and Ntafufu Estuaries had the highest tree densities of 2594 and 1402 trees ha-1 respectively, typical of riverine mangrove forest. The seedling to adult ratio was high in this study: 12.8 for B. gymnorrhiza and 24.3 for A. marina. Abandoned cut stems and laths were found during the study. Bark harvested for traditional medicine and cattle feeding in mangroves was also prevalent and expected to reduce the health of the forest. Mangroves in the Ntafufu Estuary are expanding, and the population structure of the three mangrove species showed a healthy balance between young and mature stems. The harvesting of Black mangrove (B. gymnorrhiza) poles for mainly roof construction is relatively limited. As part of the functions of the DAFF, the use of the mangrove resources has to be balanced with the resource availability from the mangroves, and this should result in a healthy functioning mangrove forest. Development of a participatory forest management (PFM) plan for a forest estate and its forest management unit, require an understanding of the mangrove communities and their dynamics, and the current level of resource use associated with the mangroves. The study recommended that a Mangrove Pole Harvesters Group is needed to practice silviculture through guidance of relevant governmental personnel.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Understanding the underlying resistance mechanism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against Rifampicin by analyzing mutant DNA - directed RNA polymerase proteins via bioinformatics approaches

  • Authors: Monama, Mokgerwa Zacharia
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Rifampin , Drug resistance , Homology (Biology) , Tuberculosis -- Chemotherapy
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167508 , vital:41487
  • Description: Tuberculosis or TB is an airborne disease caused by the non-motile bacilli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). There are two main forms of TB, namely, latent TB or LTB, asymptomatic and non-contagious version which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimated to afflict over a third of the world’s population; and active TB or ATB, a symptomatic and contagious version which continues to spread, affecting millions worldwide. With the already high reported prevalence of TB, the emergence of drug-resistant strains has prompted the development of novel approaches to enhance the efficacy of known drugs and a desperate search for novel compounds to combat MTB infections. It was for this very purpose that this study was conducted. A look into the resistance mechanism of Rifampicin (Rifampin or RIF), one of the more potent first-line drugs, might prove beneficial in predicting the consequence of an introduced mutation (which usually occur as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) and perhaps even overcome it using appropriate therapeutic interventions that improve RIF’s efficacy. To accomplish this task, models of acceptable quality were generated for the WT and clinically relevant, RIF resistance conferring, SNPs occurring at codon positions D516, H526 and S531 (E .coli numbering system) using MODELLER. The models were accordingly ranked using GA341 and z-DOPE score, and subsequently validated with QMEAN, PROCHECK and VERIFY3D. MD simulations spanning 100 ns were run for RIF-bound (complex) and RIF-free (holo) DNA-directed RNA polymerase (DDRP) protein systems for the WT and SNP mutants using GROMACS. The MD frames were analyzed using RMSD, Rg and RMSF. For further analysis, MD-TASK was used to analyze the calculated dynamic residue networks (DRNs) from the generated MD frames, determining both change in average shortest path (ΔL) and betweenness centrality (ΔBC). The RMSD analysis revealed that all of the SNP complex models displayed a level instability higher than that of the WT complex. A majority of the SNP complex models were also observed to have similar compactness to the WT holo when looking at the calculated Rg. The RMSF results also hinted towards possible physiological consequences of the mutations (generally referred to as a fitness cost) highlighted by the increased fluctuations of the zinc-binding domain and the MTB SI α helical coiled coil. For the first time, to the knowledge of the authors, DRN analysis was employed for the DDRP protein for both holo and complex systems, revealing insightful information about the residues that play a key role in the change in distance between residue pairs along with residues that play an essential role in protein communication within the calculated RIN. Overall, the data supported the conclusions drawn by a recent study that only concentrated on RIF-resistance in rpoB models which suggested that the binding pocket for the SNP models may result in the changed coordination of RIF which may be the main contributor to its impaired efficacy.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Underutilisation of information communication and technology in the building construction industry case study : department of public works in the Amathole district in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Camngca, Vuyokazi Precious
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Construction industry -- Technological innovations -- South Africa -- Amathole District Municipality.
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBE
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49407 , vital:41718
  • Description: This study investigated the causes and effects of the underutilisation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the building section of the Amathole Region. The construction industry’s daily processes demand both heavy usages of data and data communication between project participants to meet client requirements. This industry is characterised by inaccurate and untimely communications that often result in costly delays and extensions of the project timeframe. ICT is a potential solution to this problem. The objectives of the study are, therefore, to determine why the above, a technically skilled occupational government institution in the Eastern Cape, does not employ ICT efficiently and optimally during this time of the looming global fourth industrial revolution. The literature review detailed the causes of and impact level of ICT’s utilisation and its potential benefits. For data collection, the researcher held unstructured interviews with a Chief Quantity Surveyor, Chief Architect, Engineer, Building Inspectors, and a Quantity Surveyor who dealt directly with construction projects. The key findings revealed that a lack of understanding of existing and newly available ICT software and hardware technology existed amongst certain senior officials within the building technology. The previously alluded, combined with the fear of the inability to learn and apply such new technology, has led to a culture of resistance to change from these more senior officials to utilise applications such as AutoCAD. The above-mentioned resistance, has also triggered the prevention of access to and lack of ICT resources, training, and inadequate funding, thereby eventually resulting in the underutilisation of ICT within the whole building section. This change also adversely affects all officials, especially the junior officials who have graduated using the most recent ICT technology during their studies. The researcher deduced, from the above findings, that adequate change management and continuous development, combined with the allocation of proper resources, would be necessary for all staff members. It was also determined that investments had to be made in the ICT equipment through the provision of a sufficient budget in the building section at AR.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Underutilisation of information communication and technology in the building construction industry case study: Department of Public Works in the Amathole district in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Camngca, Vuyokazi Precious
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Construction industry -- Information technology , Construction industry -- Data processing Information technology Communication and technology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50632 , vital:42280
  • Description: This study investigated the causes and effects of the underutilisation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the building section of the Amathole Region. The construction industry’s daily processes demand both heavy usages of data and data communication between project participants to meet client requirements. This industry is characterised by inaccurate and untimely communications that often result in costly delays and extensions of the project timeframe. ICT is a potential solution to this problem. The objectives of the study are, therefore, to determine why the above, a technically skilled occupational government institution in the Eastern Cape, does not employ ICT efficiently and optimally during this time of the looming global fourth industrial revolution. The literature review detailed the causes of and impact level of ICT’s utilisation and its potential benefits. For data collection, the researcher held unstructured interviews with a Chief Quantity Surveyor, Chief Architect, Engineer, Building Inspectors, and a Quantity Surveyor who dealt directly with construction projects. The key findings revealed that a lack of understanding of existing and newly available ICT software and hardware technology existed amongst certain senior officials within the building technology. The previously alluded, combined with the fear of the inability to learn and apply such new technology, has led to a culture of resistance to change from these more senior officials to utilise applications such as AutoCAD. The above-mentioned resistance, has also triggered the prevention of access to and lack of ICT resources, training, and inadequate funding, thereby eventually resulting in the underutilisation of ICT within the whole building section. This change also adversely affects all officials, especially the junior officials who have graduated using the most recent ICT technology during their studies. The researcher deduced, from the above findings, that adequate change management and continuous development, combined with the allocation of proper resources, would be necessary for all staff members. It was also determined that investments had to be made in the ICT equipment through the provision of a sufficient budget in the building section at AR.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Unfair discrimination relating to mental illness

  • Authors: Skosana, Hlengiwe
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Discrimination -- Mental health
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47443 , vital:39991
  • Description: Section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides that everyone has the right to equality. The Employment Equity Act, the Promotion and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act and the Labour Relations Act were promulgated to fulfil the Constitution’s goals of promoting equality and prohibiting unfair discrimination. Section 6(1) of The Employment Equity Act promotes equality in the workplace and prohibits unfair discrimination; section 187 of the Labour Relations Act provides that dismissals on the grounds listed in the section are automatically unfair; and section 6 of the Promotion and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act prohibits unfair discrimination in general. International law prohibits unfair discrimination. Article 1 of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation provides that discrimination in the workplace that has the effect of impairing or nullifying equal opportunity or treatment is prohibited; Article 7 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights provides that all are equal before the law and are entitled to protection against any discrimination; and the United Nations Charter and the African United Charter on Human and People’s Rights both promote the right to equality. South Africa has signed and/or ratified these international anti-discrimination laws, and is, accordingly, bound by them. The South African anti-discrimination legislation and international anti-discrimination laws prohibit unfair discrimination, whether it is direct or indirect, or on a listed (that is, a specified ground such as race or disability) or unlisted ground, on a policy, rule or practice. Discrimination based on a listed ground is presumed to be unfair. If discrimination is based on an unlisted ground, the complainant must prove that the discrimination is unfair by applying the Harksen v Lane NO 1997 (11) BCLR 1489 (CC) test. The Harksen v Lane NO test asks whether the discrimination has the attributes and characteristics which have the potential to impair the fundamental human dignity of persons as human beings or to affect them adversely in a comparably serious manner. If the answer is yes, the discrimination is unfair. Mental illness is not a listed ground, meaning it is unlisted. The Labour Appeal Court and Labour Court have, therefore, had to consider whether discriminating against an employee on the basis of their mental illness is unfair, or dismissing them because of their mental illness constituted an automatically unfair dismissal. In the leading case of New Way Motor & Diesel Engineering (Pty)Ltd v Marsland [2009] 12 BLLR 1181 (LAC), the Labour Appeal Court applied the Harksen v Lane NO test and held that the employee’s dismissal was automatically unfair in terms of section 187(1)(f) of the Labour Relations Act. In the recent case of Jansen v Legal Aid South Africa (JA121/2014) [2018] ZALCCT 17, the Labour Court agreed with the Labour Appeal Court decision in New Way Motor & Diesel Engineering (Pty) Ltd v Marsland that dismissing an employee because of their mental illness is automatically unfair in terms of section 187(1)(f) of the LRA, and unfair discrimination in terms of section 6(1) of the EEA. Despite the consistency in case law, the anti-discrimination legislation does not list mental illness as an unfair ground, which means unfairness cannot be presumed. The complainant must, accordingly, prove the dismissal is automatically unfair in terms of section 187(1)(f) of the LRA or that it is unfair discrimination in terms of section 6(1) of the EEA.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Unpacking the link between adaptive capacity, assets and responses of rural livelihoods facing multiple stressors in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Dalu, Mwazvita Tapiwa Beatrice
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: thesis , text , Doctoral , Ph.D
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147103 , vital:38593 , doi:10.21504/10962/147103
  • Description: Thesis (PhD.)--Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2020.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Unravelling the replication biology of Providence virus in a cell culturebased model system

  • Authors: Jarvie, Rachel Anne
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Virology -- Research , RNA viruses , Viruses -- Reproduction , Providence virus
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142339 , vital:38071
  • Description: There has been an increase in the number of viral outbreaks in the last decade; the majority of these are attributed to insect-human or animal-human transfer. Despite this awareness, there is limited understanding of the replication biology of the viruses causing the outbreaks and there are few model systems that are available to study RNA virus replication and viral persistence. In this study, we describe a Providence (PrV)-based model system to study virus replication biology. PrV is a single-stranded RNA virus that can cross Kingdom boundaries; it is capable of establishing a productive infection in insect and mammalian cell culture and it is also capable of replicating in plants. Only one other virus has been reported to infect a similar host range - the Nodavirus, Flock House virus (FHV). First, we performed a bioinformatic analysis of the PrV genome and validated the tools that were currently available to work with this model system in mammalian cells. Our data indicate that PrV infection of human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells results in the production of p130, p104/p40 and VCAP, albeit at low levels. While PrV replication in insect cells is associated with the Golgi apparatus and secretory vesicles, in HeLa cells, PrV replication is associated with the mitochondria. It is interesting to note that FHV replication factories are located on the outer mitochondrial membrane. In an attempt to study PrV virus replication in vitro, we adapted the BioID system reported by Roux et al. (2012). Here a promiscuous biotin ligase enzyme (BirA) was fused to a protein of interest and the expression of the fusion protein in mammalian cells resulted in the proximitybased biotinylation of proteins associated with the protein of interest. Using p40 as the protein of interest, we studied the fusion protein (BirA-p40) in transiently transfected HeLa cells and in a stable cell line, using western blot analysis and confocal microscopy. We faced challenges comparing the data collected using the two antibody-based detection techniques and the lack of BirA-p40 detection when using western analysis was attributed to the associated of p40 with detergent resistant membranes. BirA-p40 was subsequently expressed using in vitro coupled transcription/translation reactions, in the presence of excess biotin. While BirA-p40 was robustly expressed under these conditions, biotinylation of BirA-p40 was not detected. We attributed this to the conditions used in the experiments and given additional time, we would extend the duration of biotinylation, in vitro. PrV replication in mammalian cells was detectable using confocal microscopy however the levels of fluorescence were relatively low. The knowledge that p40 was associated with detergent resistant membranes led us to question the impact of detergent treatment of live cells on the detection of PrV replication. PrV-infected HeLa cells were treated with detergents with varying biochemical characteristics and the impact of these treatments on the detection of PrV replication were evaluated. We observed that linear and non-ionic detergents, namely NP-40 and Triton X-100, were most effective at enhancing the detection of viral replication in PrV-infected HeLa cells. Our data confirm that detergent treatment results in enhanced detection, and not enhanced PrV replication, in HeLa cells. Using the stable BirA-p40 expressing HeLa cell line, we showed that the protein is associated with membranes in vitro, and that the enhanced expression of BirA-p40 results in the formation of greater volumes of detergent-resistant membranes. In addition, detergent treatment of unfixed PrV-infected HeLa cells revealed the presence of the PrV p40 protein in the nucleoli of the cells. This is the first report of PrV proteins, which are translated in the cytosol of the mammalian cells, occurring in the nucleus. Our study has resulted in a deeper understanding of PrV replication in mammalian cell lines. A ‘simple RNA virus’ with only three predicted open reading frames has exhibited high levels of complexity within its elegant simplicity. This study has also highlighted the challenges associated with studying RNA virus replication biology in vitro. Looking forward, the identification of detergent-based enhancement for the detection of PrV replication provides the opportunity to perform more targeted PrV replication studies. The PrV-based model system can also be applied to the identification and analysis of potential broad-spectrum antiviral drugs in vitro. The latter application is particularly relevant considering the increase in the number of viral outbreaks over the last decade.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Unsustainable trade-offs: provisioning ecosystem services in rapidly changing Likangala River catchment in southern Malawi

  • Authors: Pullanikkatil, Deepa , Mograbi, Penelope J , Palamuleni, Lobina , Ruhiiga, Tabukeli , Shackleton, Charlie M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176308 , vital:42683 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0240-x
  • Description: Provisioning ecosystem services of the Likangala River Catchment in southern Malawi are important for livelihoods of those living there. Remote sensing, participatory mapping and focus group discussions were used to explore the spatio-temporal changes and trade-ofs in land-cover change from 1984 to 2013, and how that afects provisioning ecosystem services in the area. Communities derive a number of provisioning ecosystem services from the catchment. Forty-eight species of edible wild animals (including birds), 28 species of edible wild plants and fungi, 22 species of medicinal plants, construction materials, ornamental fowers, frewood, honey, gum, reeds and thatch/weaving grasses were derived from the catchment and used by local communities.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Uphicotho lweencwadi zabantwana ezikhethiweyo eziguqulelwe esiXhoseni

  • Authors: Madolo, Yolisa
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Children's literature, South African , Xhosa fiction -- Juvenile literature , Xhosa language -- Juvenile literature , Translating and interpreting in literature , Xhosa literature , Xhosa language -- Translating
  • Language: Xhosa
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150515 , vital:38981
  • Description: Appraisal of African languages’ children’s literature and its translation seems to be developing at a slow pace. This literary genre seems to be the last on the literary critics’ list. As a result, children’s literature translators seem to do as they please, with no fear that there is someone to critique the work. Translation for children is more than just literary translation, because it is meant for a special audience, whose language skills are still developing. The translator, therefore, needs to be someone dedicated in target language development. This translation needs a translator with a deep knowledge of both the source and target languages and their cultures. This will result in a translation that is readable and acceptable in the target language. The aim of this study was to critically analyse 20 selected isiXhosa translated stories, looking at how they have been translated in order to sound original in the target language. A sample of five stories were taken and analysed looking at their macrostructure. The findings of the analysis were that the isiXhosa stories resembled the English ones. Even the equivalence of the translated versions showed that the translation transferred the message in the source texts. However there were challenges as indicated. The study was done using Skopos theory, which advocates for the translator to always keep their audience in mind. It suggests that the translator should always strive for a translation that is acceptable to the target language. Various strategies can be used by the translator to fulfil this. Some of the strategies found to have been used in the translations are adaptation through omission, addition, addition of target culture specific terms, and changing sentence mode. Generally, the source language message seems to have been successfully transferred to the target language. However, errors in some stories were a cause for concern, as they could deter the target reader’s interest in the stories. Such errors are spelling mistakes, word division errors, incorrect concord use, etc. These errors are a matter of concern in literature, more especially children’s literature where children are still developing their reading skills.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Uphononongo nzulu lwamasiko nezithethe kwiincwadi ezichongiweyo zesiXhosa: "Ityala lamawele no "Ukuba ndandazile"

  • Authors: Diko, Mlamli
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Xhosa (African people) , Mqhayi, S E K -- Ityala lamawele , Tamsanqa, Witness K -- Ukuba ndandazile , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Authors, South African -- 19th century -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Mqhayi, S E K -- Critisicism and interpretation , Tamsanqa, Witness, K -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa literature -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa fiction -- History and criticism
  • Language: Xhosa
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145232 , vital:38420
  • Description: Olu phando lujolise ekubhentsiseni nasekuphononongeni nzulu indima yamasiko nezithethe kwiincwadi ezichongiweyo zesiXhosa ezizezi, “Ityala Lamawele” (1914) ibhalwe nguSamuel Edward Krune Mqhayi kunye no “Ukuba Ndandazile” (1967) ibhalwe nguWitness Kholekile Tamsanqa. Amasiko nezithethe aya kuthi aphononongwe ngala: ukulobola, ingqithi nesithembu. Kwakhona, la masiko nezi zithethe ziya kuthi ziphicothwe kugudlwa kwizinto zesiNtu ezinobuzaza eziqhushekwe zaze zancathama phantsi kwawo. Umzekelo, phantsi kwesiko lokulobola kukho izithethe ezithiwe qhushe phantsi kwalo ezifana nokuhota, ukuyalwa komtshakazi nezinye. Zonke ezi zinto ziya kuthi zivelelwe. La masiko nezi zithethe zichongwe kuba kukholeleka into ethi zitshatshele ngokwendima eziyidlalayo kwezi ncwadi zimbini. Ukubalasela kwawo la masiko nezithethe akwaneli ekubeni indima yawo ityhilwe kwezi ncwadi kuphela, koko indima yawo ithi ityhile banzi ngentlalo kaXhosa. Lilonke, aba babhali babini ababhali ngezinto ezingaziwayo okanye ezibuntsomirha, koko babhala ngemiba echaphazela amaXhosa ngqo. Umphandi uya kuthi aqhaqhe iindlela la masiko nezithethe aqhutywa ngazo, iinjongo zokwenziwa kwawo kwakunye neziphumo xa ethe la masiko enziwa okanye angenziwa ngokusesikweni. Konke oku kuya kuthi kwenziwe egameni lobuXhosa bemveli. Umphandi uya kukwenza oku ngeenjongo zokuphicotha nzulu intsingiselo ngokwamasiko nezithethe zamaXhosa ezama ukutyhila obona bunyani bufihlakeleyo bamasiko nezithethe kunye nokuzalana kwawo nentlalo yamaXhosa. Ngaphezulu, kukutyhila into ethi kwaXhosa amasiko nezithethe ziintsika zokuphila, ngako oko ananto ithile ayithethayo kuthi thina maXhosa ungaphiki nje kuba ezakwaLizwi zidungadungile ngendlela yazo kumzi kaPhalo ze zasahlukanisa nezinto zoobawo bethu. Kunamhlanje nje azinqabanga iintetho ezithi ukunqula iminyanya nezinyanya bubuhedeni, ukuxhela ibhokhwe kuyongxengxezwa bubudimoni. Kule ngxoxo, kuya kujongwa isakhono nobuchule bababhali abathe babusebenzisa njengesixhobo sokukhusela inkcubeko yamaXhosa eyathi yabhunyulwa ngamaNgesi yasala nje ibhityile, yiyo ke ngoku le esele igululwa okwamathumbu ngurhulumente wenkululeko. Lilonke, kwa kolu phando kunconywa ababhali abaziingcungela ekubeni basebenzise ulwazi lwabo lolwimi ekukhuseleni inkcubeko yamaXhosa athi xa ahlomla ngayo uMkonto (2005: v) athi: The study of the survival of cultural traditional customs in isiXhosa literature is an overdue task facing literary critics. Le ngcali ingentla apha ihlaba ikhwelo kubaphandi besiXhosa ukuba banyathelele phezulu bephanda bebhentsisa ubunyani bamasiko nezithethe kuncwadi lwesiXhosa. Olu phando, ngaphezu kwazo zonke izizathu, lusabela elo khwelo. Kwelinye icala, uthi uSaule (1996) xa ethetha ngoMqhayi, nangona uMqhayi lo wayenobuhlobo nabefundisi bezakwaLizwi nokhanyo kodwa akazange ayivumele ingqondo nentliziyo yakhe ithwetyulwe ziinkolo neenkcubeko zasemzini. Ukutsho ngokwakhe oku uSaule (1996: 20) xa ahambisa enjenje: Although Mqhayi was obviously a brain child of the missionaries, he did not, unlike many writers at that time, allow their influence to engulf his thoughts. He uses a Bible as a technique rather than as an instrument that guides him towards predestined objectives. Le ngcinga kaSaule ingentla igxininisiwe kwilixa elingaphambili nguDikeni (1992: 12) xa wayesithi: It is clear that Mqhayi as one of the early writers could not address the political situation of the South Africa directly in his novel. He had to use an extended metaphor to avoid the strict laws of censorship. This he did by using a Biblical story and adapting it to his culture. Ngokwezi ngcali zimbini, kuyaqapheleka ukuba nangona uMqhayi lo ifuthe laseNtshona lazama kangangoko linako ukumthwebula kodwa ukuhlakanipha kwakhe kwamenza wagwencela okwesikhwenene kwiingcambu zakhe, kwisizwe sakhe, kumasiko nezithethe zakwaXhosa. Kungani ke ukuba singangamphakamiseli phezulu lo mbhali ngokuthi simane sindwendwela iimbalo zakhe sihlaba sikhangela ukuba zithetha ukuthini na kuthi sizwe sikaXhosa xa sikule ndawo sikuyo nje? Kwelinye icala, uMkonto (2005) umqhwabela izandla uTamsanqa xa athi nangona wayefundile akazange ayivumele imfundo imntywilisele eludakeni lwaseNtshona hleze buthi obu buncwane bezi ncwadi zakhe zifana no “Buzani Kubawo” (1958), “Ukuba Ndandazile” (1967), “Imitha Yelanga” (1967) kunye nezinye zaziya kufela engqondweni yakhe engakhange afundise umzi kaXhosa ngobuXhosa bawo. UMkonto (2005: 17) uhambisa athi xa ethetha ngoTamsanqa: Most of his experiences which he shared with people at the time were of hardships ... probably these were some of the experiences that triggered the themes expressed in ‘Buzani kubawo’ and ‘Ukuba ndandazile’ Ngokwala mazwi angentla, okona kuncomekayo ngoTamsanqa kukuba uthe nokuba sele ehlangabezana neenzingo zobomi kodwa wabona kukuhle ukuba afundise umzi kaXhosa ngaloo mahla ndinyuka kuba kakade lisiko kwaXhosa into yokuba xa uye wagileka endaweni ethile uze ufundise abanye ukwenzela ukuba bangangeni kulaa mgibe ubuwele kuwo. Bubuntu ke obo. Ubukhulu becala bezinto athe wadlula kuzo uTamsanqa zicazululwe kwisahluko sesibini esidandalazisa ubunzululwazi mlando mbali wobom ngababhali. Okunye, uTamsanqa sesinye sezizukulwana esathi saneTamsanqa lokukhula ngeliya xesha amasiko nezithethe kwaXhosa bezisaqhutywa ngendlela encomekayo kunangoku, kodwa umfundi makaqaphele ukuba umphandi akazami kuthelekisa amaxesha amasiko nezithethe ezaziqhutywa kodwa ubona kubalulekile ukuba icace inkolelo ethi amasiko nezithethe namaxesha awayeqhutywa ngawo awasafani. Kolu phando nzulu okunye okuphambili kukuthi nangona aba babhali babini bathi basebenzisa ulwimi oluntsokothileyo nezagwelo zokubhala ezifihlakeleyo ngendlela enomkhitha kodwa loo nto ibe lulutho kumzi kaPhalo kuba ushiyeke ufumbethe ulwimi lwesiXhosa. Ngaphezu koko amaXhosa ashiyeke efumbethe ulwazi ngamasiko nezithethe ekusafuneka efundisiwe. Ingcambu yolu phando ke ingamasiko nezithethe kusetyenziswa isiThako samaSiko neziThethe esiza kuchazwa banzi kwimihlathi engezantsi. Ngaphandle kokuphonononga nzulu intsingiselo yamasiko nezithethe, olu phando lukwayinkuthazo kwabanye ababhali ukuba bazeke mzekweni benjenjeya ukuzalisa umphanda kaXhosa ngamasiko nezithethe kunye nolwimi olusulungekileyo khona ukuze izizukulwana ngezizukulwana zibe nento yokufunda. Ukongeza, kukukhuthaza abo babhali baneembalo ezintlakekileyo nezibutenxarha ngokwamasiko nezithethe, nolwimi ke, ukuba baziqhelanise nokufunda iincwadi zesiXhosa, bafunde isiXhosa, baphande ngokuzinikela ngemiba yesiXhosa. Njengamntu mtsha, olu phando lukhuthaza olunye ulutsha ngokubaluleka kokulondolozwa kwenkcubeko ukuze isizukulwana esizayo sibe nokufunda kuyo. Uphando olu lujolise ekukhuliseni iimbalo zesiXhosa ingakumbi ke xa sele lubhalwe ngesiXhosa. Likho iqaqobana elibhalileyo ngesiXhosa kodwa ezinye zezo mbalo ziyakhwinisa ngenxa yegrama etenxileyo, umgangatho ophantsi wokusetyenziswa kolwimi ukunonga iintetho, nezinye iziphene. Masibe sisithi ziinzame ekukhucululeni nasekuphuculeni oko kwenziwa ngabeLungu; masingaligxeki kakhulu elo gcuntswana. Enye yezinto ezikhwinisayo kuluncwadi lwesiXhosa kukunqongophala kweencwadi ezibonisa isiNtu sethu ngendlela egqibeleleyo nemsulwa. Iyathuthumba into yokunqongophala kweencwadi ezingembali yethu ebhalwe sithi. Oku kunqongophala kufika kube negalelo elibi kubafundi neetitshala zesiXhosa ezona kufuneka zingcamle ubuncwane benkcubeko yazo kunye nabafundi jikelele. Iincwadi eziya kuthi zisetyenziswe zezo zababhali abaziinjojeli kubhalo lwesiXhosa, uS.E.K. Mqhayi noW.K. Tamsanqa. Isizathu soko asikokuba umphandi uzama ukuthelekisa ababhali koko uya kubachonga, okokuqala, ngenxa yokuba bengababhali abaphume izandla kuncwadi lwesiXhosa. Okwesibini, kunconywa ubuchule babo ekusebenziseni ulwimi nesakhono njengesixhobo sokuphakamisa umgangatho woncwadi lwesiNtu ngokuyeleleneyo namasikonezithethe. Okwesithathu, iimbalo zabo zezinye zeembalo ezithe zaphakanyiswa kakhulungabaphandi de zafumana amawonga ngamawonga. Okwesine, kudederhu lweencwadizesiXhosa ezingaka andinokwazi ukuthi ndilume umthamo omkhulu endizojika ndixakane nawo ndingakwazi ukuwuhlafuna ndiwucokisise hleze ndomiwe emqaleni ndingabisalugqiba kwa olo phando.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Upwelling on the Southeast Madagascan shelf: frequency, extent, and driving mechanisms

  • Authors: Collins, Matthew
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Upwelling (Oceanography) -- Madagascar , Oceanography -- Research -- Madagascar Marine biology -- Indian Ocean
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49060 , vital:41597
  • Description: The southeast coast of Madagascar, namely the region surrounding the town of Fort Dauphin, is an area that regularly experiences upwelling events. Two unique high frequency data sets, UTR data, and wind data retrieved from a nearby airport, are the primary data sets used to investigate the nature of the upwelling, i.e. the area that experiences upwelling, how often it occurs, and its mechanisms. To complement the in-situ data, several different satellite data sources are used alongside the in-situ data to study this relatively remote region, i.e. SST, chlorophyll-a concentration, current, and wind data. The results refine upon previous literature on the topic. The upwelling covers an area of 1o latitude by 1.3o longitude, and occurs on average 14 times per annum. The mechanism driving the upwelling can be attributed to both wind and current, with wind the more dominant driver along the south coast, and current more dominant along the east coast. Separate to the main objective of the thesis is the importance of in-situ data when analysing small scale events such as upwelling events. While the in-situ wind data were found to be unreliable due to its location within a valley, the UTR data were of vital importance in identifying and studying the finer details of the upwelling events. The satellite SST data, by comparison, were lacking in their ability to investigate the upwelling events. The satellite derived wind data, however, did prove useful when analysing the wind as a driver of the upwelling.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urban foraging of wild plants in two medium-sized South African towns: People, perceptions and practices

  • Authors: Garekae, Hesekia , Shackleton, Charlie M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176333 , vital:42685 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126581
  • Description: Urban ecosystems provide goods and services critical to livelihood sustenance, environmental protection and sustainability. However, the potential role of some urban ecosystem services such as the provisioning services, to promote liveable cities and livelihood resilience is seldom considered. This study reports on the prevalence and pattern of wild plant foraging and uses in the towns of Potchefstroom and Thabazimbi, South Africa, based on a random sample of 374 households. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysing data. Foraging wild plants was integral to livelihoods and traditions and provided household energy, dietary diversity, health, and cultural affirmation, among others. About 68 % of the respondents reported foraging wild plants, albeit at varying degrees between and within towns.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urban foraging: land management policy, perspectives, and potential

  • Authors: Sardeshpande, Mallika , Shackleton, Charlie M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149384 , vital:38845 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1371/journal.pone.0230693
  • Description: Gathering of uncultivated food from green spaces, also known as foraging, is observed in urban areas across the world, but the literature focuses predominantly on the global north. Our study examines the existing urban land management structure and its approach to urban foraging in the eastern coastal region of South Africa. Through interviews with municipal officials in nine cities, we identified different stakeholders and their roles in urban green space management. We then used network analysis to represent interactions and influence of these stakeholders, and environmental worldviews to determine organisational and perceptual barriers to and enablers of foraging in urban green spaces. The policy on urban green space management, as well as land managers themselves are amenable to the concept of foraging in public spaces. Lack of knowledge on wild indigenous species and sustainable offtake, ambiguous, coarse, or lacking policy, and normative views of pristine nature may hinder foraging. We recommend pathways for policy and stakeholder partnerships to incorporate sustainable foraging in their biodiversity conservation and land stewardship strategies.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urban nature and biocultural realities:

  • Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Cocks, Michelle L
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175709 , vital:42617 , ISBN 9781000215182
  • Description: There is no longer any doubt that an important component of and contributor to human wellbeing is the natural environment in which people live, work and relax (Summers et al. 2012). Whilst initial ideas of human wellbeing, early in the second half of the 20th century, focussed on objective measures that could be quantified and contribute to humans’ basic needs, they have evolved a great deal since, despite the lack of consensus on a precise definition of human wellbeing (Summers et al. 2012). Over the last five decades the conceptions of human wellbeing have become more complex and inclusive of the more subjective and less tangible components of human existence, including the natural environment (King et al. 2014).
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urban Nature: Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing and Bioculture

  • Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Shackleton, Charlie M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175698 , vital:42616 , ISBN 9781000215182
  • Description: This book showcases the diversity of ways in which urban residents from varying cultural contexts view, interact, engage with and give meaning to urban nature, aiming to counterbalance the dominance of Western depictions and values of urban nature and design. Urban nature has up to now largely been defined, planned and managed in a way that is heavily dominated by Western understandings, values and appreciations, which has spread through colonialism and globalisation. As cities increasingly represent a diversity of cultures, and urban nature is being increasingly recognised as contributing to residents' wellbeing, belonging and overall quality of life, it is important to consider the numerous ways in which urban nature is understood and appreciated. This collection of case studies includes examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and reflects on the multi-dimensional aspects of engagements with urban nature through a biocultural diversity lens.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urbanisation reshapes gendered engagement in land-based livelihood activities in mid-sized African towns:

  • Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Drescher, Axel W , Schlesinger, Johannes
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176346 , vital:42686 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104946
  • Description: Most sub-Saharan African countries are experiencing accelerating rates of urban migration, which bring with it many opportunities and challenges for migrating households, urban planners, governments and local and national economies. At the household level urbanisation may drive changes in the allocation of household labour and consequently social and economic relations. Yet how these are manifest in land-based livelihood strategies of arable cropping, livestock husbandry and the collection of wild products in urban settings has rarely been considered. Here we examine the changing participation rates in land-based livelihood activities by male- and female-headed households along the rural–urban continua of six sub-Saharan African secondary towns. To capture the gendered changes in land-based livelihood strategies along the urban–rural continuum, 1156 randomly selected households were sampled along transects radiating out from the urban through the periurban to rural surrounds. Participation in different land-based livelihood strategies was recorded by means of a questionnaire.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Urbanisation, foraging and household food security in urban South Africa

  • Authors: Garekae, Hesekia
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Food sovereignty -- South Africa , Food security -- South Africa , Urban density -- South Africa , Urban agriculture -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Sustainable urban development -- South Africa , Urban ecology (Sociology) -- South Africa , Nutrition surveys -- South Africa -- Potchefstroom , Nutrition surveys -- South Africa -- Thabazimbi , Wild plants, Edible -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167054 , vital:41433
  • Description: Over the past several decades, the world’s population has been rapidly urbanising, which has resulted in a marked shift of global population from rural to urban areas. About half of the global population now reside in urban areas and is projected to increase to two-thirds by the year 2050. However, the majority of the future urban population growth is projected to be largely concentrated in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the economic prospects normally synonymous with urbanisation, the current speed and scale of urban transformation comes with formidable challenges to contemporary urban society in these two continents. Urbanisation may presents social, economic, health and environmental challenges in urban areas, not least being a shift of the locus of food insecurity from rural to urban areas, leading to poor dietary diversity among many urban dwellers. Similarly, urbanisation alters key ecosystem services and drives habitat alteration and fragmentation, biodiversity loss, proliferation of non-native species and changes on species diversity and richness. The aforementioned changes can result in a deterioration of living conditions and decline on the quality of life for the urban dwellers. However, on the other hand, urban green infrastructure is posed as vital tool in promoting liveable cities and enhancing livelihood resilience. Against this backdrop, this study portrays wild plants, a component of urban green infrastructure, as a key resource in promoting food security and dietary diversity, thereby promoting livelihood resilience and reduced vulnerability, especially of the urban poor. Framed under the ‘right to the city’ approach, this study examined urban foraging practices and their potential contribution to dietary diversity and how they are shaped by and respond to urbanisation in two medium-sized South African towns. The study was conducted in the towns of Potchefstroom and Thabazimbi, South Africa. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was employed for data collection. Multi-stage sampling was employed in selecting the study participants. Firstly, the study towns were stratified into four socio-economic zones: informal, reconstruction and development programme, township and affluent. These zones resemble high density (informal, reconstruction and development programme), medium density (township) and low density (affluent) areas. Then, a total of 374 households were randomly sampled across the socio-economic zones for the main survey (Chapter 3 and 5). A subset of this sample, i.e. 72 participants was considered for dietary recalls, alongside with a random sample of 65 non-foragers (Chapter 4). An inventory of plant species available in a given foraging space was conducted from a total of 136 plots spread across different urban spaces (Chapter 2). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 81 participants (sub population of the main survey) for elucidating data on urban dynamics (Chapter 6). Lastly, complementary in-depth interviews with 46 participants were conducted. The findings showed that different urban spaces were constituted by diverse vegetation, with 262 distinct plant species encountered across the spaces. The majority (60.7%) were indigenous to South Africa. Species composition and diversity varied with space type, being significantly high in protected areas as compared to the other space types. About half (53%) of the identified plant species had at least one documented use, with medicine, food and firewood being modal, in order of frequency. Species composition and diversity differed between forageable and non-forageable species, being significantly high for forageable species. Urban foraging was widespread, about 68% of the respondents reported foraging. Foraging provided food, fuel energy, medicine, and cultural affirmation, among others. Despite the high prevalence rate of foraging, the study did not find any meaningful contribution of wild foods to overall diets. Nonetheless, wild foods demonstrated a substantial contribution in diversifying diets within particular food groups consumed such as vegetables, thus emerging essential in mitigating monotonous urban diets, particularly of the urban poor. Besides, the prevalence of foraging differed significantly between and within towns, being high for Thabazimbi (54.7%) and residents in the outskirts of town (86.2%) than Potchefstroom (45.3%) and residents in the inner part of town (33.3%). Participation in foraging was primarily a function of childhood (91.8%) exposure and experience with foraging, positive perceptions (79%) towards practice, resident in the outskirts of town (86.2%) and low household income (49.2%). The findings indicated that foraging was driven by multifaceted motivations, with culture (91.8%), health (88.7%), livelihoods needs (75.0%) and leisure (73.8%) being the most common. Vacant spaces (54.7%), riparian areas (30%), and domestic gardens (17.9%) were the most preferred foraging spaces, albeit with differences within towns. Similarly, the mean frequency of access varied with foraging spaces, being slightly high for vacant spaces than riparian areas and domestic gardens. The majority of the respondents were unaware of both formal and informal regulations managing urban landscapes, with those acknowledging some awareness falling short of articulating on the specificities of the regulations. Besides, the findings showed that foraging practice was threatened by urban transformation. Foragers perceived that the practice has changed over time, in terms of spaces, participants and regulations. There was a decreasing trend on the number and size of foraging spaces as well as shifting demographic trends of foragers. Moreover, urban transformation brought about a new set of regulations used for managing certain spaces within the urban landscape. However, some regulations prohibited or restricted access and rights to certain spaces for foraging. Hence, this prompted foragers to devise adaptation strategies to cope with the said changing dynamics. Exploring new foraging sites within and outside forager’s neighbourhoods and negotiating access entry were the most frequently mentioned adaptation strategies. This study contributes to the emerging body of knowledge on urban foraging, which has being seldom understood in the Global South.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Use of a non-hepatic cell line highlights limitations associated with cell-based assessment of metabolically induced toxicity:

  • Authors: Weyers, Carli , Dingle, Laura M K , Wilhelmi, Brendan S , Edkins, Adrienne L , Veale, Clinton G
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160290 , vital:40431 , DOI: 10.1080/01480545.2019.1585869
  • Description: Metabolically induced drug-toxicity is a major cause of drug failure late in drug optimization phases. Accordingly, in vitro metabolic profiling of compounds is being introduced at earlier stages of the drug discovery pipeline. An increasingly common method to obtain these profiles is through overexpression of key CYP450 metabolic enzymes in immortalized liver cells, to generate competent hepatocyte surrogates. Enhanced cytotoxicity is presumed to be due to toxic metabolite production via the overexpressed enzyme. However, metabolically induced toxicity is a complex multi-parameter phenomenon and the potential background contribution to metabolism arising from the use of liver cells which endogenously express CYP450 isoforms is consistently overlooked. In this study, we sought to reduce the potential background interference by applying this methodology in kidney-derived HEK293 cells which lack endogenous CYP450 expression.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Use of eco-art education in supporting the establishment of sustainability competencies in basic education: an interventionist case study

  • Authors: Da Silva, Juliana Schmidt
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Environment (Art) , Environmental education -- Brazil , Sustainable development -- Brazil , Education -- Curricula -- Brazil , Eco-art education
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166127 , vital:41331
  • Description: Recent socioecological approaches in Environmental Education acknowledge the complexity of “real-world situations”, which include environmental problems. One response to the challenge of enabling people to develop sustainability is the key competencies in sustainability framework. It can be faced as a guide to planning Environmental Education actions. On the other side, art practices hold potential to expand learning in varied ways. Art can offer the strategies employed in learning processes directed to sustainability, constituting the field of eco-art education. This research aims to investigate the integration of the visions of the key competencies in sustainability and the eco-art education in an Environmental Education project at high school level. Horta and Gastronomia (Vegetable Garden and Gastronomy) is an extra-curricular activity which happens every year at Irmão Jaime Biazus high school in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It addresses food security and sustainability associating the garden, the kitchen and exploration of sustainability issues using eco-art strategies. Action research approach is used, defining two research cycles to explore the effectiveness of eco-art for the development of key competencies in sustainability. The first cycle focuses on the eco-art activities applied in Horta and Gastronomia (2017 group) while the second cycle deals with a post-project intervention designed to observe indicators of the sustainability competencies and further explore eco-art strategies. This study adds to the field of sustainability competencies by exploring teaching strategies through eco-art education. Insight into key competencies in sustainability is given by presenting the investigation of the group of students about a situation of their reality. The activities implemented, classified according to their objectives, are contextualized regarding the competencies and in learning sequences. This research also contributes to the development of the sustainability competencies framework by applying the theory to a basic education level, adapting the work originally proposed to higher education contexts.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Using a spatial resilience lens to understand alignments and misalignments in South Africa’s marine governance system

  • Authors: Hardisty, Shannon
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Marine parks and reserves -- South Africa , Marine parks and reserves -- South Africa -- Management , Marine parks and reserves -- Government policy -- South Africa , Table Mountain National Park (South Africa) , Spatial ecology -- South Africa , Coastal zone management -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164649 , vital:41152
  • Description: In marine protected areas (MPAs), the radically open nature of marine ecosystems, the seemingly contradictory short-term goals of fisheries management (resource use) and conservation efforts (biodiversity protection), the variety of stakeholders, and the inherently political nature of space ha ve contributed to a disconnect between policy and practice. Many groups operate in an MPA at various spatial and socio-political scales, from national government bodies to local community groups, as such an MPA can be viewed as a complex, multi-scale and multi-level social-ecological system (SES). A greater understanding of the multi-scale processes driving the spatial resilience of SES can help address scale mismatches between continuous ecological change and the long-term governance of a seascape. South Africa has a long history of spaces and natural resources being politicised and faces high levels of unemployment and political frustration. Marine governance has been characterised as being siloed, lacking transparency regarding government processes and even between departments, and not properly addressing the needs of local communities; resulting in scale and level mismatches throughout the multi-scale processes (from national policies to local regulations)therefore, it is pertinent to understand the interactions between various national policies, their implementation, and their impacts. Using a spatial resilience lens, I set out to understand scale alignment in South Africa’s marine governance systems as it relates to MPAs. A spatial resilience lens emphasises analysis of both spatial and temporal scales, thus highlighting the multi-scale variables and interactions that occur within a system. I first sought to understand the policy and management across national and regional scales by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with experts which were analysed using thematic analysis. I then approached the question of alignment from a local to national scale by using the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area as a case study, here I carried out a series of workshops and interviews with line fishers, women’s groups, and eco-tourism operators from three different communities. Experts identified six themes when describing the structure of gove rnance in South African MPAs; they consisted of: government departments and marine legislation, management level factors, communication and information sharing, local level factors, biophysical factors, and scale. Communication and information sharing was the most mentioned referenced theme (40.26 %). The relationships between the communities and other actors (i.e. how communities are impacted, or impact on, the Department of Environmental Affairs , the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, and Park Authorities) contributed 67.27 % to the total number of mentions, 91 % of which were from the following themes: communication and information sharing, local level factors, biophysical factors, and scale. My results indicate that weak, top-down relationships dominate the governance system in South Africa. During the Cape Town workshops I applied the spatial resilience lens in three ways. Firstly, the participants collaborated on a mapping exercise discussing the existing zone types within the MPA, as well as developing their own. There was an 87.87 % overlap of community designed zones on the existing MPA zones, however the types of zones designed by the community were different. Secondly, I carried out a document analysis and used information from the workshops to analyse the status and rights designation of important species for different user groups. The results show that the various stakeholder groups, while all active in the marine environment, interact with the ecosystem at different scales and with differing species. The differing interactions between groups result in challenges such as representation and complicated power dynamics between user groups. Finally, I asked participants to discuss factors that affect their ability to gain a livelihood from the sea. The external elements and their effects differed between the user groups, identifying important socio-political interactions. Whilst the external elements were all geographically distinct and localised, the spatial resilience lens allowed for a cross-scale, and to a certain extent cross-sector, understanding of these elements thus producing a more holistic understanding. My thesis shows that user groups operate on different spatial scales within the marine environment as a result of social, economic, and political influences leading to several scale-based challenges. The identified scale-based challenges have contributed to misalignments in marine governance in South Africa. My study shows that scale mismatches have important implications for understanding how marine policy influences user groups and identified pathways that affected policy implementation , and identifies future research application of a spatial resilience lens within social-ecological systems, for example it’s potential use in understanding the gendered nature of MPAs
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  • Date Issued: 2020
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