Integrating conservation and development : a study of KwaJobe.

Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.Low levels of development, increasing levels of environmental degradation and poverty are features which characterise many rural areas in the Developing World. The socio-economies of these rural communities are primarily founded on the direct utilization of the natural resource base. The challenge faced by rural communities is thus to achieve socio-economic growth and stability in conjunction with environmental conservation and stability. Integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) have been applied in underdeveloped areas with the objective of enhancing biodiversity conservation through approaches which attempt to address the needs, constraints and opportunities faced by the rural communities. While successes have been recorded, critical analyses by researchers have found that few projects have met their objectives. This case study in KwaJobe, KwaZulu-Natal, attempts to ascertain the development priorities as identified by the community. The participatory rural appraisal techniques utilized in this study provide a valuable approach for local people to provide information to outsiders, as well as to analyse their own circumstances with reference to natural resource management. The findings of the study indicate that the community is characteristic of many rural communities in underdeveloped areas. The development priorities identified by the community focus on economic and social welfare needs. The presentation of two natural resource based development models, ie, a resource based tourism development and an irrigation development, were used to interpret the development preferences and priorities of the community. From this it was possible to ascertain that the communities development priorities do not include natural resource management or environmental conservation. Development initiatives which rank these criteria as the primary objective do not induce support from the community. Approaches to rural development thus need to focus primarily on the meeting of community identified needs if they are to be accepted and supported by the community. Methods need to be devised to facilitate sustainable development which offer opportunities for environmental conservation, rather than attempting to achieve development via conservation initiatives. There is thus a need for a change in the focus of ICDPs from using conservation initiatives to facilitate rural community development, to a focus which prioritises meeting the development needs identified by the communities. Attempts can then be made to facilitate environmental conservation by means of integrated development and conservation projects (IDCPs)

COVID-19 – What is the Impact for Tourism as a Vehicle of SMME Development and Incentivizing Environmental Management in South Africa?

The tourism sector is regarded as a modern-day engine of growth and has significant potential to serve as a vehicle for socio-economic upliftment. Evidence also illustrates the potential that pro-poor tourism has for incentivising natural capital protection and ecosystem restoration. This paper explores the impact of the decline in global tourism, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, on incentivising environmental management. This is analysed in conjunction with emerging literature on the impact of environmental degradation on exacerbating risks of zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19. A causal loop diagram was developed to map the system and reflect its structure and functioning and capture interactions. The behaviour of the system was used to explore the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on SMME development. This informed the re-examination of the key constraints identified as currently limiting development and growth of pro-poor tourism SMMEs. The results re-emphasise the tourism sector’s vested interest in investing in the protection of natural capital and restoration of degraded ecosystems. It highlights the need for the sector to act collectively to support recovery from Covid-19, and build resilience by developing a strategic vision for tourism that is more sustainable and equitable, and balances the needs of people and the environment

Legislative Documents

Also, variously referred to as: House bills; House documents; House legislative documents; legislative documents; General Court documents

Characteristics of the IHS-JVN patients, by gradable or ungradable images.

<p>Characteristics of the IHS-JVN patients, by gradable or ungradable images.</p

Numbers (n) and percentages (%)^* of DR severity level among IHS-JVN patients, by their characteristics.

<p>Numbers (n) and percentages (%)^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198551#t003fn002" target="_blank">*</a>} of DR severity level among IHS-JVN patients, by their characteristics.</p

Reports of the prevalence of DR and/or DME in studies of native populations.

<p>Reports of the prevalence of DR and/or DME in studies of native populations.</p

Numbers (n) and percentages (%)^*of level of DME among IHS-JVN patients, by their characteristics.

<p>Numbers (n) and percentages (%)^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198551#t004fn002" target="_blank">*</a>}of level of DME among IHS-JVN patients, by their characteristics.</p

Hydrological modelling of water allocation, ecosystem services and poverty alleviation in the Pongola floodplain, South Africa

The Pongola River Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (PRESPA) project quantified the economic benefits accuring to different livelihood sectors from the water resources of the Pongola floodplain, South Africa. The floodplain carries a diverse economy and ecology which is supported by flood events that once occured naturally but are now regulated by an upstream dam. PRESPA modelled the eco-hydrology which underpins various ecosystem services to determine how this might be managed to alleviate poverty. A model was used to quantify the economic value of the available water, especially the value accruing to the poor. This model linked to three development scenarios to explore trade-offs and outcomes of (1) a status quo, 'unstructured' economy; (2) a structured diverse economy; and (3) a structured 'single sector' agricultural economy. This model gives decision makers ameasure of where water is best used in terms of poverty alleviation and enables them to examine future economic and ecosystem trajectories. In summary, poor households on the floodplain currently have a diversity of income and food sources, making them less vulnerable to economic and climatic shocks, while there is a trend towards intensive agriculture which may deliver higher returns but with greater costs and increased vulnerability

Numbers (n) and percentages (%) of IHS-JVN patients by level of DR and DME.

<p>Numbers (n) and percentages (%) of IHS-JVN patients by level of DR and DME.</p