The Ecological Reserve: Towards a common understanding for river management in South Africa

The legal requirement for an Ecological Reserve established in South Africa\'s water law is commonly regarded by stakeholders as being in direct competition with the needs of humans. This has resulted in much debate and varying interpretations of the meaning and purpose of the Ecological Reserve. However, the requirement for water that is allocated to sustain ecosystem functions is directly aligned with options for human use arising from rivers to deliver a suite of ecosystem goods and services to society. In this paper, we propose a conceptual approach to support a more constructive debate around the role and function of the Reserve in the sustainable use and protection of a suite of benefits to society. The approach proposes that debate be structured around managing for a dynamic ecological state in rivers that would in turn achieve the desired (albeit dynamic) mix of goods and services to a wide range of stakeholders. These stakeholders come from widely differing socio-economic backgrounds, and their needs may be either for the direct use of water and associated resources located within the macro channels of rivers, or for their use in supporting social and economic activity remote from the river. The paper shows how goods and services concepts can provide an approach that contributes to developing a shared understanding that facilitates decisions on water allocations. The implication is that when water allocations can be evaluated comparatively it creates greater awareness of each other\'s needs and interdependencies and value is attached to a greater diversity of benefits and costs. This in turn allows for opportunities to achieve more equitable recognition and allocation of the resources associated with rivers. The approach assists in making the conceptual link between goods and services that arise from constructed production systems, and those that arise from natural production systems (i.e. ecosystems). Off-site as well as on-site use of river goods and services (the latter being catered for by the Ecological Reserve) can in this way be brought into debate in a way that promotes wider appreciation of society\'s diverse uses of river resources. In doing so it promotes interest-based participation as intended by legislation. Water SA Vol.32 (3) 2006: pp.403-40

The Ecological Reserve: Towards a Common Understanding for River Management in South Africa

The legal requirement for an Ecological Reserve established in South Africa's water law is commonly regarded by stakeholders as being in direct competition with the needs of humans. This has resulted in much debate and varying interpretations of the meaning and purpose of the Ecological Reserve. However, the requirement for water that is allocated to sustain ecosystem Reserve. However, the requirement for water that is allocated to sustain ecosystem functions is directly aligned with options for human use arising from rivers to deliver a suite of ecosystem goods and services to society. In this paper, we propose a conceptual approach to support a more constructive debate around the role and function of the Reserve in the sustainable use and protection of a suite of benefits to society. The approach proposes that debate be structured around managing for a dynamic ecological state in rivers that would in turn achieve the desired (albeit dynamic) mix of goods and services to a wide range of stakeholders. These stakeholders come from widely differing socio-economic backgrounds, and their needs may be either for the direct use of water and associated resources located within the macro channels of rivers, or for their use in supporting social and economic activity remote from the river. The paper shows how goods and services concepts can provide an approach that contributes to developing a shared understanding that facilitates decisions on water allocations. The implication is that when water allocations can be evaluated comparatively it creates greater awareness of each other's needs and interdependencies and value is attached to a greater diversity of benefits and costs. This in turn allows for opportunities to achieve more equitable recognition and allocation of the resources associated with rivers. The approach assists in making the conceptual link between goods and services that arise from constructed production systems, and those that arise from natural production systems (i.e. ecosystems). Off-site as well as on-site use of river goods and services (the latter being catered for by the Ecological Reserve) can in this way be brought into debate in a way that promotes wider appreciation of society's diverse uses of river resources. In doing so it promotes interest-based participation as intended by legislation

Stakeholder connectedness and participatory water resource management in South Africa

Establishment of catchment management agencies (CMAs) is central to South Africa’s new policy vision for achieving decentralised, participatory integrated water resource management. However, CMAs cannot directly engage every individual stakeholder – inputs will need to be channelled via a hierarchical representation system. The issue of ‘connectedness’ is crucial: how do interest groupings interact across and between scales? Research in the Inkomati catchment suggests that current levels of organisation, communication and capacity could result in inequitable, unsustainable participatory decisions. Large imbalances in degree of organisation and negotiating power exist between different sectors and regions. Though some cooperative initiatives exist, there appears to be a greater focus on engaging government or legal processes, contrary to the intentions of the new water policy. Suggested interventions include: capacity building for disadvantaged groups; facilitation of catchment-based fora as vehicles for co-learning and relationship-building; and educating all stakeholders about the new water policy. All must create awareness of benefits of engaging other stakeholders and the future CMA, and thus an imperative for resource users to align themselves towards this goal.Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biolog

Components of resistance to sorghum shoot fly, Atherigona soccata

Sorghum shoot fly, Atherigona soccata is one of the major constraints in sorghum production, and host plant resistance is one of the components to control sorghum shoot fly. Thirty sorghum genotypes were evaluated for different mechanisms of resistance and morphological and agronomic traits during the rainy and postrainy seasons. The sorghum genotypes, Maulee, Phule Anuradha, M 35-1, CSV 18R, IS 2312, Giddi Maldandi, and RVRT 3 suffered lower shoot fly damage, and also exhibited high grain yield potential during the postrainy season. ICSB 433, ICSV 700, ICSV 25019, ICSV 25022, ICSV 25026, ICSV 25039, PS 35805, Akola Kranti, and IS 18551 exhibited antixenosis for oviposition and antibiosis against sorghum shoot fly, A. soccata. Leaf glossiness, plant vigor, leafsheath pigmentation and trichomes were associated with resistance/susceptibility to shoot fly. Path coefficient analysis indicated that direct effects and correlation coefficients of leaf glossiness, plant vigor, plant height, plant color and trichomes were in the same direction, suggesting that these traits can be used to select sorghum genotypes for resistance to shoot fly. Principal co-ordinate analysis based on shoot fly resistance traits and morphological traits placed the test genotypes into different groups. The genotypes placed in different groups can be used to increase the levels and broaden the genetic base of resistance to shoot fly. The environmental coefficient of variation and phenotypic coefficient of variation for shoot fly resistance and morphological traits were quite high, indicating season specific expression of resistance to sorghum shoot fly. High broadsense heritability, genetic advance and genotypic coefficient of variation suggested the predominance of additive nature of genes controlling shoot fly resistance, suggesting that pedigree breeding can be used to transfer shoot fly resistance into high yielding cultivars. This information will be useful for developing shoot fly-resistant high yielding cultivars for sustainable crop production