The importance of alien plants in the well-being of rural communities in northern Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

A serological survey of leptospirosis in cattle originating from rural communities of the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in South Africa was carried out between March 2001 and December 2003. The survey was designed as a 2-stage survey, using the local dip tank as the primary sampling point. In total, 2021 animals from 379 dip tanks in 33 magisterial districts were sampled and tested with the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The apparent prevalence at district level was adjusted for clustering and diagnostic test sensitivity and specificity and displayed in maps. The prevalence of leptospirosis in cattle originating from communal grazing areas of KZN was found to be 19.4% with a 95% confidence interval of 14.8-24.1 %. At district level the prevalence of leptospirosis varied from 0 to 63 % of cattle. Bovine leptospirosis was found to occur in communal grazing areas throughout the province with the exception of 2 districts. The southeastern regions showed a higher prevalence than other areas of the province; while in some of the northern and western districts a lower prevalence was noted. Several serovars were detected by the MAT and although Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona occurred most frequently, serovars tarrasovi, bratislava, hardjo, canicola and icterohaemorrhagica were also frequently identified. The findings of the survey are discussed.

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Evaluating conditions for successful co-management of subsistence fisheries in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892905002195 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 165-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

VICTORIA R. NAPIER ◽

GEORGE M. BRANCH ◽

JEAN M. HARRIS

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Rural Communities ◽

National Government ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Local Institutions ◽

Top Down ◽

Subsistence Fisheries ◽

Perceived Success ◽

Kwazulu Natal

Conditions important for the success of co-management have repeatedly been identified, but their relative influence has not been quantitatively evaluated. To investigate the implementation of co-management in 11 subsistence fisheries within seven rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, perceptions of the responsible authorities and the fishing communities were surveyed. Of 16 conditions often considered important for the success of co-management, only nine were correlated with perceived success, the most strongly correlated being (1) benefits of co-management must exceed costs of participation, (2) training and empowerment, and (3) existence of a long-term ‘champion’ to drive the process. The perceptions of the authorities concurred with those of the communities with regards to the attainment of conditions, but views on the success of co-management differed significantly owing to disagreements that were specific to three particular fisheries. Both groups agreed that co-management is a viable improvement on top-down authoritarian imposition of regulations. However, it takes time to become effective; perceived success was directly correlated with how long individual programmes had been operating. Failure to devolve power from national government to local institutions, and delays in awarding subsistence permits, remain the major stumbling blocks to full realization of co-management.

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The reconstitution of African women's spiritualities in the context of the Amazwi Abesifazane (Voices of Women) project in KwaZulu-Natal (1998-2005)

10.51415/10321/454 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Bernice Stott

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Narrative Therapy ◽

Well Being ◽

National Archive ◽

The Body ◽

Government Support ◽

African Women ◽

Primary Data ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Kwazulu Natal

This study will investigate and critically evaluate the reconstitution of African women’s spiritualities in the context of the Amazwi Abesifazane project. This project forms part of the endeavours of Create Africa South, a Non Governmental Organisation situated in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, which was initiated by the artist Andries Botha. It encourages women, post trauma, to ‘re-member’ themselves by creating memory cloths of embroidery and appliqué reflecting on their experiences in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa. This interdisciplinary study theorises that it is an archive that speaks about African women resisting destructive forces and reconstituting their spiritualities through the therapeutic effects of creativity. The study will not include research into the many other activities undertaken by Create Africa South. Rupture is implied in the use of the word ‘reconstitution’. Reconstitution encompasses the act of constituting again the character of the body, mind and spirit as regards health, strength and well-being of the women (McIntosh, 1970:261). In this study, spirituality is defined as the way in which the women in the Amazwi Abesifazane project reflect upon and live out their belief in God. The power of storytelling is examined from the perspectives of narratology, narrative therapy, sewing and orality/literary studies as resources for the women’s reclamation of their lives. Defining feminisms in South Africa is problematised by issues of race, class and culture. In a context of poverty, everyday survivalist strategies are the diverse forms of resistance seen in the Amazwi Abesifazane project. The women’s stories, cloths and interviews are triangulated as primary data. They are examples of the rich art of resistance against despair and are located in a paradigm of hope. In conclusion, I strongly call for government support in declaring the project a national archive. The multidimensional mediums of the Amazwi Abesifazane/ UbuMama projects nurture the women’s creativity and revitalise their spiritualities towards personal and national transformation.

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The vegetation of Tshanini Game Reserve and a comparison with equivalent units in the Tembe Elephant Park in Maputaland, South Africa

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v47i1.67 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

J.Y. Gaugris ◽

W.S. Matthews ◽

M.W. Van Rooyen ◽

J. Du P. Bothma

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Local Communities ◽

Management Decisions ◽

The Past ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Renewable Natural Resources ◽

Game Reserve ◽

Northern Maputaland

The Tembe Elephant Park was proclaimed in 1983 after negotiations between the then KwaZulu Bureau of Natural Resources and the Tembe Tribal Authority in consultation with the local communities of northern Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The park boundaries were subsequently fenced and animal numbers started to increase. The fence has kept the utilisation of renewable natural resources by the local communities at bay for the past 19 years. In this period, the vegetation of the park has been utilised only by the indigenous fauna, but it has been affected by management decisions and possibly also regional environmental changes.

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Protected areas and environmental conservation in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: on HEIs, livelihoods and sustainable development

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/ijshe-05-2020-0157 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Inocent Moyo ◽

Hlengiwe Marvelous Sweetness Cele

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Environmental Conservation ◽

Developmental Needs ◽

Content Type ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Micro Level

Purpose The paper aims to advocate for innovative approaches in terms of the involvement of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the conservation of the environment, which fully considers and includes the developmental needs of indigenous communities while at the same time protecting the environment. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative study of indigenous communities and protected area (PA) authorities in Okhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this paper explores the potential of the engagement of HEIs in capacitating indigenous communities to unleash their development potential towards reducing poverty and, thus accelerating the implementation of sustainable development goal one (SDG 1). Findings The paper shows that the enforcement of stringently protectionist policies in environmental conservation in PAs does very little to address issues of poverty because it leads to the marginalisation of indigenous communities and thereby their exclusion from using resources, which should benefit them. This undermines sustainable development, particularly the attainment of SDGs such as Goal 1, which targets ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. Originality/value Using the case of environmental management and governance of a PA in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this paper highlights the fact that the attainment of SDG 1 can start at a micro-level and HEIs have a role to play in terms of collaborating with and understanding the needs of the rural communities so that research and innovation are geared towards meeting such needs. In this way, the paper advances the case of how the HEI-rural community-SDG 1 nexus can be established.

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Assessment of a ground-based lightning detection and near real-time warning system in the rural community of Swayimane, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-20-0116.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maqsooda Mahomed ◽

Alistair D. Clulow ◽

Sheldon Strydom ◽

Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi ◽

Michael J. Savage

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Warning System ◽

Lightning Activity ◽

Lightning Flash ◽

Short Message ◽

Remote Server ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Education And Awareness ◽

Multiple Network

AbstractClimate change projections of increases in lightning activity are an added concern for lightning-prone countries such as South Africa. South Africa’s high levels of poverty, lack of education and awareness, as well as a poorly developed infrastructure increases the vulnerability of rural communities to the threat of lightning. Despite the existence of national lightning networks, lightning alerts and warnings are not disseminated well to such rural communities. We therefore developed a community-based early warning system (EWS) to detect and disseminate lightning threats and alerts in a timeous and comprehensible manner within Swayimane, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The system comprised of an electrical field meter and a lightning flash sensor with warnings disseminated via audible and visible alarms on-site and with a remote server issuing short message services (SMSs) and email alerts. Twelve months of data (February 2018-February 2019) were utilized to evaluate the performance of the EWS’s detection and warning capabilities. Diurnal variations in lightning activity indicated the influence of solar radiation, causing convective conditions with peaks in lightning activity occurring during the late afternoon and early evening (between 14h00 and 21h00) coinciding with learners being released from school and when most workers return home. In addition to detecting the threat of lightning, the EWS was beneficial in identifying periods that exhibited above-normal lightning activity with two specific lightning events examined in detail. Poor network signals in rural communities was an initial challenge delaying data transmission to the central server until rectified using multiple network providers. Overall, the EWS was found to disseminate reliable warnings timeously.

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Frequency of consumption of cariogenic food items by 4-month-old to 24-month-old children: comparison between two rural communities in KwaZulu–Natal, South Africa

International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition ◽

10.1080/09637480500081464 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 95-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

>Jennifer M. MacKeown ◽

Mieke Faber

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Food Items ◽

Kwazulu Natal

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Ascertaining the Impact of Post-Commencement Finance on Business Rescue in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

The Journal of Social Sciences Research ◽

10.32861/jssr.63.236.244 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 236-244

Author(s):

Dr. Surendran Pillay ◽

Dr. Rajendra Rajaram ◽

Kajal Ramnanun

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Well Being ◽

Time Frame ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Qualitative Research Design ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Corporate Rescue ◽

The Impact ◽

Cash Basis

Corporate rescue in South Africa has been bedevilled by many challenges. The new South African Companies Act 71 of 2008 (hereafter referred to as “the Act”), which came into effect in May 2011 contains a new chapter titled “Business rescue and Compromise with Creditors”. Post commencement finance (PCF) is finance or credit approved for a company in business rescue, which is regulated by section 135 of the South African Companies Act. The Act provides for companies to secure PCF as turnaround investment to secure its financial well-being. However, it is difficult for a distressed business to access PCF as it is challenging to operate on a cash basis when they face the likelihood of insolvency or forced sale of their assets to remain sustainable. This was evident during the recent global financial crises when obstacles to accessing PCF were identified as the chief deterrent for businesses that require rescue or reorganization (Pretorius and Du Preez, 2013). A review was performed to assess what the impact was, of a distress company obtaining PCF in KZN. Empirical research includes a qualitative research design engaged to explore the impact of PCF on the success of business rescue efforts for distressed companies in KZN. Insights and understandings were drawn from the participation of business rescue practitioners in Kwa Zulu Natal. This included addressing the challenges of obtaining PCF and what finance is available. The findings from the literature review confirm that the barriers to obtaining PCF are the most limiting factors in rescuing businesses in distress in KZN and the challenges include the time frame within the business rescue plan and that financial institutions are not prepared to support a business rescue without collateral.

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