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

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
VICTORIA R. NAPIER ◽  
GEORGE M. BRANCH ◽  
JEAN M. HARRIS

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.

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 145-151
Author(s):  
D. B. Versfeld

South Africa has hundreds of thousands of hectares of heavily populated and badly degraded landscapes. Past attempts at land management have been either through avoidance or the top-down imposition of “betterment” schemes. Participatory methods offer a new opportunity for communities living within these catchments to share their knowledge and to become involved in planning and implementing the management process. This paper discusses the use of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in a catchment rehabilitation programme in rural KwaZulu/Natal, the lessons learnt and the prospects for wider application.


Author(s):  
U.W. Hesterberg ◽  
R. Bagnall ◽  
B. Bosch ◽  
K. Perrett ◽  
R. Horner ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inocent Moyo ◽  
Hlengiwe Marvelous Sweetness Cele

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.


Author(s):  
Maqsooda Mahomed ◽  
Alistair D. Clulow ◽  
Sheldon Strydom ◽  
Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi ◽  
Michael J. Savage

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.


2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pradervand ◽  
B. Q. Mann ◽  
M. F. Bellis

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Garaba

A survey using questionnaires, observation and interviews was conducted in 2011 to ascertain the collection stewardship strategies of archival repositories with religious archives in Pietermaritzburg. The study concluded that there was a need to establish a religious archives group in order for the voice of ecclesiastical archives to resonate across South Africa. Through this group, it is hoped that there will be greater coordination and networking amongst the archival repositories. The help of associations such as the South African Society of Archivists, the Oral History Association of South Africa and the South African Preservation Group could greatly assist in fostering best practices in archival management. To champion this worthwhile cause, it would be ideal to come up with an Open Day on religious archives to serve as an advocacy platform. These recommendations are made against a backdrop of the poor state of religious archives in Pietermaritzburg, resulting from acute underfunding and which threatens the survival of this record in the long term.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Garaba

A survey using questionnaires, observation and interviews was conducted in 2011 to ascertain the collection stewardship strategies of archival repositories with religious archives in Pietermaritzburg. The study concluded that there was a need to establish a religious archives group in order for the voice of ecclesiastical archives to resonate across South Africa. Through this group, it is hoped that there will be greater coordination and networking amongst the archival repositories. The help of associations such as the South African Society of Archivists, the Oral History Association of South Africa and the South African Preservation Group could greatly assist in fostering best practices in archival management. To champion this worthwhile cause, it would be ideal to come up with an Open Day on religious archives to serve as an advocacy platform. These recommendations are made against a backdrop of the poor state of religious archives in Pietermaritzburg, resulting from acute underfunding and which threatens the survival of this record in the long term.


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