Editorial

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Louisa Denier ◽  
Willemien Du Plessis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
South African ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
Legal Recognition ◽  
High Court ◽  
Legal Perspective

On Sunday 3 July 2011 the Research Committee of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, the IUCN Environmental Law Centre, Bonn and the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law organised a pre-conference workshop entitled “Towards the legal recognition and governance of ecosystem services” at Mpekweni, Eastern Cape, South Africa. At this workshop, papers were delivered on various aspects of ecosystem services. These included an introduction to ecosystem services from a legal perspective by Alejandro Iza of the IUCN Environmental Law Centre, and an introduction from a scientific perspective, by Christo Marais of the South African Department of Water Affairs. Justice Antonio Benjamin from the High Court of Brazil gave a presentation on Jurisprudential experiences in Brasilia and the importance of the legal recognition of ecosystem services; Alistair Rieu Clarke (University of Dundee) spoke on “The 1997 UN Watercourses Convention and Ecosystem Services: Can a Combined Reading Ensure that International Watercourses are Utilised in an Equitable and Reasonable Manner?”; Jamie Benidickson (University of Ottawa) presented the new IUCN “Guidelines for Protected Areas Legislation” and David Hodas (Widener University) gave a presentation entitled “Seeing into Law's Blindspot: Ecosystem Energy Services”. The discussions during the workshop enabled participants to realise that there were numerous angles to the topic of ecosystem services and that the discussion had not been fully explored, in particular concerning the human livelihoods aspect and the intricate relationship between ecosystem services and rights. It was therefore decided that there would be an open call for papers for publication on these issues, which would contribute to furthering this important discussion in the light of the major world conferences that would have taken place from 2012 onwards.

scholarly journals The potential for voluntary instruments to achieve conservation planning goals: the case of conservancies in South Africa

Oryx ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Downsborough ◽  
Charlie M. Shackleton ◽  
Andrew T. Knight
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
South African ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Land Conservation ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Private Land Conservation ◽  
Effective Conservation

AbstractSpatial prioritizations and gap analyses are increasingly undertaken to allocate conservation resources. Most spatial prioritizations are conducted without specifying the conservation instruments to be implemented and gap analyses typically assess formally protected areas but increasingly include private land conservation instruments. We examine conservancies to see if these voluntary instruments contribute towards achieving goals of South African conservation planning initiatives. We conducted a nationwide survey and interviews with conservancy members in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Conservancies have potential for assisting South Africa to achieve conservation planning goals at national and local scales but their inclusion in spatial prioritizations and gap analyses predicates improved protection for nature, operational refinement and increased support. We sound a warning to conservation planning initiatives that incorporate voluntary instruments on private land, and present recommendations for strengthening such instruments to make them more effective. Our findings may assist conservation planners elsewhere to design more effective conservation planning initiatives focused on private land.

scholarly journals Introduction to Topic "towards the Legal Recognition and Governance of Ecosystem Services"

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Alejandro Iza
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
Legal Recognition ◽  
Climate Regulation ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Joint Workshop ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Successful Event

On behalf of the IUCN Environmental Law Centre, the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law and the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law, I would like to introduce you to the topic of this Journal "Towards the legal recognition and governance of ecosystem services." First of all, I would like to thank the Co-Chairs of the Academy´s Research Committee and the Deputy Chair of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law for this initiative and I am most happy to see that, throughout its organisation, collaboration between the three organisations has continued to grow. We organised our first joint-workshop in 2011 in Ghent, Belgium, just before the IUCN Academy´s 8th annual colloquium. The feeling that we all had as the successful event came to an end, was that this collaboration should be repeated on an annual basis. The 2011 Mpekweni Workshop revolved around legal frameworks for the recognition and governance of ecosystem services. Maintaining healthy ecosystems and the continuing provision of services such as water supply or climate regulation is key to ensuring present and future human livelihoods, the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals and for any form of poverty alleviation strategy.

Exploring the South African Government Communication on Land Expropriation without Compensation

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungisani Moyo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
South African Government ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
African Government ◽  
Government Communication

ABSTRACT This paper used qualitative methodology to explore the South African government communication and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on food security using Alice town located in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa as its case study. This was done to allow the participants to give their perceptions on the role of government communication on land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. In this paper, a total population of 30 comprising of 26 small scale farmers in rural Alice and 4 employees from the Department of Agriculture (Alice), Eastern Cape, South Africa were interviewed to get their perception and views on government communications and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. The findings of this paper revealed that the agricultural sector plays a vital role in the South African economy hence there is a great need to speed up transformation in the sector.

scholarly journals Investigating competencies needed by European-trained doctors in rural South African hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Barnacle ◽  
Oliver Johnson ◽  
Ian Couper
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Rural District ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Rural Medicine ◽  
Rural South ◽  
District Hospitals ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Postgraduate Diploma

Background: Many European-trained doctors (ETDs) recruited to work in rural district hospitals in South Africa have insufficient generalist competencies for the range of practice required. Africa Health Placements recruits ETDs to work in rural hospitals in Africa. Many of these doctors feel inadequately prepared. The Stellenbosch University Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health is launching a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Medicine to help prepare doctors for such work.Aim: To determine the competencies gap for ETDs working in rural district hospitals in South Africa to inform the curriculum of the PG Dip (Rural Medicine).Setting: Rural district hospitals in South Africa.Methods: Nine hospitals in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga were purposefully selected by Africa Health Placements as receiving ETDs. An online survey was developed asking about the most important competencies and weaknesses for ETDs when working rurally. The clinical manager and any ETDs currently working in each hospital were invited to complete the survey.Results: Surveys were completed by 19 ETDs and five clinical managers. The top clinical competencies in relation to 10 specific domains were identified. The results also indicate broader competencies required, specific skills gaps, the strengths that ETDs bring to South Africa and how ETDs prepare themselves for working in this context.Conclusion: This study identifies the important competency gaps among ETDs and provides useful direction for the diploma and other future training initiatives. The diploma faculty must reflect on these findings and ensure the curriculum is aligned with these gaps.

scholarly journals Foraging range and habitat use by Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres from the Msikaba colony, Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan B. Pfeiffer ◽  
Jan A. Venter ◽  
Colleen T. Downs
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Kernel Density ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Convex Polygons ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Kernel Density Estimates

Despite the extent of subsistence farmland in Africa, little is known about endangered species that persist within them. The Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is regionally endangered in southern Africa and at least 20% of the population breeds in the subsistence farmland area previously known as the Transkei in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. To understand their movement ecology, adult Cape Vultures (n = 9) were captured and fitted with global positioning system/global system for mobile transmitters. Minimum convex polygons (MCPs),and 99% and 50% kernel density estimates (KDEs) were calculated for the breeding and non breeding seasons of the Cape Vulture. Land use maps were constructed for each 99% KDE and vulture locations were overlaid. During the non-breeding season, ranges were slightly larger(mean [± SE] MCP = 16 887 km2 ± 366 km2) than the breeding season (MCP = 14 707 km2 ± 2155 km2). Breeding and non-breeding season MCPs overlapped by a total of 92%. Kernel density estimates showed seasonal variability. During the breeding season, Cape Vultures used subsistence farmland, natural woodland and protected areas more than expected. In the non-breeding season, vultures used natural woodland and subsistence farmland more than expected, and protected areas less than expected. In both seasons, human-altered landscapes were used less, except for subsistence farmland.Conservation implications: These results highlight the importance of subsistence farm land to the survival of the Cape Vulture. Efforts should be made to minimise potential threats to vultures in the core areas outlined, through outreach programmes and mitigation measures.The conservation buffer of 40 km around Cape Vulture breeding colonies should be increased to 50 km.

scholarly journals OF SEMI-COLONS AND THE INTERPRETATION OF THE HATE SPEECH DEFINITION IN THE EQUALITY ACT South African Human Rights Commission v Qwelane (Freedom of Expression Institute as Amici curiae) and a related matter [2017] 4 All SA 234 (GJ)

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Threshold Test ◽  
Related Matter ◽  
The Republic

In South African Human Rights Commission v Qwelane (hereinafter “Qwelane”) the constitutionality of the threshold test for the hate speech prohibition in section 10(1) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 (hereinafter the “Equality Act”) was challenged. Although the court had no difficulty in finding that the publication in question fell squarely within the parameters of hate speech, the judgment is both incoherent and flawed. The court’s conjunctive interpretation of the section 10(1) requirements for hate speech also differs from the disjunctive interpretation given to the same provision in Herselman v Geleba (ECD (unreported) 2011-09-01 Case No 231/09 hereinafter “Herselman”) by the Eastern Cape High Court. The consequence is a “fragmented jurisprudence” which impacts on legal certainty, and which is especially dangerous when the legislation in question is critical to the achievement of the constitutional mandate (Daniels v Campbell NO 2004 (5) SA 331 (CC) par 104 hereinafter “Daniels”).This note demonstrates that the Qwelane court misapplied a number of key principles. These include: the court’s mandate in terms of section 39(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (hereinafter the “Constitution”); the need to strike an appropriate balance between competing rights in the constitutional framework; the importance of definitional certainty for a hate speech threshold test; the meaning to be ascribed to the terms “hate”, “hurt” and “harm” in the context of hate speech legislation; and the role of international law when interpreting legislation intended to give effect to international obligations.The consequence of these errors for hate speech regulation in South Africa is profound.

Perceptions of Traditional Male Circumcision among University Male Students at a South African University

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anathi Nomanzana Ntozini ◽  
Ali Arazeem Abdullahi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
University Of Fort Hare ◽  
Opposing Camp ◽  
The University

In the past decade, traditional male circumcision, known as ulwaluko among the Xhosa-speaking people in the Eastern Cape Province, has become a burning issue in South Africa. The discourse has led to the emergence of two opposing camps: the supporters of ulwaluko who rely on “traditional ideology” to justify the cultural relevance of the practice, and the opposing camp who believe that ulwaluko is no longer in tandem with the reality of the twenty-first century. Amid the ongoing debate, this study investigated the perceptions of ulwaluko among South African university students at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Open-ended individual interviews were conducted among nine male students at the university. The study relied on “hegemonic masculinity” as the theoretical framework. The study revealed mixed feelings about the ulwaluko ritual among the students interviewed. In spite of the exposure to modernization and Western education, the students interviewed were still emotionally and culturally attached to ulwaluko, especially as a rite of passage. While some doubted the ability of the ritual to change “bad boys” into “good boys,” virtually all the participants believed that morbidity and mortality recorded during and after ulwaluko were not sufficient grounds to abolish it. This finding suggests ulwaluko may have, over the years, consciously or unconsciously, constructed an idealized masculine identity that is morally upright, faced with challenges to the ritual and burdened by a prescriptive set of masculine role expectations.

Ainslie, Bill (1934–1989)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
African Art ◽  
Art Programs ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Black Artists ◽  
The Social ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

Born in 1934 in Bedford, Eastern Cape, South Africa, William (Bill) Stewart Ainslie was a painter and educator, and the founder of a number of visual art programs and workshops that countered discriminatory racial and educational policies in apartheid-era South Africa. These programs encouraged students to work in abstract and other modernist idioms not practiced in the country at the time. Until his untimely death at age 55, Ainslie melded his career as an artist with his vision of art as a means to combat apartheid. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ainslie fostered the only multiracial art programs in the country, culminating in a formal art school, the non-profit Johannesburg Art Foundation (1982). He helped found the Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) and the art schools Fuba Academy (1978), Funda Center (1983) (funda means "learn" in Xhosa), and the Alexandra Arts Centre (1986). The generation of modern African artists and educators trained at these institutions shaped the course of art after apartheid. Ainslie also organized short-term workshops, most notably the Thupelo Art Workshop (thupelo means "to teach by example" in Southern Sotho) in 1983. Thupelo linked local and international artists and focused on abstraction, a radical departure from the social realist style expected of politically engaged South African art of the 1980s.

The Genus Pithomyces in South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. O. Marasas ◽  
Ingrid H. Schumann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
South African ◽  
Lolium Perenne ◽  
Avena Sativa ◽  
Free State ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Lolium Perenne L ◽  
Medicago Sativa L

Descriptions are given of South African isolates of  Pithomyces sacchari (Speg.) M. B. Ellis, Pithomyces chartarum (Berk. Curt.) M. B. Ellis and  Pithomyces karoo  Marasas Schumann, sp. nov.  P. sacchari and P. chartarum were isolated from Medicago sativa L. seed.  P. chartarum was also isolated from dead leaves of Lolium perenne L. and  Sporobolus capensis (Willd.) Kunth. plants from artificial pastures in the eastern Cape Province.  P. karoo was isolated from stems of Gnidia polycephala (C.A. Mey.) Gilg and  Rhigozum trichotomum Burch, from the Karoo, Cape Province and from Avena sativa L. stubble collected in the Orange Free State.

scholarly journals Exploring Farmers’ Management Practices and Values of Ecosystem Services in an Agroecosystem Context—A Case Study from the Eastern Cape, South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Junior Choruma ◽  
Oghenekaro Nelson Odume
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Agricultural Management ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Provisioning Ecosystem Services

Globally, farmers remain the key ecosystem managers responsible for increasing food production while simultaneously reducing the associated negative environmental impacts. However, research investigating how farmers’ agricultural management practices are influenced by the values they assign to ecosystem services is scarce in South Africa. To address this gap, a survey of farmers’ agricultural management practices and the values they assigned towards ecosystem services was conducted in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Results from the survey show that farmers assign a high value on food provisioning ecosystem services compared to other ecosystem services. Irrigation and fertiliser decisions were mostly based on achieving maximum crop yields or good crop quality. The majority of farmers (86%) indicated a willingness to receive payments for ecosystem services (PES) to manage their farms in a more ecosystems-oriented manner. To encourage farmers to shift from managing ecosystems for single ecosystem services such as food provision to managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services, market-oriented plans such as PES may be employed. Effective measures for sustainable intensification of food production will depend on the inclusion of farmers in the development of land management strategies and practices as well as increasing farmers’ awareness and knowledge of the ecosystem services concept.

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