scholarly journals Introducing Collaborative Governance in Decentralized Land Administration and Management in South Africa: District Land Reform Committees Viewed through a ‘System of Innovation’ Lens

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Evert Waeterloos
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Collaborative Systems ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Democratic Decentralization ◽  
Fit For Purpose

A Fit-for-Purpose (FFP) land administration system strives for a more flexible, inclusive, participatory, affordable, reliable, realistic, and scalable approach to land administration and management in developing countries. The FFP finds itself thus at the interface with the coordination and governance challenges of the mainstream promotion of democratic decentralization of the past decades in general, and collaborative systems for decentralized and participatory land governance in Africa, in particular. One recent example of such collaborative systems for decentralized land governance is the introduction in South Africa between 2015 and 2019 of District Land Reform Committees (DLRCs). We analyze this official experiment in collaborative land governance from a ‘system of innovation’ (SI) perspective. An adapted SI framework is developed and applied in three DLRCs. This study points out that for the innovation of collaboration to be effective, DLRCs require a firm operational and institutional backup. This is an important lead for the general discussion on inclusion, participation, and collaboration in FFP. We not only need these innovations to be well-supported and -resourced; they also require the explicit adoption of a systemic perspective in which various technical and social dimensions are interlinked.

scholarly journals Identifying anthropogenic threats to Cape Vultures Gyps coprotheres using community perceptions in communal farmland, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
MORGAN B. PFEIFFER ◽  
JAN A. VENTER ◽  
COLLEEN T. DOWNS
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vulture Conservation ◽  
Livestock Ownership ◽  
Anthropogenic Threats

SummaryDeclines in Old World vulture populations have been linked to anthropogenic pressures. To assess these threats, the social dimensions of vulture conservation must be explored. Prior research in Africa focused on commercial farmers’ perceptions of vultures and identified that small stock farmers used poison more than large stock farmers to deter livestock predators. However, the vulnerable Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres breeds throughout communal farmland in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Consequently, community interviews were conducted within the foraging range of the Msikaba Cape Vulture colony, separating regions according to the amount of transformed land. Residents in the least transformed land region perceived the smallest reductions in livestock ownership over the past ten years, while residents of the moderately transformed region perceived the greatest reductions in livestock ownership. Livestock carcasses were reported to be available for vultures at ‘informal vulture restaurants’. Arrangement of livestock carcasses was found to be independent of land use; however type of carcass consumed varied. None of the respondents stated they used poison to eliminate livestock predators. More respondents cited illegal poaching of vultures for traditional medicine as a threat, although the majority stated that vultures benefited the community.

scholarly journals Do Design Science Research and Design Thinking Processes Improve the ‘Fit’ of the Fit-For-Purpose Approach to Securing Land Tenure for All in South Africa?

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 484
Author(s):  
Simon Hull ◽  
Jennifer Whittal
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Design Science Research ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Land Administration Systems ◽  
Research And Design

In South Africa, land tenure security is a challenge for 60% or more of the population who hold interests in land outside of the formal system of registered title. There is a need for the cadastral and land administration systems to be reshaped, and for new land tenure forms to be developed to record all land rights and interests so as to improve land tenure security for all. In this paper, we undertake a reflective retrospective of the processes of land administrative reform in South Africa using a thematic framework that includes fit-for-purpose, design science research, and design thinking processes. Literary sources are coded using the thematic framework to identify potential contributions of foregrounding design science research and design thinking in fit-for-purpose land administration (FFP LA) approaches. Design science research paired with tools of behavioral science add value in understanding the context, problems, needs, and objectives and in communicating the results of critical reflection. The design thinking process has much to offer in capitalizing on the human abilities of empathy, deep understanding, and challenging assumptions, setting the scene for unconstrained creative thinking. Design science research and design thinking within FFP LA may promote innovations in land administration systems reform initiatives that deliver restorative justice in the South African land sector.

Land as Home in South Africa: The Living and the Dead in Ritual Conversations

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-300
Author(s):  
Antonádia Borges
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Political Practice ◽  
Reform Policy ◽  
Departure Point ◽  
The Past ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The Dead

Apartheid segregated not only the living, but also the dead. Taking a wedding ritual as its departure point, the article explores the conversations between the living and the dead taking place in a redistributed farm in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Conviviality between the living and the dead challenges the idea of pecuniary compensation as an adequate land reform policy insofar its beneficiary population expands to the infinite, including those now alive, the living who have already died, and those yet to be born. If these ritual conversations suggest that the past and future are experiential moments beyond what is lived today, it would appear our duty to devise alternatives to the linear, flat, and cumulative narratives that currently dominate our academic work and our political practice.

scholarly journals Editorial

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Dr Wian Erlank
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Special Edition ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
North West ◽  
The Past ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

On Friday 27th July 2012 the conference on the "Green Paper on Land Reform: Challenges and Opportunities" was held at the Hakunamatata Estate in Muldersdrift. The conference was a joint project by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the Faculty of Law, North-West University. While the main focus of the conference was on the specific issues raised by the Green Paper on Land Reform of 2011, it also addressed current and contemporary issues relating to the Land Reform issue as experienced in South Africa.Papers were delivered on various aspects of land reform relating to or arising from the Green Paper on Land Reform, 2011. The programme included a large number of excellent and thought provoking papers as well as a number of panel discussions that resulted in enthusiastic audience participation. Of these, the following papers and presentations were collected, evaluated and published in this special edition of PER. The first contribution by Wian Erlank (North-West University) gives an overview and discusses the challenges the Green Paper on Land Reform bring to the fore. It sets the stage for the publication at large. This is followed by Juanita Pienaar (University of Stellenbosch) who deliberates on what she calles the “mechanics of intervention” and the Green Paper on Land Reform. Henk Kloppers and Gerrit Pienaar (North West University) gives a historical context of land reform in South Africa and early policies; and Henk Kloppers then considers Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the context of land reform.  He is followed by Hanri Mostert's (University of Cape Town) contribution on land as a 'National Asset' under the Constitution and what this system change envisaged by the 2011 Green Paper on Land Policy means for property under the Constitution.  Elmien du Plessis (University of Johannesburg) article on the lack of direction on compensation for expropriation in the 2011 Green Paper on Land Reform. This special edition ends with Motsepe Matlala, the President of the National African Farmers Union gave an illuminating oratio on the opportunities and challenges of the 2011 Green Paper on Land Reform for the National African Farmers Union (NAFU SA).The timing of this edition is fortuitous, since a follow-up to this conference was held at Hakunamatata, Muldersdrift on 19 and 20 June 2014 with the specific focus on Land Reform and Food Security.More on the theme.The contributions contained in this special edition provide an extensive overview of land reform, especially in their introductory sections - before delving into the more technical aspects. However, a very brief note on the issue of Land Reform in South Africa might be beneficial for foreign readers. As in most other areas of the world, ownership of and access to land is an important issue in South Africa. This is especially topical in South Africa due to the fact that the racial segregation policies and laws of the past had the effect of removing people from their land, of restricting their access to land, and also in most instances of prohibiting their ownership of land. Ever since the abolition of "apartheid" and the introduction of the new, democratic dispensation, the initiative of "land reform" has been identified as requiring actively promotion in order to address these injustices of the past. Mandated by the Constitution and implemented through legislation, the South African Land Reform Programme has seen many developments over the past few years. While it is clear that much has been done to address these issues, it is also clear that current land reform strategies have not have the intended effect and would need to be adapted before this important programme is resumed. The Green Paper on Land Reform of 2011 is one of the instruments that has been used to create new interest and public engagement both in Land Reform, the development of better public policy and - eventually – of legislation. In the context of this brief description of the existing situation, this issue focusses on the most pressing aspects of land reform at the moment.

scholarly journals Applying the Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration Concept to South Africa

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 602
Author(s):  
Christopher Williams-Wynn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Administration System ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Tenure System ◽  
The People ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Land Administration Systems

What potential will the fit-for-purpose land administration concept have of working in the Republic of South Africa? This question is asked against the existence of a high-quality cadastre covering most of the South African landmass. However, a large proportion of the people living in South Africa live outside of this secure land tenure system. Many citizens and immigrants reside on communal land, in informal settlements, in resettled communities, in off-register housing schemes, and as farm dwellers, labour tenants and other occupants of commercial farms. Reasonable estimates suggest that there are more than 5 million land occupations that exist outside the formal land tenure system and hence outside the formal land administration system. This paper looks at the current bifurcated system and considers how the application of the fit-for-purpose land administration system can expand the existing cadastral system and provide security of tenure that is beneficial and acceptable to all. It demonstrates that, not only could it work, but it is also considered to be necessary. This paper uses South Africa as a case study to demonstrate how adjustments to institutional, legal and spatial frameworks will develop a fully inclusive, sufficiently accurate land administration system that fits the purpose for which it is envisioned. These country-specific proposals may well be of international interest to assist with the formulation of fit-for-purpose land administration systems being developed in other countries.

scholarly journals Decentralization as a Strategy to Scale Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration: An Indian Perspective on Institutional Challenges

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Serene Ho ◽  
Pranab R. Choudhury ◽  
Nivedita Haran ◽  
Rebecca Leshinsky
Keyword(s):  
Land Rights ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Process And Outcome ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Institutional Challenges

Many countries grapple with the intractable problem of formalizing tenure security. The concept of ‘fit-for-purpose land administration’ (FFPLA) offers a way forward by advocating a shift towards a more flexible, pragmatic and inclusive approach for land rights recording. Inherently, the process and outcome of implementing FFPLA will have significant socio-political ramifications but these have not received much attention in the literature; additionally, few papers have considered this in the context of decentralization, an endorsed strategy for implementing FFPLA. This paper contributes to this gap by critically analyzing three land formalization initiatives in India which have employed flexible recording approaches and where decentralization is used to scale implementation. The cases show how quickly decentralization can kickstart implementation at scale via collaborations with local governing bodies and partnerships with non-state actors. An institutionalist approach highlights ensuing political contests between new and traditional land actors that inhibit political authority, and the challenges of coordinating a network of public and private actors without clear formal collaborative governance structures to ensure democratic outcomes. In doing so, we contribute to governance knowledge around FFPLA implementation so that it is ‘fit-for-people’ and better able to support policies and processes to secure land rights at scale.

scholarly journals Initial Insights on Land Adjudication in a Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 414
Author(s):  
Monica Lengoiboni ◽  
Christine Richter ◽  
Paul van Asperen ◽  
Jaap Zevenbergen
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
The Law

Land adjudication constitute a series of sequential steps that if followed carefully and correctly, can lead to a sufficient determination of the varied interests in land including whether, and where they overlap, complement, conflict or compete with each other. This is a preliminary study aiming to find out how the adjudication process as it is conducted in the context of a fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA). A framework of components for adjudication in the FFPLA context is first developed. Further, the steps involved in accomplishing the adjudication components are compiled, assessed, and discussed from the perspective of the theory of collaborative governance. The study poses questions for consideration by implementers of land tenure documentation activities on how to identify the interests in land as they exist in their undocumented form. An understanding of the interaction between different types of interests in land in undocumented form as defined from the perspective of the communities themselves rather than from the law, could help assess which tenures and their attributes—can overlap or complement each other, or inform how they equate to specific rights in the legal perspective with minimal conflicts.

The Pandemic Exposes an Ailing US Governance Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (820) ◽  
pp. 310-316
Author(s):  
Alasdair Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Washington Consensus ◽  
The Past ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Current Governance

Since the 1990s and Bill Clinton’s embrace of key parts of Ronald Reagan’s legacy, mainstream US governance has been guided by a bipartisan consensus around a formula of shrinking the federal government’s responsibilities and deregulating the economy. Hailed as the ultimate solution to the age-old problem of governing well, the formula was exported to the developing world as the Washington Consensus. Yet growing political polarization weakened the consensus, and in a series of three major crises over the past two decades—9/11, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic—US policymakers opted for pragmatism rather than adherence to the old formula, which appears increasingly inadequate to cope with current governance challenges.

RESEARCH COLLABORATION AMONG LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA (1991–2012): AN INFORMETRICS STUDY

Mousaion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan R. Maluleka ◽  
Omwoyo B. Onyancha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Limited Extent ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Software Packages ◽  
Collaborative Activities

This study sought to assess the extent of research collaboration in Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in South Africa between 1991 and 2012. Informetric research techniques were used to obtain relevant data for the study. The data was extracted from two EBSCO-hosted databases, namely, Library and Information Science Source (LISS) and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA). The search was limited to scholarly peer reviewed articles published between 1991 and 2012. The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel ©2010 and UCINET for Windows ©2002 software packages. The findings revealed that research collaboration in LIS schools in South Africa has increased over the past two decades and mainly occurred between colleagues from the same department and institution; there were also collaborative activities at other levels, such as inter-institutional and inter-country, although to a limited extent; differences were noticeable when ranking authors according to different computations of their collaborative contributions; and educator-practitioner collaboration was rare. Several conclusions and recommendations based on the findings are offered in the article.

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