Natural resource harvesting and disturbance in communal lands: assessing the roles of local ecological knowledge, dependency and market access
- Authors: Steele, Melita Zoë
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Non-timber forest products -- South Africa , Natural resources -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Rural development -- South Africa , Forests and forestry -- South Africa , Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa , Commons -- South Africa , Forest ecology -- South Africa , Harvesting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4736 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004604 , Non-timber forest products -- South Africa , Natural resources -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Rural development -- South Africa , Forests and forestry -- South Africa , Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa , Commons -- South Africa , Forest ecology -- South Africa , Harvesting
- Description: A great deal of research has demonstrated that Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in the livelihoods of the rural poor, and are particularly important to the most marginalised people throughout the developing world. However, these livelihood benefits are not without cost to the natural resource base that rural communities depend so heavily upon. The continued dependence on NTFPs as a major livelihood source must be contingent upon the minimisation of the level of disturbance created through this dependency. This study assesses the level of disturbance created through natural resource harvesting in eight study sites around South Africa, and applies a predictive conceptual model created by Shankaar et al. (2004b) to try and ascertain under what conditions the level of disturbance created through natural resource harvesting will be high. It assesses the three key factors that Shankaar et al. (2004b) identified (level of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), level of dependency and access to markets) in relation to the level of disturbance found at each of the study sites. It was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the level of dependency and the level of disturbance, but there was no statistically significant relationship between either access to markets or the level of LEK and disturbance. Regulation of land use is a key issue, with weak local institutions in communal areas making effective resource management difficult. The significance of these findings is discussed, and priorities for future research are identified. This study adds to the body of knowledge related to NTFP harvesting and critically analyses the conflicts between the livelihood gains and the level of disturbance created through NTFP harvesting in an attempt to ascertain how livelihoods can be safeguarded. And in the longer-term, so that management strategies can be identified where resource extraction is not at the cost of undermining the very livelihoods that depend upon the natural resource base.
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A critical evaluation of local level responses to mine closure in the Northwestern KwaZulu-Natal coal belt region, South Africa
- Authors: Buthelezi, Mbekezeli Simphiwe
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Reconstruction and Development Programme (South Africa) , Deindustrialization -- Economic aspects--South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Coal mines and mining -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Economic development -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Community development -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural industries -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural development -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Labor supply -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural development projects -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Citizen participation , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Social conditions , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Economic conditions , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Economic policy , South Africa -- Economic policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:4822 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005497 , Reconstruction and Development Programme (South Africa) , Deindustrialization -- Economic aspects--South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Coal mines and mining -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Economic development -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Community development -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural industries -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural development -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Labor supply -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Rural development projects -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Citizen participation , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Social conditions , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Economic conditions , KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Economic policy , South Africa -- Economic policy
- Description: The de-industrialisation process that was a common feature of North America and Western Europe in the 1970s, through into the 1980s has become an observable feature in African countries and South Africa in particular in the last two decades. Globally, hard hit areas include those associated with the early Industrial Revolution characterised by mass production and the agglomeration of iron and steel, coal and textile industries. General changes in the global market, especially the falling demand for extractive heavy minerals like coal and gold have also affected many countries region and localities. In the case of South Mrica, the previous high economic dependence on mined minerals like coal and gold has resulted in many once prosperous mining regions of the country being reduced to a shadow of their former selves. The worst affected areas in South Africa are those of the Klerksdorp Goldfields in the North West Province and Free State Goldfields, with the latter alone losing 100,000 jobs during the 1990s. This trend has also been acute in the coal-mining industry of the KwaZulu-Natal province since the late 1970s. The firms that had grown in the shadow of the major mining company supplyipg machinery, or who processed the semi-manufactured product are also severely affected by the closing down and restructuring in the mining and iron industries. These industries have often been forced to close down because of a break in the vital connections they developed with these mining industries. Such localised economic crisis has encouraged the universal trend towards the devolution of developmental responsibilities to the local governments and other local stakeholders to - empower them to respond to these changes. This study investigated the local economic initiatives which have been undertaken in the three municipalities of north-western KwaZulu Natal i.e. Utrecht, Dundee and Dannhauser to respond to the closures which have taken place in the mining industry of this region, which used to be among the most prosperous coal mining regions of South Africa. Using their new developmental mandate the local governments, in partnership with the communities and other external interveners have tried to respond to these localised economic crisis and also indirectly to the general poverty and underdevelopment, which characterises this region of KwaZulu-Natal. The effects of apartheid policies, and previous discriminatory rural development policies in, particular, and the Regional Industrial Development policy, which was intensively applied in the 1980s by the pre-1994 government regime, have further compounded the magnitude of the challenge. The lack of capacity in some municipalities has constrained successful implementation of Local Economic Development has led to some communities acting alone to face their situation with or without external intervention.
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