Search

In an era of climate change, South Africa’s kelp forests offer important opportunities for sustainable resource utilization. However, these opportunities also bring risks of over-exploitation. The mismanagement of kelp forests through monistic and exclusionary strategies must therefore be avoided. Emphasizing the value of plural knowledges and cultural norms associated with kelp, here we advocate for inclusive and integrated marine resource management to ensure the resilience of South Africa’s kelp forests and the well-being of coastal communities that depend on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AGRA (formerly known as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) was founded in 2006 by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Gates Foundation to initiate agricultural transformation in Africa. Although critics have argued that AGRA’s approach insufficiently addresses the needs of African smallholder farmers, there has been little analysis of the broader politics and networks that shape AGRA, a gap this paper aims to fill. Using a network analysis and key informant interviews, we identify the actors that constitute AGRA’s network, and describe related power constellations. Our paper illustrates that AGRA’s network is dominated by foundations, intergovernmental organisations and corporations, with decision-making located within Global North institutions. We reveal that the alliance displays characteristics of an ideological advocacy network and conclude that it can be considered a neoliberal food regime. We suggest better control mechanisms to hold accountable organisations without a political mandate, and to increase the transparency of their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kelp are large seaweeds that provide a variety of contributions to humans and the environment. In South Africa, kelp forests are expanding as a consequence of climate change. Considering this expansion, assessing local perceptions and values around kelp's contributions may assist with the implementation of inclusive management strategies. The lack of consideration of non-market and non-use values is a gap in kelp valuation studies, with kelp ecosystems and their use rarely valued outside of classical economic valuation frameworks. This study sought to fill this research gap, intending to assess local perceptions about varied value dimensions associated with kelp using a pluralistic valuation approach. Drawing from a sample population of Recreational Users and/or Coastal Community Members, Environmental Managers and Conservationists, and Kelp and/or Abalone Industry, the study investigated perceptions of value towards kelp in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Results indicate that the perceived value of kelp extends far beyond its economic value as a harvested resource. Rather, individuals highly value kelp's ecological and social contributions, and have strong relational values towards kelp, recognizing its role in enhancing their quality of life and well-being. While most individuals did not display significant negative perceptions around kelp, some individuals in the Kelp and/or Abalone Industry indicated frustrations with kelp management strategies and kelp concession permit allocation processes. These findings highlight the need to incorporate local perceptions in integrated marine resource management solutions that recognize the plurality of values not only around kelp in the Western Cape but marine biodiversity at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benefit-sharing agreements are a new, prescriptive way of treating trade, biodiversity and the commercial use of traditional knowledge. However, these agreements have met with surprisingly little critique as a development paradigm. Through the lens of the industry around rooibos, a plant native to South Africa, we offer new, critical perspectives on the potential pitfalls of so-called access and benefit sharing (ABS) agreements. Rooibos underpins a well-established tea industry and was central to a much-lauded benefit-sharing agreement with Indigenous San and Khoi communities. We argue, however, that ABS as a model not only fails to challenge the engrained powers of state, capital, race and patriarchy, but even appears to legitimise (falsely) these powers because of its inability to grapple with local contexts and struggles over identity, representation and land. Despite its guise as an apolitical regulatory instrument, ABS entrenches existing marginalities, exclusions and structural inequities. Using a mixed methods approach that focuses on deep listening and draws from decades of research in the region, we demonstrate what happens when the depoliticising ABS framework collides with the complex and contentious politics of communities fractured by colonialism and apartheid. We conclude that ABS remains disconnected from, and structurally ignorant of, the wider political and economic struggles faced by marginalised communities. Aided by an intervening and complicit state, the agreements instead serve as legal compliance mechanisms that perpetuate epistemic injustices by maintaining a 'business as usual' approach without fundamentally shifting power relations or economic disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on sustainable use of wild species benefitting biodiversity and human well-being in South Africa. Topics include South Africa's National Development Plan 2030 reducing poverty and inequality supporting more inclusive rural and urban economies; and enabling South African perspectives informing the global assessment and policy recommendations.

Increasing anthropogenic pressure on the sea and alteration of coastscapes challenge the functioning of marine ecosystems and long-term reliance on blue economies, especially for developing southern economies. The structural hardening of shores can result in ecological disruptions, with cascading effects on the wellbeing and livelihoods of marginalised groups who depend on marine resources. Mitigation, adaptation and rehabilitation options for coastal developments should include innovative, socially responsible solutions to be used to modify shorelines and ensure long-term functionality of metropolitan coastal ecosystems. Nature-based innovations are being developed to improve surrogacy for natural marine ecosystems. The co-creation of nature-based structures, entailing partnerships between scientists and a local rural community is currently being considered in South Africa and we present this regional case study as a transdisciplinary framework for research in nature-based, ecological engineering of coastal systems. Novel transdisciplinary approaches include ecomusicological interventions, where traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) create opportunities for transgressive pedagogy. This step aims to ensure that the knowledge gathered through nature-based scientific research remains a part of community developed Indigenous knowledge systems. The merging of innovative, eco-creative approaches and TCEs has the potential to sustainably and ethically improve the functioning and diversity of coastal urban habitats. This review tackles the potential of transdisciplinary settings to transform urban coastlines using "low-tech" engineering and Indigenous eco-creative innovations to pedagogy, to benefit the people and biological communities as well as reduce social and gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available examples of multifunctional landscapes are derived from developed countries, and do not typically shed light on the spatial clashes and synergies between traditional subsistence and commercially intensive production activities in developing countries. This paper explores the relationships between multiple land uses in a rural South African landscape, and in particular, the interactions between a community involved in subsistence agriculture and mixed livelihoods, and adjacent commercial forestry. Using both field and desktop methods, the paper aims to enhance understanding of landscape conflicts and synergies in this developing country context. The findings reveal a landscape polarised between highly productive monofunctional commercial forestry and tribal authority lands comprising a continuum of human settlement and indigenous vegetation. Conflicts and synergies centre around the natural resources required for these uses. Proposed policy solutions for landscape management include the need for better understanding of dual economy landscapes; maximising land use synergies; and providing direct community benefits and livelihood opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]