Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Natural resources – Zimbabwe'

Communal Areas Management for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is an innovative community based natural resource management strategy which transfers management and conservation responsibility from the state to the local communities. This thesis critically examines CAMPFIRE's potential for introducing sustainable natural resource management through the detailed examination of CAMPFIRE's implementation in Nyaminyami District, which is located in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe. Comparisons with other districts are made as appropriate. The theoretical framework of this research is based on an examination of common property theories, theories of bundles of rights, globalisation and the notion of global commons. It is also based on critically examining Zimbabwean, African and international literature dealing with the management of natural resources used in common. There are five specific contributions which the thesis makes. Firstly, common property management is redefined and the difference between resources used in common but which are not common property and common property resources is clarified. Secondly, the study shows that CAMPFIRE is not sustainable whilst it remains dependent on wildlife alone and on a single species - the elephant. Thirdly, the thesis has attempted to extricate the CAMPFIRE concept from the wildlife debate in which it has become entangled and, fourthly, it examines the issues of globalisation and the global commons to show how decisions made at the international level impact on resource utilisation and management at the local level. Finally, the study examines what residual Tonga indigenous knowledge still exists and which aspects can be incorporated into present management systems. Overall, the results of the research suggest that while CAMPFIRE is an innovative strategy for sustainable natural resource management it, has not achieved its major objective of becoming a grassroots rural development strategy. It has become a top down elitist programme which is NGO and donor driven and government constrained. Legislation and policy need formally to address this problem. Finally, the thesis recognises the potential of the CAMPFIRE concept, especially if the weaknesses ofthe programme are addressed.

Cultural resources like traditional medicinal knowledge need to be recognized in their role tied to important regional practices in Zimbabwe. This is especially as a nexus of legal definitions for biological, intellectual and cultural resources will inform a National Sui Generis Legislation for the protection of these resources. Even further, because foreign pharmaceutical companies seeking plant genetic resources, called 'green-gold', benefit from derivatives of traditional medicinal knowledge it is important to protect these practices as part of an entire social and symbolic system. This system can be conceived as traditional medicinal knowledge is accessed, kept, shared, used and valued as a spiritual gift that links individuals, families and community in relationships. Change to this arrangement occurs when the derivatives of it are appropriated for local non-customary use in Zimbabwe's street markets, in a trade union of traditional-healers, as well as for research and development schemes. Acknowledging the spectrum of divergent interests and practices surrounding traditional medicinal knowledge is a prerequisite to creating a system of protections for it as a cultural resource. A National Sui Generis Legislation framework that clearly supports and protects the cultural right of local individuals and communities will thereby need to identify the important customary and non-customary regional practices around traditional medicinal knowledge and create entitlements to them accordingly.

This study is an analysis of social differences in the value chain of small scale artisanal miners in the Shurugwi area in Zimbabwe. Artisanal mining drives the economy of several developing nations including Zimbabwe. However, the different actors in the value chain of the sector play different roles and the power they yield in the process affects what they get in the process and this in turn creates social differentiation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify factors which influence inequalities (social differences) within the Shurugwi artisanal mining value chain. This was a qualitative case study where purposive sampling was used to come up with a sample of 20 gold miners, 8 buyers and 2 millers who operated in the Shurugwi area. Data was collected through interviews and analysis of data was done thematically. This study established that elite players in the gold mining value chain in Shurugwi District, derived most of the benefits while artisanal miners were confined to a life of perpetual poverty, which was a vicious circle and had become hereditary, with sons of miners following the livelihood paths of their fathers. The elite players on the other hand, were presented as sophisticated and although they were mostly not directly involved in the gold extraction activities, they reaped most of the rewards, either as owners of gold claims (who employed others to prospect for gold) or through cheap purchase and processing activities. The study recommends that clear guidelines, guiding the operations of small scale mining activities in the country be collaboratively formulated and implemented to evenly spread the benefits of small scale gold mining activities through the value chain. This research suggests that similar researches be carried out in other small scale gold mining areas in the country so that a more holistic picture of the nature of interactions in the small scale gold mining sector value chain can be grasped. Thereafter, appropriate intervention strategies can then be crafted to manage the nature of these interactions and the resultant social stratifications.
Dissertation (MA (Development Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2020.
Anthropology and Archaeology
MA (Development Studies)
Unrestricted

This research appraises the impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme at three resettled communities in Kadoma District, Zimbabwe. In particular it assesses the livelihood practices of land recipients and their effects on the natural environment. Two of the communities, Lanteglos and CC Molina were resettled under the A1 villagised and self-contained settlement scheme and are found in the Natural Farming Region III. Pamene, the third community, was resettled under the A2 small-scale commercial settlement scheme and is found in the Natural Farming Region IIb. Multiple research methods including household surveys, interviews, observations, reviews of literature and map construction through the use of Geographic Information Systems, allowed for the collection of empirical, descriptive, and spatial data to provide for the appraisal. The land use practices included dry land crop production, livestock rearing, vegetable gardening and exploitation of the natural environment for a variety of purposes. Farming was mostly subsistence with the use of traditional equipment by all three communities. Tenure was perceived to be insecure by beneficiaries and although a variety of papers to show ownership were held, none provided for leasing or freehold tenure. Despite acquiring natural capital from the resettlement process, the findings of this research show low levels of financial, physical and social capital amongst beneficiaries. Moreover climatic variability, the declining macro-economic and unstable political environment and little support from government have adversely affected the livelihoods of beneficiaries. The implication of all this has been a reduction in livelihoods that are based solely on agricultural production, leading to off-farm practices primarily exploiting the natural environment. The long term effect would be increased degradation of the environment, leading to reduced arable and grazing land, and thereby hindering sustainable livelihoods from farming. Recommendations are proposed based on this research’s findings being typical in Zimbabwe. Central to this is the need for government to revise its present land policy and, provide for a comprehensive and holistic land policy that should be based on the vision of how agriculture should evolve in Zimbabwe

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When land loses its intrinsic qualities or suffers a decline in its capabilities it is said to be degraded. Land degradation manifests itself in various forms such as deforestation, soil erosion, land, air and water pollution. In the context of sustainable development land degradation has become one of the world's major concerns. Now, more than ever before, it has become urgent to carry out empirical studies on the nature and extent of land degradation and to come up with appropriate responses to the problem. In much of the developing world communal natural resource management practices are common. It is often assumed that communal exploitation of common property resources such as woodlands, pastures, water sources and wildlife inevitably leads to land degradation. This is due to the belief that humankind would seek to derive maximum benefit from common pool resources without incurring any costs towards the conservation of those resources. This study was an environmental assessment of the impacts of communal land-use systems and common property resources management practices in the Mhondoro communal lands of Zimbabwe. The area has been subject to human settlement for over a century and is regarded as a typical representation of a well-established communal land management system. Several methods were used to make the assessment. These included the following: a questionnaire survey; interviews with key informants; soil and vegetation traverses and field measurements; tree density counts in demarcated plots; calculation of the population density and livestock density for the study area; completion of an environmental evaluation matrix and a communal projects sustainability index checklist; and analysis of geo-referenced time-lapse aerial photography covering a fifteen year period (1982-1997). It was established that serious land degradation had occurred in Chief Mashayamombe's ward in Mhondoro. Degradation manifested itself in the form of soil erosion and stream sedimentation, woodland depletion, pasture degradation and wildlife habitat destruction. Communal land-use and natural resource management practices are only partially to blame for this state of affairs. The fragile nature of the sandy soils of the uplands, the sadie soils of the vlei areas, combined with the fairly high rainfall amounts (annual average 750mm) make the area prone to soil erosion. Rainfall intensity tends to be high in the area and when the rain falls on the poorly vegetated, and highly erodible soils erosion occurs. The land has become severely stressed due to over-utilisation; a population density of 93 people per km2 and livestock density of 110 cattle per km2 were recorded. The land available for communal settlement in the area has been limited in extent. Due to the general poverty of the communal farmers the replacement of nutrients into the cultivated soil has not kept pace with the deteriorating condition of the land. Contrary to popular misconceptions, communal area residents have shown concern for environmental conservation through fallowing their fields, gully reclamation efforts, grazing schemes, woodland preservation and tree growing practices. Remedial and/or mitigatory measures for the environmental recovery of the area could adopt some of these well-established practices and incorporate them in a whole-catchment management strategy. Key words Land degradation, environmental degradation, pollution, environmental assessment, common property resources, communal land uses, sustainable resources management, sustainability indicators, soil erodibility, soil erosivity
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wanneer grond sy intrinsieke waarde verloor of 'n afname in sy vermoë toon, kan gesê word dat die grond gedegradeer is. Gronddegradasie manifesteer in verskeie vorme, soos ontbossing, gronderosie, grond, lug en water besoedeling. Gronddegradasie het binne die konteks van volhoubare ontwikkeling wêreldwyd van besondere belang geword. Nou, meer as ooit vantevore, is dit noodsaaklik om empiriese studies uit te voer aangaande die aard en omvang van gronddegradasie, en om vorendag te kom met toepaslike reaksies tot die probleem. Gemeenskaps natuurlike hulpbron bestuur praktyke is algemeen in die ontwikkelende wêreld. Daar word dikwels veronderstel dat uitbuiting van gemeenskaplike eiendoms hulpbronne deur die gemeenskap, soos woude, weivelde, waterbronne en wild, onvermeidelik lei na gronddegradasie. Hierdie aanname het ontwikkel as gevolg van die oortuiging dat die mensdom daarna sal streef om maksimum voordeel te trek uit gemeenskaplike hulpbronne, sonder om enige koste aan te gaan ten opsigte van die bewaring daarvan. Hierdie studie behels 'n omgewings evaluering van die impakte van gemeenskaps grondgebruik sisteme en gemeenskaplike eiendoms hulpbron bestuur praktyke in die Mhondoro gemeenskaplike grond van Zimbabwe. Die area word al vir meer as 'n eeu deur mense bewoon, en word beskou as 'n tipiese voorbeeld van 'n gevestigde gemeenskaps grondbestuur sisteem. Verskeie metodes is toegepas met die evaluering, en sluit in: 'n vraelys opname; onderhoude met sleutel segspersone; grond en plantegroei opnames en veldopnames; boom digtheidstelling in afgebakende persele; berekening van bevolkingsen veedigtheid vir die studiegebied; opstelling van 'n omgewing evaluerings matriks en 'n gemeenskap projek volhoubaarheids indeks kontroleerlys; en 'n analise van geo-referenced time-lapse lugfoto's wat strek oor 'n tydperk van 15 jaar (1982-1997). Daar is vasgestel dat ernstige gronddegradasie voorkom in Hoofman Mashayamombe se wyk in Mhondoro. Degradasie word gemanifesteer in die vorm van gronderosie en stroom sedimentasie, uitputting van woude, weiveld degradasie en die verwoesting van wild habitatte. Gemeenskaps grondgebruik en natuurlike hulpbron bestuurspraktyke is net gedeeltelik verantwoordelik vir die stand van sake. Gronderosie vind plaas ook as gevolg van die sensitiewe aard van die sanderige grond van die hoogland, die sodic grond van die vlei areas, in kombinasie met redelike hoë reënval (gemiddeld 750mm per jaar). Reënval intensiteit in die area is geneig om hoog te wees, en erosie vind plaas wanneer reën val op die hoogs erodeerbare grond wat met yl plantegroei bedek is. Die grond verkeer onder geweldige druk as gevolg van oorbenutting; 'n bevolkingsdigtheid van 93 mense per km2 en veedigtheid van 110beeste per km2 is aangeteken. Die grond beskikbaar vir vestiging van gemeenskappe word in omvang beperk. Die vervanging van grondvoedingstowwe in bewerkte grond hou nie tred met die agteruitgang in die kondisie van die grond nie, as gevolg van die algemene armoede van die gemeenskapsboere. Inwoners van die gemeenskapsarea , teenstrydig met algemene wanopvattings, toon besorgdheid ten opsigte van omgewingsbewaring deur die grond braak te lê, donga herwinnings pogings, wei velds planne, bewaring van woude en praktyke ten opsigte van die groei van bome. Remediërende en/of versagtende maatstawwe vir die herstel van die omgewing kan van hierdie gevestigde praktyke inkorporeer in 'n bestuursstrategie wat die hele opvangsgebied insluit. Sleutelwoorde Gronddegradasi e, omgewingsde gradasi e, besoedeling, omgewingsassessering, gemeenskaplike eiendoms hulpbronne, gemeenskaplike grondgebruik, volhoubare hulpbron bestuur, volhoubaarheids aanwysers, grond erodeerbaarheid, grond verwering.

Tropical woodlands play a key role in the livelihoods of rural communities in southern Africa, but exist in contexts of constant ecological and socioeconomic change. With research into tropical woodlands neglected compared to tropical forests, it is important to improve understanding of the consequences of tropical woodland change for rural wellbeing. The aim of this thesis is to examine the dynamic interactions between woodland change and rural livelihoods through an interdisciplinary case study of a miombo woodland landscape on and around Wedza Mountain, Zimbabwe. The thesis is organised into three parts addressing: (1) the patterns of land use intensity and provisioning ecosystem service availability around Wedza Mountain; (2) the importance of environmental resources in rural income portfolios and hazard coping strategies; and (3) the adequacy of ecosystem service literature in representing the environmental values of rural African communities. The first part of this thesis explores patterns of land use and woodland structure on the woodland cover gradient around Wedza Mountain. In Chapter 2 I characterise land use intensity in the six study villages using a new method of calculating human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) at the village scale. Use of this approach indicates that previous studies have underestimated land use intensity in African small-scale farming areas, with village-scale HANPP estimates in Wedza ranging from 48% to 113% of total potential annual NPP as compared to 18 to 38% in published studies. In Chapter 3 I combine woodland survey data with a quantitative ethnobotanical assessment of the use values of woody species and demonstrate that per-household availability of provisioning ecosystem services declines with declining relative tree cover. These findings also suggest that more deforested villages have reduced diversity of ethnospecies underlying service provision, with ramifications for service resilience and livelihood option values in response to future change. The focus of the second part of the thesis is on the role of woodland resources in rural livelihoods. In Chapter 4 I quantify the contribution of environmental income to the total income portfolios of 91 households and show that lower village woodland cover is not associated with reduced livelihood diversity, in part because a large proportion of environmental income is derived from degraded woodland or non-woodland environments. In Chapter 5 I assess the importance of environmental resources for coping with hazard exposures, drawing on recall of past exposure responses and a survey exercise weighting the elements of coping strategy portfolios in response to varying shock scenarios. Synthesis of these data sets indicates that environmental resources represent an important safety net in coping with interacting covariate and idiosyncratic hazard exposures. The third part of the thesis consists of critical reflection, firstly on the adequacy of current ecosystem services research in southern Africa landscapes and secondly on this specific research project. In Chapter 6 I identify the value discourses which are most dominant across 356 peer-reviewed papers adopting an ecosystem services approach to miombo landscape research, and contrast these with the environmental values of study communities in Wedza District. Through this I show that the current ecosystem service literature is failing to represent rural African social and spiritual imaginaries of landscapes, with potentially serious consequences for the efficacy and equity of landscape management interventions. In Chapter 7 I examine some of the methodological and ethical challenges encountered during this research project through a discussion of the relationships between researcher, research assistant and respondents in an interdisciplinary field research context. Finally, in Chapter 8 I synthesise the key messages from the thesis, and conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for understanding of how future change will impact the resilience and vulnerability of savanna woodland socioecological systems.

This thesis utilizes three theoretical approaches; political ecology, settler culture and community conservation to examine soil conservation and the white agrarian environment in colonial Zimbabwe to evaluate to what extent players in government and the agricultural sector were conscious or concerned about preservation and conservation of the soil. The thesis also examines the role of local and international ideas in the colony’s conservationist tradition, and whether the soil conservation movement was identity-forming among the colony’s settler farmers. The history of conservation on settler farms in colonial Zimbabwe can be periodized into three broad timeframes - from the 1890s to around the mid-1930s, between 1934 and 1965 and the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) period. In the first three and half decades of the 20th century the history of conservation can best be described as being characterized by a series of “dilemmas.” The British South Africa Company (BSA Co.) administration did not pursue soil conservation in any significant, synchronized or sustained manner. In the second period, from 1934 to 1965, there was considerable progress in the construction of conservation works on settler farms. This process was the result of recommendations made by Natural Resources Commission, a body that was appointed in 1938 to investigate the status of the colony’s natural resources. The mid-1940s were characterized by the formation of Intensive Conservation Areas (ICAs) in settler farming districts whose mandate was to oversee the construction of conservation works to rehabilitate settler farms. With the support of the Natural Resources Board (NRB), and the Department of Conservation and Extension (CONEX), formed in 1948 to provide expertise on conservation-related matters and extension support, all settler farming areas were covered by trained CONEX staff, though in most instances very thinly distributed due to high demand for their service and manpower constraints in the department. The third period, the UDI era, was characterized by attempts by the minority settler government to forestall majority rule in the colony. Malawi and Zambia (formerly Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, respectively) had been granted their independence by Britain in 1964. As decolonization was taking place in other parts of Africa, black majority rule in colonial Zimbabwe also seemed imminent. To the alarm of the white minority government, Britain had set out to grant majority rule to its African colonies, including Southern Rhodesia (renamed Rhodesia after Zambia’s independence). The Ian Smith-led government of Rhodesia, feeling betrayed, declared UDI on 11 November 1965, delaying Zimbabwean independence by another 15 years. With the end of the Federation in 1963, the colony could no longer rely on federal resources as it had done between 1953 and 1963. Sanctions, imposed in reaction to UDI, further put the regime in a tight corner. Their impact was quite significant. Fuel had to be rationed, and general belt-tightening across the board inevitably followed as major Rhodesian exports such as tobacco and minerals were embargoed on international markets. The start of the liberation war at the end of the 1960s further complicated matters.
Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Historical and Heritage Studies
Unrestricted

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Rangelands in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world support livelihoods through their provision of multiple goods and services. Livestock production, for example, occurs in rangelands both as extensive ranching under freehold tenure and as collective ranching under communal tenure systems. However, the sustainability of rangelands is threatened and has been a major concern this century, leading to a variety of interventions. Holistic management (HM) is one such example, designed by its proponents as a panacea to halt degradation and, recently, climate change effects in the rangelands of Africa and beyond. HM has been implemented in the Hwange Communal Lands (HCLs) of Zimbabwe since 2010. In principle, the programme is aimed at restoring degraded watersheds and croplands through utilising properly managed livestock. To achieve this, two principles are promoted under HM, namely (i) holistic planned grazing (HPG) and (ii) animal impaction of crop fields. However, the effects of HM on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries currently are poorly understood. In order to address this lacuna, this study aimed to determine both the intended and unintended effects of a community-based land restoration programme called Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) in the HCLs of Zimbabwe on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries through a conceptual framework that combined an actor-oriented livelihoods approach with concepts of everyday politics and resistance. This was done by exploring the impact of HLLM on the six types of farmers’ assets, adoption patterns, farmers’ reactions to the introduction of HLLM, and challenges preventing farmers from adopting HLLM. Case studies employing a qualitative and exploratory research design were undertaken in three communities that were selected purposively from a total of 18 communities in which the HLLM programme had been promoted by the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) in order to discover different perspectives on the effects of the programme on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries. The study employed qualitative Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, focus group discussions, participant observation, document analysis, and key informant and semi-structured interviews. These lines of enquiry enabled triangulation and cross-checking of information to enhance the reliability and validity of the research findings. The study showed that adoption levels were disappointingly low across all the study sites. Several challenges, including livestock diseases, predation, cultural stigma, labour constraints and witchcraft fears, were among the barriers explaining the low rate of adoption in the HCLs. The findings reveal that the farmers were concerned more with immediate problems, especially lack of water, than with land degradation, which is the primary focus of HLLM. Thus the farmers responded by complying, accommodating and covertly resisting the ACHM’s efforts to implement HLLM in order to suit their needs, using creative everyday politics and resistance. The study concludes that, although HLLM is required in such semi-arid environments, it is not sufficient to sustain rural livelihoods in its current state. While the main focus of HLLM is to improve the natural capital (i.e. restoring degraded watersheds), it should be complemented by and aligned with the farmers’ other development priorities, especially those relating to water
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING:Weiveld in die halfdor- en dor gebiede van die wêreld ondersteun menslike lewensbestaan deur die verskaffing van ’n verskeidenheid goedere en dienste. Veeproduksie, byvoorbeeld, kom in weivelde voor as beide ekstensiewe veldbeesboerdery onder grondbesit en kollektiewe veldbeesboerdery onder gemeenskaplike eiendomsreg. Die volhoubaarheid van weiveld word egter bedreig en het in hierdie eeu ’n groot bron van kommer geword, wat gelei het tot ’n verskeidenheid ingrypings. Holistiese bestuur (Holistic management (HM)) is een van hierdie en is deur sy voorstanders ontwerp as ’n wondermiddel om degradasie, en meer onlangs die effekte van klimaatsverandering op die weivelde van Afrika en verder, stop te sit. HM is reeds sedert 2010 in die Hwange gemeenskaplike gronde (HGG’e) in Zimbabwe geïmplementeer. In beginsel is die doel van die program om gedegradeerde waterskeidings en landerye te herstel deur gebruik te maak van behoorlik bestuurde vee. Om dit te bereik word twee beginsels onder HM bevorder, naamlik (i) holisties beplande weiding (holistic planned grazing (HPG)) en (ii) dier-impaksie van landerye (animal impaction of crop fields). Die effekte van HM op die lewensbestaan van sy begunstigdes word tans egter swak begryp. Om hierdie leemte aan te spreek, was die doel van hierdie studie om die bedoelde en onbedoelde gevolge van ’n gemeenskapsgebaseerde grondherstelprogram (Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM)) in die HGG’e van Zimbabwe op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te bepaal deur middel van ’n konseptuele raamwerk wat ’n akteur-georiënteerde lewensbestaansbenadering met konsepte van alledaagse politiek en weerstand gekombineer het. Dít is gedoen deur die impak van HLLM op ses soorte van bates wat boere het, hulle aannemingspatrone, boere se reaksies op die invoering van HLLM, en uitdagings wat verhoed het dat boere HLLM aanneem, te ondersoek. Gevallestudies met gebruik van ’n kwalitatiewe en verkennende navorsingsontwerp is in drie gemeenskappe onderneem wat doelbewus uit ’n totaal van 18 gemeenskappe waarin die HLLM-program deur die Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) bevorder word, geselekteer is om verskillende perspektiewe van die effekte van die program op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te ontdek. Die studie het kwalitatiewe Deelnemende Landelike Takseringsgereedskap (Participatory Rural Appraisal), fokusgroepbesprekings, deelnemerwaarneming, dokument analise en sleutel-informant en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude gebruik. Hierdie ondersoeklyne het triangulasie en kruiskontrole van die inligting moontlik gemaak, wat die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die navorsingsbevindings verhoog het. Die studie toon dat aannemingsvlakke teleurstellend laag was in al die studieliggings. Verskeie uitdagings, insluitend veesiektes, predasie, kulturele stigma, arbeidsbeperkings en vrese vir heksery was onder die hindernisse wat die lae aannemingstempo in die HGG’e verklaar. Die bevindinge wys dat die boere meer besorgd was oor onmiddellike probleme, veral die tekort aan water, as oor grondagteruitgang, wat die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is. Die boere het dus gereageer deur instemming, aanpassing en onderlangse weerstandbieding tot die ACHM se pogings om HLLM te implementeer om sodoende hulle eie behoeftes te pas deur kreatiewe alledaagse politiek en weerstand te gebruik. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat hoewel HLLM in sulke halfdor omgewings nodig is, dit nie in sy huidige staat voldoende is om landelike lewensbestaan te onderhou nie. Hoewel die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is om die natuurlike kapitaal te verbeter (m.a.w. deur gedegradeerde waterskeidings te herstel), moet hierdie rol gekomplementeer word deur en belyn word met die boere se ander ontwikkelingsprioriteite, veral dié wat verband hou met water.

An assessment of the natural resources on Chapungu Ranch, Zimbabwe, was undertaken for the purpose of incorporating this ranch into the larger Sango Ranch. The geological description was based on literature, whilst the soils were classified using the soil taxonomic system described for Zimbabwe. The seven soils types on Chapungu Ranch were from the Amorphic, Calcimorphic and Natric orders and varied considerably in terms of depth, texture and chemical composition. Most soils were fertile and supported a herbaceous layer generally referred to as sweetveld. A phytosociological classification and structural analysis of the vegetation identified nine plant communities and 15 subcommunities on Chapungu Ranch. Separation of plant communities was mostly influenced by the geological formations and soils. Each community was described in terms of its species composition and structure. The dry mass of the herbaceous layer was quantified using the disc pasture meter and the composition of the herbaceous layer using the step-point method. The veld condition ranged from moderate (30.1%) to very good (60.4%) and the biomass production ranged from very low to high. The browsing capacity was determined using the BECVOL method. On Chapungu only 15.4% of the total browse was available to browsers, 5.0% of the browse was available for herbivores up to 2 m and 10.4% of the browse was available to browsers feeding between >2 – 5 m in height. Grazing capacity of different plant communities ranged from 7 GU/100 ha to 38 GU/100 ha with a mean of 25 GU/100 ha. The browsing capacity ranged from as low as 0.3 BU/100 ha to 13 BU/100 ha with a mean of 9 BU/100 ha. In 2003,Chapungu Ranch had the capacity to carry 3 331 GU and 1 169 BU whereas the stocking density was 2 199 GU and 3 029 BU. After the integration of Chapungu Ranch into Sango Ranch seven management units were identified. Animal populations were described in terms of population size and their spatial and temporal trends for the entire Sango Ranch. The populations of bushbuck, bushpig, Livingston’s eland, hippopotamus, impala, greater kudu, warthog, leopard, cheetah, baboon and vervet monkey were already at ecological capacity when monitoring commenced, however, populations of black rhinoceros, common duiker, African elephant, klipspringer, sable antelope, Sharpe’s grysbuck, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, Burchell’s zebra, black-backed jackal and wilddog reached ecological capacity within the past 14 years. The populations for African buffalo, giraffe, nyala, white rhinoceros, lion and spotted hyena had still not reached ecological capacity. Evaluation of the long-term monitoring program indicated that the stocking density for the grazer units (GU) exceeded the grazing capacity during the 2006/2007 season whilst the browsing capacity has been exceeded since the inception of the monitoring program in 2000. Recommendations are made towards improving artificial water provision, erosion control and road management. Additionally, recommendations are presented on fire management, alien plant control, stocking density, elephant impact, vegetation harvesting, waste management and wildlife utilization. Finally, four research priorities were identified which included studies on sable antelope, lion, spotted hyena and brown hyena and small mammals on Sango Ranch.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
Animal and Wildlife Science
MSc
Unrestricted

This investigation of social learning processes in the Chipembere gardening project was conducted in Rockvale village one in Sebakwe communal area in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. In essence, the study sought to explore how the Chipembere gardening project as a community-based natural resource management initiative (CBNRM), was reflecting and supporting social learning processes of change. It also sought to enrich and deepen an organizational understanding of social learning and to generate ideas and draw recommendations that could be used to strengthen learning in other CBNRM projects. The research was undertaken as a qualitative case study with data generated through semi-structured interviews with individuals and groups. It also included an analysis of project documents and an extended period of participant observation on site and in the gardening activities. Data were indexed and coded for generating analytical memos that were used to extract and represent the scope of social learning interations within the developing project. The study found that within the Chipembere gardening project a wide range of learning interactions were significant in shaping the developing project. Furthermore, these interactions were earmarked as the major drivers of social learning processes within the project. The study concluded that the social learning interactions amongst the gardeners in the Chipembere community garden were instrumental in fostering change that enhanced community livelinhoods and wellbeing.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016
Most rural communities in developing countries are involved in various natural resource exploitation programmes to improve their livelihood status. The main objectives of the research were to assess the contribution of fish conservation as a strategy towards improving the livelihood status of people in Maranda Ward 9 in Mwenezi, Zimbabwe, and to ascertain the challenges in fish conservation and access to fishing activities. In this research, a questionnaire, interviews, focus group discussions and observations were used to gather information. In the administration of the questionnaires on the village households, 80 households were used as research subjects drawn from a 10% sample size for each of the 10 villages. Purposive sampling was also used for selecting respondents for the interviews and focus group discussions. Secondary data sources used include data from the Parks and Wildlife Authority on recorded cases of fish poaching. The researcher discovered that the fish conservation project improved the livelihood status of the people. Food security was improved through supplementary purchases of food using money derived from the selling of fish. A decrease in school dropouts and improved income are some of the indicators of improved livelihood status of the people. However, there is still a need for continuous support to the programme from various external institutions such as universities, research institutions, financial institutions and Rural District Council. These institutions play a significant role in community development through educational support, training and development, financial support and in creating a favourable environment for economic development in rural areas. There is also a need for continuous monitoring and evaluation of all project activities to assess improvements in rural livelihoods and also compare the actual performance of the IGPs with the desired performance. The deviation makes a platform for corrective actions towards improving the lives of rural people

Zimbabwe’s national community-based natural resource management initiative, the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), is a multi-level programme implemented in a complex system. CAMPFIRE aimed to change the governance of wildlife, seeking to integrate local communities into the wildlife and natural resource management governance system. This thesis aims to advance understanding of CAMPFIRE’s impacts and outcomes through a multilevel assessment of its governing processes and structures. The thesis uses data collected through multiple qualitative methods from four study villages to assess the rural livelihood impacts of the programme and to document the local governance structure that has evolved around CAMPFIRE projects. It then places these sub-national assessments within the national governing context in which CAMPFIRE operates. In bringing together the concepts of environmental entitlements and sustainable livelihoods, with a qualitative research approach, this thesis provides unique insights into the conceptual underpinnings and practical implementations of Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Produced through thematic and content coding analysis, the findings from CAMPFIRE are relevant to other natural resource management initiatives based on the community-based approach. The findings point to a deep set lack of good governance within the Zimbabwean natural resource management system which renders devolutionary programmes inappropriate to context. For devolutionary programmes to function in such a system, this thesis argues that there needs to be a transformation in the governance of natural resource management away from the expected supplied devolution to demanded devolution. This requires more focus on rural socio-economic and political development to achieve a suitable level of capacity for conservation to be successfully adopted. The thesis puts forward recommendations on how this transformation of governance can be achieved and the role CBNRM projects can play in this. Lessons can be learnt for enhancing the participatory natural resource management movement in practice.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
By presenting case studies from the village of Mahenye in Zimbabwe and the five villages of the Okavango Community Trust in Botswana, the study looks beyond the objectives, discourse and contests of policy and undertakes an investigation of what actions rural people are undertaking inside the institutions established by policy makers, and of governance outcomes at the local level. These case studies reveal that unfettered devolution can lead to elite capture and the perpetuation of poverty; that rural communities themselves have agency and the ability to exercise it; and that there is limited and shrinking political space in both countries which is reducing opportunities for rural communities to engage with political processes. The Botswana case studies demonstrates that an imported and imposed devolutionary initiative which lacks links to higher levels of governance can reduce political space at local levels. The Zimbabwe case study demonstrates that political space may be more effectively created through decentralisation. The lesson drawn from these case studies is that institutional arrangements and roles should be determined by context specific issues and circumstances and move beyond the structural determinism that has characterized much of the CBNRM debate to date. The study concludes with policy recommendations. These include the need for recognition of the synergy between CBNRM and democratisation as mutually reinforcing processes and the need to be context-specific.
South Africa

A dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the Master of Arts in Political Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016
The governance of natural resources plays an important role in the distribution of resources in any state. The failure of a government to effectively administer natural resources will result in a country failing to benefit from the resources economically. This research paper explores how from 2006 to 2013 the Zimbabwean government handled the discovery of diamonds in the Marange area which is situated just outside Zimbabwe’s third largest city, Mutare. Zimbabwe has had a tumultuous millennium which has seen farm invasions, controversial elections and a crippled economy. The discovery of the diamonds was expected to aid the country’s faltering economy, but instead the diamonds only benefitted a close knit group of individuals who were aligned to the ruling party, ZANU PF. The ruling party in Zimbabwe has enjoyed a stranglehold on the Zimbabwean political landscape and the discovery of the Marange diamonds solidified this stranglehold. The diamonds helped ZANU PF revive its waning political fortunes after the party had joined a coalition government with MDC T after the controversial elections in 2008. The diamonds in Marange are an example of how ZANU PF has been able to use the country’s resources to prop up its waning influence on the Zimbabwean political landscape. The discovery of the diamonds in Zimbabwe mirrors other African countries where rather than being a blessing to local communities natural resources become a curse.
MT2017

Please read the abstract in section 11summary (pp 246-251) of this document
Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Centre for Wildlife Management
unrestricted

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) constitute an important source of livelihood for most poor rural households and communities in Zimbabwe. NTFPs also serve as a vital livelihood safety net in times of hardship. An important feature of this dependence is that almost all NTFPs are deemed to have ‘public good’ characteristics, with no exclusive property rights. Consequently, extraction is often intense and exhaustive because of lack of alternative income sources, unreliable productivity and weak enforcement of institutional arrangements governing NTFPs use. In recent years, with HIV/AIDS rampant in Zimbabwe, there are indications of a rapid increase in the extraction of NTFPs, mostly from common property resources. Appropriate natural resources policies need to be based on comprehensive research, yet to date scant attention has been paid to understanding the role of NTFPs in mitigating the predicaments of HIV/AIDS-affected households in Zimbabwe. The main objective of this study was to determine the types of and need for natural resource management interventions to help ensure the sustainability of local responses to HIV/AIDS. The research focused on five communities of Sengwe Communal in the Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select ten villages and households for the survey. Two villages from each community, representing the most and the least affected by epidemic were selected for each community using stratified random sampling. A cluster analysis was used to improve understanding of the challenges of rural livelihoods and how households diversify their livelihood strategies to cope with the various constraints. Five dominant groups based on their livelihood diversification patterns were identified : (1) smallholders/unskilled workers; (2) subsistence smallholder/non-timber forestry products harvesters; (3) crop production and non-timber forestry products extraction integrators; (4) commercial smallholders with regular off-farm employment; and (5) specialised commercial livestock producers. Multinomial logit model results showed that the level of education of the household head, the value of physical assets, cattle numbers and income, remittances, NTFPs income and economic shocks were the main determinants of these livelihood choices. Empirical evidence also revealed that households that were statistically significantly affected by HIV/AIDS economic shocks practised ‘distress-push’ diversification by extracting NTFPs. These results suggest that policy makers need to advise rural households on how to improve their risk management capacities and move from geographically untargeted investments in livelihood assets to a more integrated approach adapted to the asset base of individual households. Using panel data from 200 households in 2008 and 2009, regression models revealed that NTFPs extraction is an important ex-post coping mechanism for many HIV/AIDS-afflicted households. The results also revealed that the main determinants of livelihood strategy choices were differences in asset endowment, especially education, land and livestock and the impact of the shock. Asset constraints compelled diversification into lower-return activities such as NTFPs extraction. Findings from a comparative analysis of HIV/AIDS-afflicted and non-afflicted households showed that HIV/AIDS-afflicted households were relatively young, with relatively few physical and livestock assets. A fixed-effect Tobit model indicated a positive significant relationship between HIV staging and quantity of NTFPs extracted. The relatively young, poorly educated households with low household coping capacity in terms of livestock value relied more on the natural insurance of forests in buffering HIV/AIDS economic shocks. These results have important policy implications for development planners, conservationists and non-governmental organisations working in the region. There is a need for programmes that reduce pressure on forest resources, and improved access to education and health care, thus helping the poor to cope with the HIV/AIDS economic crisis. This study also examined the extent to which forest degradation is driven by existing common property management regimes, resource and user characteristics, ecological knowledge and marketing structure. A Principal Component Analysis indicated that the existence of agreed-upon rules governing usage (including costs of usage), enforcement of these rules, sanctions for rule violations that are proportional to the severity of rule violation, social homogeneity, and strong beliefs in ancestral spirits were the most important attributes determining effectiveness of local institutions in the management of Common Pool Resources (CPRs). Empirical results from an ordinary least regression analysis showed that resource scarcity, market integration index, and infrastructural development lead to greater forest resource degradation, while livestock income, high ecological knowledge, older households, and effective local institutional management of the commons reduce forest resource degradation. The results suggest that there is a need for adaptive local management systems that enhance ecological knowledge of users and regulates market structure to favour long-term livelihood securities of these forest-fringe communities.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The objective of the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiative is to enhance biodi versity conservation through approaches which balance the needs of local communities reliant upon natural resources, with national and international needs in conservation. This is achieved by addressing the imbalances in the distribution of costs and benefits in natural resource man~gement (NRM). So those who live with natural resources should receive benefits for their effort in conservation. Once there is a benefit stream associated with a resource, communities can then be involved in NRM as a long term strategy. In this way sustainable use of resources is promoted. For successful CBNRM, there has to be a vehicle for eliciting community participation and involvement through planning and decision making. In a communal property management regime, there exist sanctions and rewards for conserving/managing the resource. For community management to be successful there has to be an authority which protects the local rights and ensures that duties are fulfilled . This authority has to be local and national. Within the national context, the authority defining rights and duties in NRM is determined by the institutional framework in which the CBNRM initiative operates. At the community level, community leadership institutions are the authority protecting the rights and enforcing duties. Local leadership gains legitimacy from the wider institutional structures and from the community. How community leadership functions determines largely the structure and functioning of the CBNRM initiative locally. The case study of Kanyurira Ward, a community involved in a CBNRM initiative, namely CAMPFIRE in Zimbabwe, attempts to find out the role of leadership within the evolving institutional structures in shaping the functioning and structuring of the initiative. Analysis of the historical progression of leadership within the community and the community perceptions on leadership selection, monitoring and evaluation, legitimacy and the distribution ofcosts and benefits between the community and the leadership were used to identify the salient factors for effective and efficient local leadership in CBNRM. 11 The study showed that local leadership effectiveness and community expectations of leaders influence performance based on understanding of the leadership role and objectives of the CBNRM initiative. The environments in which CBNRM programmes operate have forced the community to change its leadership selection and monitoring criteria over time. External agencies have their own role expectations for local leaders based on their organizational goals and objectives. These different leadership role expectations place undue pressure on leaders. Community perceptions on cost -benefit distribution within CBNRM programmes affect the sustainability of the programme as they can be an incentive or disincentives to follow NRM rules. Changes in the institutional structures within the communities due to government policies have resulted in overlaps and conflicts in roles of traditional and modem political leadership. Though traditional leadership does not have formal legitimation, it has community acceptance and has persisted over the years. Approaches within CBNRM, need to be evaluated within the community's and leaders world view so that they can address any imbalances and mismatches in role, status and benefit expectations before negating on the CBNRM objective of community participation with benefits for sustainable NRM and development.
Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Despite decades of development efforts to combat desertification processes in southern Zimbabwe, a development deadlock occurs. Using the local knowledge systems as a basis, and making an effort to strategically facilitate the revival of their capacity for checks and balances as a development approach, endogenous development could become more realistic. The actor-oriented RAAKS.methodology offers relevant tools for a case study'in which an insight into the processes of innovation is obtained in order to confirm this. The Charurnbira case study shows that many local interfaces hinder development. Although the facilitation of platform processes could enhance endogenous development, the external environment provides a serious constraint. The method employed did ndt permit broad conclusions, but a deeper examination of recent experiences suggested that by giving local people a greater say in natural resource use, local knowledge could be utilized more effectively and better use could be made of traditional management structures.
Development Administration
M.A. (Development Administration)

The research focused on the assessment of the effectiveness of the methods used in the implementation of environmental legislation in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe. Successful implementation of environmental legislation and any other legislation is determined by various factors. Some of the factors include environmental education, environmental awareness programmes, consistency in implementing environmental legislation, coordination of all stakeholders, willingness of communities to co-operate and the political will by political office bearers. This research revealed that the methods used to implement environmental legislation in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe are ineffective. Poverty is the main reason for activities leading to environmental degradation. Communities in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe are ignorant of environmental legislation which govern their activities. Environmental education and environmental awareness programmes are rarely carried out. The political office bearers in the Mutasa district lack the political will to ensure that environmental legislation are enforced.
Public Administration
MPA (Public Administration)

By presenting case studies from the village of Mahenye in Zimbabwe and the five villages of the Okavango Community Trust in Botswana, the study looks beyond the objectives, discourse and contests of policy and undertakes an investigation of what actions rural people are undertaking inside the institutions established by policy makers, and of governance outcomes at the local level. These case studies reveal that unfettered devolution can lead to elite capture and the perpetuation of poverty
that rural communities themselves have agency and the ability to exercise it
and that there is limited and shrinking political space in both countries which is reducing opportunities for rural communities to engage with political processes. The Botswana case studies demonstrates that an imported and imposed devolutionary initiative which lacks links to higher levels of governance can reduce political space at local levels. The Zimbabwe case study demonstrates that political space may be more effectively created through decentralisation. The lesson drawn from these case studies is that institutional arrangements and roles should be determined by context specific issues and circumstances and move beyond the structural determinism that has characterized much of the CBNRM debate to date. The study concludes with policy recommendations. These include the need for recognition of the synergy between CBNRM and democratisation as mutually reinforcing processes and the need to be context-specific...