OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Ziervogel, Gina"

Browsing by Author "Ziervogel, Gina"

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Open Access
A pluralistic, socio-ecological approach to understand the long-term impact of mountain conservation: a counterfactual and place-based assessment of social, ecological and hydrological change in the Groot Winterhoek Mountains of the Cape Floristic Region
(2018) Holden, Petra Brigitte; Hoffman, Timm; Eckardt, Frank; New, Mark; Smit, Julian; Visser, Martine; Ziervogel, Gina
The problem: For protected areas to remain relevant, we need to understand their impact on a wide set of conservation objectives and environmental outcomes. We also need to evaluate how this influence relates to the socio-ecological environment within which they occur. This is a complex endeavour requiring a pluralistic approach, which draws on a wide range of interdisciplinary fields. Research question: This thesis addresses the following question: What effects do mountain protected areas have on ecosystem services over time and how does this influence relate to broader socio-economic and ecological drivers of landscape change? Aim and objectives: I use a pluralistic, socio-ecological framing to assess the impact of ~40 years of mountain protection, drawing on comparisons of ~30 and ~40 years before and after protection respectively, with an adjacent area of similar terrain informing scenarios of counterfactual conditions. I also investigate what types of values (economic and intrinsic) are important when determining the impact of mountain protected areas. Thesis approach and methods: I operationalise the concepts of socio-ecological systems, ecosystem services, land use transitions and counterfactuals to investigate socio-ecological change and how it relates to protected area impact in the Groot Winterhoek, a mountain catchment in the south-western Cape of South Africa. This mountain catchment is important for regional water supplies for agricultural and domestic uses and falls in the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot. It is comprised of privately owned mountain wildlands and a wilderness-protected area, known as the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, established in 1978 (gazetted in 1985) which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site. I combine methods from social science, ecology, environmental geography, geomatics and hydrology to understand the history of land use and cover (land use/cover) and associated ecosystem service trade-offs, how they are perceived by landowners as well as their wider impact on the region. Specifically, I assess the impact of protection on land use/cover, vegetation, fire and water flows over the last ~50 years, by comparing and contextualising results of change within the protected area to alternative scenarios of “no protection” (the counterfactual conditions). Vegetation and land use/cover change inside the protected area were determined respectively using 72 repeat terrestrial photographs and vegetation surveys, and an analysis of orthorectified aerial imagery. Methods used to construct the counterfactual scenarios of mechanisms (e.g. changes in land use/cover) that would likely drive vegetation changes inside the protected area included: i) 60 repeat surveys and in-depth interviews with landowners adjacent or proximal to the protected area owning unprotected land of similar terrain to the protected area; and ii) land use/cover change analysis of orthorectified aerial imagery of adjacent unprotected land of similar terrain before and after protected area establishment. 4 This latter information was used to understand the role of the protected area in driving vegetation changes inside the protected area. Social, biophysical and remote sensing results were directly used to parameterise land use/cover components of a hydrological model to determine the influence of protection on water flows. Specifically, water flows were simulated for the current state of the environment inside the protected area as well as for several counterfactual scenarios i.e. the alternative land use/cover scenarios of “no protection”. These counterfactual scenarios included land use/cover at two-time steps of ~30 and ~8 years before protection and one-time step ~40 years after protection both inside and outside the protected area. Results: Long-term change in ecosystem service use outside the protected area on privately owned land of similar terrain to inside the protected area (Section 3): Over the last ~50 years, outside the protected area, there was a shift from livestock-based, subsistence agriculture and small-scale farming to a diversified set of ecosystem service uses. The combined area of grazing and wildflower harvesting declined by 39%, while the number of landowners using the mountains for personal nature-based recreation and ecotourism increased by 61% and 23% respectively. Agriculture intensified in suitable areas of mountain land with the number of landowners cultivating land increasing by 20%. Exogenous socioeconomic drivers associated with globalisation and economic growth were important causal mechanisms of land use change. Landowners valued mountain protection for intrinsic and non-use reasons (73-80% of landowners), including existence, bequest and option values, as well as for the indirect use of water supply (72% of landowners) in comparison with direct use reasons such as spiritual/cultural experiences and nature-based recreation inside the protected area (18 and 50% of landowners respectively). Personal, nature-based recreation outside the wilderness-protected area was associated with valuing the protection of mountain land for intrinsic and non-use reasons. Long-term vegetation change inside the protected area and plausible mechanisms driving vegetation change (Section 4): Inside the mountain protected area, fynbos vegetation cover increased on average between 11 and 30% and there were significant declines in bare ground and rock cover. In 5 accumulation and fire intensities. However, these latter changes in land use/cover also occurred outside the protected area (see results summarised for Section 3 above and Section 4 below) and therefore cannot be attributed to protected area establishment. Land use/cover and the influence on water flows inside the protected area compared to counterfactual scenarios of no protection (Section 5): Declines in grazing and changes to the fire regimes occurred regardless of the protected area boundaries. In the past, there was a high frequency of small, low intensity fires across the landscape, both inside and outside the protected area. More recently, fires have been actively suppressed and this resultsin the build-up of biomass and the development of extensive, high intensity fires which, under suitable conditions, burn large expanses of the mountain catchment. Hydrological modelling showed that a high intensity burning regime negatively affected streamflow regardless of protected area boundaries. Streamflow increased by more than 80% under high flow conditions and decreased by more than 40% under low flow conditions relative to an unburnt ‘natural’ scenario. Over the last 50 years there has also been a substantial increase in dams, buildings and roads and minor increases in cultivation outside the protected area. This has been avoided inside the protected area where these land use/cover classes declined. If the increase in these land use/cover types observed outside the protected area occurred inside the protected area this would have resulted in reductions in daily streamflow leaving the protected portion of the catchment. For example, outside the protected area reductions of 8% to 25% of streamflow were observed during mid and low flow conditions respectively, particularly during dry years, in comparison to a ‘natural’ scenario. In contrast, inside the protected area streamflow recovered from past conditions to more closely resemble the natural flow conditions of the catchment. Therefore, had the protected area not been established there would have been losses in streamflow from the catchment as well as an increase in the degree of fragmentation within this mountain area. However, with increased water storage and fragmentation outside the protected area has also come increased socio-economic opportunities such as employment and local opportunities for ecotourism and sustainable agriculture e.g. indigenous cut flows. This highlights the importance of maintaining various forms of land management systems (multifunctional landscapes) within mountain ecosystems but also the need to understand the sustainability of different land management system types. Determining appropriate land management systems for mountain areas should be based on a full understanding of the impacts on ecosystem service benefits and costs at local and regional levels between social groups both spatially and temporally. Broader significance: This thesis contributes to the conservation literature on two main fronts. Firstly, it contributes conceptually and theoretically to understanding the dynamics of ecosystem services in relation to mountain protection. Secondly, it contributes methodologically by using an inclusive, trans- and interdisciplinary research approach for evidence-based conservation at a place-based and landscape level. The study provides a case 6 study example of the positive impact that mountain protection has on water-related ecosystem services, notably by maintaining streamflow throughout high to low flow periods and during dry years. It also provides clear evidence that ecosystem service trade-offs do not remain constant over time and shows that intrinsic and non-use values are required when describing the importance of mountain protected areas. In terms of understanding the impact that protected areas have in mountain regions, the research shows that complex processes are at play that extend beyond the boundaries of a specific protected area in both time and space. Interactions between global and local drivers were found to be prominent causal mechanisms of socio-ecological change and ultimately determined the influence of mountain-protection on land use/cover, fire, vegetation and water-related ecosystem services. The thesis emphasises that counterfactual framings are necessary to understand and attribute the impacts of protected areas on environmental outcomes, however pluralism and socio-ecological approaches are critical to determine plausible counterfactual conditions. This thesis focused only on landowners adjacent and proximal to the protected area owning the majority of mountain catchment land of similar terrain. It is likely that multiple socioeconomic trade-offs have occurred between different social groups and generations at both local and regional levels. Understanding how the disadvantages and benefits of the impacts of protected areas are apportioned across the landscape and temporally is an aspect that requires future research. Central to this would be to fully consider how human well-being is influenced both upstream and downstream, including at regional levels, and between social groups and across generations. Considering the impact of protected areas on the full range of ecosystem services and linking this to societal preferences and perceptions should be incorporated into the overall goal of developing an evidence base for conservation. This is because it is both scientific evidence and societal change that can determine protected area persistence and thus long-term protected area impact.
Open Access
An outline and critical assessment of the role of planning laws in the regulatory framework of climate change adaptation in South Africa and Nigeria
(2018) Afinowi, Olubunmi Ayodele; Glazewski, Jan; Ziervogel, Gina
Climate change affects the natural and built environment, including all forms of development. The risks of climate change include severe alterations to the normal functioning of communities, including adverse effects on humans, infrastructure, land use, the built and natural environment. Due to these occurring and projected adverse effects, there is the need to develop resilience within communities, especially in areas of particular vulnerability. The point of departure of this research is that planning laws have a role to play in the adapting to, and building of resilience against, climate change. As such the work argues for an integration of climate change considerations into planning, environmental and related laws. The relevant laws will be examined to consider the extent to which they are suited to aid the adaptation process. The research entails a comparative approach through the analysis of planning laws in Nigeria and South Africa. It also involves qualitative empirical research into the effectiveness of planning laws as a means of adaptation to climate change. Planning law in Nigeria is very procedural and is limited to physical planning and ordering of the built environment. South Africa, on the other hand, has integrated sustainable development considerations into her planning legislation and it now encompasses spatial planning, integrated development plans, land use management and others. In both countries, however, there seems to be no express integration of climate change into planning laws, especially at the national level of government. The research also examines the legal aspects of climate change adaptation strategies in both countries. It found that in Nigeria in particular, there is no provision for inter-governmental cooperation to facilitate physical planning or climate adaptation action. In the case of South Africa, there is a well-structured intergovernmental collaboration regarding planning and land use management, which gives some consideration to climate change adaptation. However, the structure for cooperation is still being developed as seen in the draft National Adaptation Strategy and the proposed Climate Change Act. There is a need to reevaluate the relevant laws in both countries, with special consideration to the role of planning in adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change on the natural and built environment.
Open Access
Barriers and enablers to water access and community wellbeing in the Onesi constituency of Namibia: the case of Okalonga B and Onandjandja villages
(2017) Shooya, Omagano Ndapewa; Spear, Dian; Ziervogel, Gina; Hegga, Salma
The scarcity of water and especially the lack of safe drinking water have been accepted as amongst the most serious challenges facing the twenty-first century. The lack of access to water is a global problem that faces between 460 million to more than 1 billion people as a result of an increasing demand for water as well as a diminishing supply of water resources. The lack of access to potable water poses a great constraint on the societal and individual well-being for the inhabitants of the semi-arid regions of southern Africa and the key area needed to improve the sustainable development of water resources and services has been identified as water governance. The aim of this research is, therefore, to understand how access to potable water affects the well-being of communities living in the Cuvelai-Etosha basin in Namibia and to understand how these communities participate in water governance. The Okalonga B and Onandjandja villages were used as case studies.The objectives of this study are to examine how water is accessed and determine what the barriers are in accessing potable water, to examine how the well-being of the communities in the two villages is affected by water access and to explore how communities are engaged in water governance. The overall methodology of the study was based on a qualitative approach to case study research. Interviews were conducted at the household level, the constituency and regional levels using semi-structured interview guides. The study found that the communities of Okalonga B and Onandjandja access water through hand-dug wells, private and communal taps, Etaka dam and Oshana, and boreholes. A total of 6 barriers to accessing potable water were identified. These included distance to communal taps, amount of water one can carry, administration of water infrastructure, maintenance of water infrastructure, ability to pay the set water fees and specific times allocated for collecting water. The barriers to accessing potable water negatively affect the well-being of communities. Communities felt that they would have better economic opportunities if they had access to potable water which would in turn improve their well-being and livelihood opportunities. Furthermore, the study found that community participation in water governance was poor.
Open Access
Barriers to flood risk adaptation a case study of cross-scale collaboration in the informal settlement of Graveyard Pond, Philipi
(2012) Orangio, Christina; Ziervogel, Gina
This study provides insight into the barriers of adapting to urban flooding as well as how flooding is responded to in informal settlements in order to increase adaptive capacity to future climate change. There is a growing concern over the increase in extreme events expected as part of climate change.
Open Access
Barriers to selling livestock in the face of drought in the Omusati Region of North Central Namibia
(2021) Joshi, Nivedita; Spear, Dian; Ziervogel, Gina
Marginal communities living in semi-arid Namibia face significant challenges in sustaining rural livelihoods due to environmental degradation and poverty. Research has shown that livestock farming depends on rain-fed agriculture among other things, thus making communal farmers vulnerable to climate change in the future. Given this, it often makes sense for farmers to sell their livestock and explore alternative livelihood options. However, farmers in northcentral Namibia are reluctant to sell their livestock despite a noticeable temperature increase and rainfall decrease over the past forty years. This study analyses the barriers to selling livestock in the face of a drought in the Omusati region of north-central Namibia. The study was carried out in three villages namely Omahanene, Okathitukeengombe and Oshihau, in the north-central Omusati region of Namibia. Household livestock distribution, perceptions of climate change, barriers to the sale of livestock and alternative livelihood strategies from other semi-arid regions were explored among 30 households using semi-structured household interviews and a systematic literature review. Results from the study indicate that 80% of communal farmers predict future droughts in the region and able to recall climate change through frequent droughts, increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall. Farmers claimed that these changes have affected their livestock numbers. However, several barriers including cultural beliefs, lack of financial security, access to information, lack of institutional support and lack of efficient markets hinder livestock sales. The study suggests that the imminent impact of climate change coupled with the reluctance to sell livestock will threaten food security in the future. The study argues that rural livelihood diversification strategies are critical to safeguarding sustainable livelihoods in the future, including those of communal livestock farmers specifically. Additionally, policy recommendations like access to credit through public and private funding, access to markets by providing transportation facilities, encouraging market participation by improving quality of grazing lands, increasing water availability, building veterinary facilities, employing extension officers and access to information through reliable channels can help build a sustainable future in the face of climate risks.
Open Access
Climate change impacts and adaptation in South Africa
(2014) Ziervogel, Gina; New, Mark; Archer van Garderen, Emma; Midgley, Guy; Taylor, Anna; Hamann, Ralph; Stuart-Hill, Sabine; Myers, Jonny; Warburton, Michele
In this paper we review current approaches and recent advances in research on climate impacts and adaptation in South Africa. South Africa has a well-developed earth system science research program that underpins the climate change scenarios developed for the southern African region. Established research on the biophysical impacts of climate change on key sectors (water, agriculture, and biodiversity) integrates the climate change scenarios but further research is needed in a number of areas, such as the climate impacts on cities and the built environment. National government has developed a National Climate Change Response White Paper, but this has yet to translate into policy that mainstreams adaptation in everyday practice and longer-term planning in all spheres and levels of government. A national process to scope long-term adaptation scenarios is underway, focusing on cross-sectoral linkages in adaptation responses at a national level. Adaptation responses are emerging in certain sectors. Some notable city-scale and project-based adaptation responses have been implemented, but institutional challenges persist. In addition, a number of knowledge gaps remain in relation to the biophysical and socio-economic impacts of climate change. A particular need is to develop South Africa's capacity to undertake integrated assessments of climate change that can support climate-resilient development planning.
Open Access
Climate change vulnerability and risk analysis in the Bobirwa sub-district, Botswana: towards Improving livelihood adaptation to climate
(2016-04-01) Chandapiwa, Molefe; Hillary, Masundire
In November 2015, ASSAR ’s southern Africa researchers– from the University of Botswana, The University of Cape Town, University of Namibia and Oxfam GB– conducted a two-day Vulnerability Risk Assessment (VRA) workshop in Bobirwa, Botswana. The workshop was attended by various government officials, Village Development Committee members, local community members, and representatives from farmer committees, collectively known as the VRA Knowledge Group. The VRA process aims to develop a common understanding among various stakeholders (government officials, village committees and local communities) of the main hazards and issues affecting those living in a given social-ecological landscape. This is done so as to design measures that reduce risk, enhance wellbeing and promote resilience to hazards in the landscape.
Open Access
Conceptualizing horizontal cooperation in regional socio-ecological systems through actor networks and collective action: the case of Berg River catchment
(2014) Methner, Nadine; Ziervogel, Gina; Pahl-Wostl, Claudia; Hamann, Ralph
This research investigates the role of horizontal cooperation in the adaptive management of regional socio-ecological systems (SESs). Horizontal cooperation refers to the collaborative, non-hierarchical interactions of actors across sectors, modes of governance and spatial scales. It can allow diverse actors to deal with the complexity and uncertainties that characterize SESs and to co-produce public benefits. The research question is, When does horizontal cooperation contribute to adaptive management in complex governance arrangements? The Berg River catchment in South Africa serves as a case study to analyze such complex systems. The empirical focus is on the operational level which is responsible for maintaining key functions of the water resources in the SES. A formal social network analysis is employed to describe and analyze the management of the Berg River catchment. The analysis focuses on (i) cohesion and (ii) heterogeneity, which are two network characteristics that affect learning and collective action in actor networks. Horizontal cooperation is further investigated by examining selected collective action initiatives with the help of Ostrom’s eight design principles (1990). Constraints affecting collective action and the capacity to self-organize are identified, and the robustness of the governance arrangements arising from horizontal cooperation is evaluated. The study finds that the behavior of actors towards each other and the SES is influenced by incentives provided by informal network structures, market mechanisms and bureaucratic hierarchies. Hence, modes of governance intersect at the operational level and consequently influence the nature of horizontal cooperation. While the quality of the management of the SES is largely determined by the patterns of interactions among the actors that manage the SES, these interactions are influenced by other institutional and organizational structures in which they are embedded. Unexpectedly, market mode incentives stimulate collective action in the Berg catchment and accentuate the need for addressing degrading water quality. Informal relations and emerging inter-organizational platforms matter for learning and for providing opportunities for collective action. Yet, the incentives (or lack thereof) created through hierarchical steering of the South African water governance system by the national government department are often counterproductive. That is, so far the self-organizing efforts at sub-catchment level could not be transformed into functioning governance arrangements because of constraints imposed by the hierarchical mode. The study confirms that self-organization and collective action that arise from horizontal cooperation are important for the adaptive management of regional SESs.
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Developing a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP) for climate change: the city of Cape Town
(SAGE Publications, 2007) Mukheibir, Pierre; Ziervogel, Gina
Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and heat waves, as well as more gradual changes in temperature and precipitation. The city of Cape Town (South Africa) is at risk from projected climate-induced warming and changes in rainfall variability. This makes resource management and infrastructure planning more challenging and increases the urgency of the need to adapt city-level operations to both current climate variability and future climate change. To date, however, the main focus of adaptation planning has been at the national level, and has not adequately addressed municipal-scale adaptation. This paper presents and discusses an overarching framework that would facilitate the development of a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP). The example of the city of Cape Town illustrates some of the sector-level assessments and potential climate threats, as well as resource mobilization issues that need to be addressed during the development and implementation of a MAP. In conclusion, a number of barriers to developing a MAP are discussed.
Open Access
Disability, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
(2016-11-03) Judith, McKenzie; Ziervogel, Gina; Mdlulwa, Ncediwe
The aim of this project is to develop an open education resource that explores the relationship between disability and development within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Change. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) were heavily criticized by the disability sector as they did not have a focus on one of the most vulnerable groups in development, people with disabilities. This experience led to a heightened awareness of disability in development and an eagerness of the disability sector to participate more actively in the development of the sustainable development goals. This project aimed to bring together experts at UCT in climate change and sustainable development to inform disability practitioners from different sectors of the possible impacts of climate changes on people with disabilities so that there can be informed debate and advocacy with regard to disability inclusion within the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Open Access
Exploring impacts and effectiveness of the City of Cape Town’s interventions on household water use practices during the drought
(2019) Matikinca, Phikolomzi; Ziervogel, Gina; Enqvist, Johan
The occurrence of water crises in many parts of the world raises the need to consider more efficient and sustainable consumption of water resources. As such, many cities have prioritised water demand management strategies, which are based on price and non-price mechanisms. The literature shows no consensus as to which of these measures are most effective for managing residential water demand. To understand the impact and effectiveness of these mechanisms, there is a need to understand how people respond to them. This requires understanding materials, meanings and competences (skills and know how) that people have, which constitute elements of social practice. In 2017 and 2018, the City of Cape Town (CoCT) ramped up their price and non-price mechanisms to encourage people to save water in response to a severe drought. These mechanisms included water restrictions, increased water tariffs, and the Day Zero communication campaign. However, little is known about how effective these measures were at encouraging people to save water. There is no clear documentation of how the public understands, interprets and incorporates these mechanisms into their own household water use practices. This study explores the impacts and effectiveness of the City of Cape Town’s price and non-price mechanisms on household water use practices during the water crisis. Using information obtained through semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals living in houses where they paid their water bills, a version of social practice theory is used as a lens to understand how respondents interpreted and responded to these mechanisms when it comes to residential water use practices. This allows for an assessment of which of the CoCT’s actions are more effective in achieving sustainable water use practices. Results show that price mechanisms (water tariffs) were considered to be ineffective and did not encourage people to save water. Non-price mechanisms (water restrictions and Day Zero communication campaign) were seen as having more impact on respondents, encouraging water conservation behaviour; especially when it comes to household indoor water use activities related to hygiene. Compared to other studies which have used estimates for the water demand function, this study conducted interviews directly with households on the impact of the mechanisms. This enabled this study to explain how and why household water use practices change in response to these measures. Such qualitative information is important and contributes to a field that often uses quantitative data to suggest whether price or non-price mechanisms are effective.
Open Access
Exploring the contributions of cross-sector collaborations to Disaster Risk Reduction in the city of Harare: an investigation through a drought response lens
(2021) Nyamakura, Balbina Kudzai; Shackleton, Sheona; Ziervogel, Gina
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction calls for collaboration across sectors in society as an effective way to reduce disaster risk in order to safeguard lives, human wellbeing, and development gains from potential disasters. However, the effectiveness of these cross-sector collaboration approaches has most often been studied in the context of rapid onset disasters such as floods, with less focus on slow-onset disasters such as multiple year droughts. There is also limited research on the contributions of cross-sector collaborations towards Disaster Risk Reduction in African cities. For this study, I set out to investigate cross-sector collaboration efforts contributing to drought response in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe; and how these collaborations were contributing towards fulfilling the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework. These include i) understanding disaster risk, ii) strengthening disaster risk governance, iii) investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience, and iv) enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response. In this qualitative study, I made use of purposive and snowball sampling methods to select 14 key informants from national and local government, non-governmental organisations, and civil society organisations who were directly involved in eight drought related cross-sector collaborations. I conducted in depth semi-structured interviews with these key informants between 2018 and 2019. For the analysis, I followed prior developed themes based on Bryson et al. (2006) theoretical framework to understand cross-sector collaborations. I also applied a typology of barriers and enablers developed from the literature in the analysis, and interpreted emergent themes using NVivo software. I then assessed the contributions of the identified cross-sector collaborations to the activities listed under each of the four priority areas in the Sendai Framework. The findings highlighted the socio-political and economic context of the city of Harare had seeped through and influenced the cross-sector collaborations responding to drought. They shed light on how taking advantage of widely accessible social media platforms serve to enhance collaborations. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of existing networks and relationships in enabling cross-sector collaborations to occur effectively. Most of the cross-sector collaborations occurring in response to drought were originally formed for other reasons and included drought response during the peak of the drought disaster. Collaborations were effective at contributing towards engaging communities in risk assessment and reporting at the local level (Priority 1) and ensuring continual provisioning of services (water) during and after disasters (Priority 4). I make suggestions for collaborations to consider issues of power and how these affect the effectiveness of collaborations on the ground with regards to ensuring social justice and reducing inequality. Finally, I conclude that cross-sector collaborations would be more effective in response to slow-onset disasters when they are formed and applied before the disaster is at its peak. I also suggest that the design and implementation of the cross-sector collaborations be tailor made to consider the socio-political and economic aspects of the city in their design for effective response.
Open Access
Exploring the effects of climate change communication and training efforts: lessons from training-courses aimed at mid-career professionals
(2017) Van Wyk, Claire; Ziervogel, Gina; Pasquini, Lorena
Research on the different ways in which climate change and adaptation (CCA) is communicated and taught has been growing in popularity over the last few decades. Researchers in communication science have found that the way in which information is presented and transferred is important in influencing people's perceptions and attitudes towards particular topics and issues. With this in mind, the lack of interest or realization of the severity of climate change at many levels of governance may be indicative that climate change, the subsequent negative impacts thereof and the need to implement adaptive and mitigative strategies - is not being effectively communicated to these audiences. This research explores the effect of CCA training-courses on participant knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards CCA and related issues. It also highlights training methods and elements of course design which participants identified as enabling factors in enabling their understanding of CCA. The data collection used a mix methods approach, and focused around two training-courses. Participants (n=37) were mid-career professionals, many of whom engage in decision-making and policy development activities in different levels and sectors of government. Quantitative data was collected using scaled pre-and-post training tests. Qualitative data was collected through 14 semi-structured interviews, process observations, and anonymous feedback slips. A majority of participants (68%), showed an increase in knowledge scores after attending training. Similarly, 62% of participants responded more positively to questions relating to CCA in the post-training test compared to their pre-test responses. This research did not find a strong correlation between changes in knowledge, and changes in perceptions and attitudes; however, there were positive changes in all three variables. Participants discussed six methods of teaching and training which enabled their understanding of CCA and related issues; namely, PowerPointTM presentations, group work, practical exercises, games and role-play. Learnings from studying the training-courses highlight the importance of collaborative learning, diversity in participant groups, active engagement of participants with various mixed training methods and careful framing of content such that it inspires a sense of confidence rather than hopelessness. The effective communication and transfer of CCA information to professionals that are engaged in decision-making and policy development is key to increasing adaptive capacity, and subsequently adaptation at scale. It is therefore critical that CCA communication and capacity building efforts, such as training-courses, are designed such that they optimize participant learning and understanding.
Open Access
Exploring the factors and actors that contribute to the co-production of climate adaptation plans: a comparison of three municipalities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
(2016) Davies, Julia; Ziervogel, Gina
Local governments are increasingly responding to climate change by developing formal institutions for adaptation. However, given the relative novelty of the adaptation planning field, there is insufficient practice-related research to inform these processes. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to assess the factors and actors that affect climate adaptation planning at the municipal level. Whilst numerous studies have identified the barriers to and opportunities for adaptation, less is known about what the underlying institutional, political and social conditions are that cause these factors to arise. This dissertation adopts a placebased perspective to comparatively analyse the adaptation planning processes that were undertaken in the Bergrivier, Drakenstein and Eden Municipalities between 2012 -2013, under sponsorship from the Western Cape Government's Climate Change Municipal Support Programme (CCMSP). The CCMSP upholds an ethos of participation and multistakeholder engagement, and the theoretical concepts of knowledge co-production and collaborative governance are therefore drawn on as a framing device to guide the analysis. The results highlight the various factors that can inhibit the success of collaborative adaptation planning in municipalities, as well as the multiple opportunities that exist to overcome or avoid these barriers. The barriers that emerged most strongly included: the prioritisation of local socio-economic development needs, restricted financial and human capacity resources, information and time constraints, an absence of mandatory legislation, a lack of political will to prioritise adaptation, limited cross-sectoral integration, poor representation and continuity at multi-stakeholder workshops, unclear employee roles within an organisation, strong power dynamics and misrepresented perceptions around compound environmental, climate change and development issues. The most prominent opportunities that were found for overcoming these barriers included: sound leadership from driven local champions, locating champions in departments other than, or in addition to, environmental departments, the presence of political will and support for the adaptation agenda, drawing on and/or building relationships and networks to co-explore and co-produce knowledge and policy, embracing experimentation and innovation, using informal communication channels, finding alternative devices through which to frame climate change and mainstreaming adaptation into overall municipal planning. Whilst some of the barriers and opportunities that were identified were common across the three case studies, others were specifically related to causes internal to the municipal environment and were thus highly context-specific. In light of these findings, the dissertation concludes that future municipal adaptation planning processes should focus on addressing the need for strong political will and effective local leadership, remain cognizant of the municipal context, call attention to the invisible factors that influence municipal climate governance, capitalize on opportunities for partnership-building, view adaptation as an iterative process rather than an end-point and embrace a flexible, 'learning by doing' approach.
Open Access
Extensive green roof design in the City of Cape Town : barriers and opportunities for developing a green industry
(2010) Armstrong, James Taylor; Ziervogel, Gina
In today's world of increasing energy costs and rapid ecosystem service decay, a result of direct human disturbance from development, habitat loss and fragmentation and the increasing frequencies of extreme weather events, it is critical that building practices in the next decade adopt a more adaptive and holistic approach to building design.
Open Access
Farming bees in a dynamic social-ecology: An ethnographic exploration of knowledge practices among commercial bee farmers in the Western Cape, South Africa
(2013) Visser, Zoë; Ziervogel, Gina; Daya, Shari
In recent years theorists have challenged the certainty that there is one universally 'right' system of knowledge, arguing that there exists a diversity or plurality of ways of knowing the world (Turnbull 1997; Green 2008). Western scientific research has been reframed by these 'relational ontologists' as a set of knowledge practices that tend to produce and reinforce a dualistic view of the world. In particular, 'scientific', positivist accounts of nature have historically positioned mind and body, human beings and nature, humans and non-humans as essentially different or separate from each other (Thrift 2004; Haraway 2008). The methodological recommendation is that, as social theorists, we carefully observe knowledge practices and allow ourselves to be surprised or challenged by what we find rather than constantly performing these preconceived ways of knowing the world through our research (Law 2004; Lien & Law 2010). Farming bees commercially in the Western Cape, South Africa involves a high degree of skill and intimate daily engagements with plants, animals, landscapes and weather-worlds. As such it is an ideal case study for interrogating dualistic framings of human-environment relations through an ethnographic exploration of environmental knowledge practices. Commercial bee farmers that participated in this study raised a range of concerns about complex dynamics influencing their businesses, including challenges accessing viable land for bee sites and accessibility and security of the flowering plants upon which bees depend for food. I argue that, in practice, these challenges involved relational entanglements of farmers and other 'more-than-human' actors (Whatmore 2006) in what I refer to as a dynamic social-ecology (Ingold 2000; Berkes & Jolly 2001; Ommer et al. 2012). I argue that pollination and honey were co-produced by meshworks of more-than-human actors (Ingold 2011; Cohen 2013) and that knowledges were grounded in farmer's physical bodies and performed through practical skills. Farmers embodied multiple roles (such as farmer-businessman and farmer-researcher) and were able to move fluidly between different assemblages of skilled practices and ways of knowing in their engagements with plants, bees and other people (Turnbull 2000; Mol 2002). These insights are used to interrogate dualistic framings of inter-species relationality as well as to critically develop a relational understanding of environmental knowledge practices.
Open Access
The food-energy-water-land-biodiversity (FEWLB) nexus through the lens of the local level : an agricultural case study
(2015) Hulley, Sarah May; Ziervogel, Gina; New, Mark
There is a recognised need to turn the abstract concept of resilience thinking into practical action for resource management. This is often difficult as resource management is complex and multifaceted. Nexus thinking attempts to address this by promoting a framework that integrates and coordinates resource management across many different but interlinked resource pillars and sectors. This research focuses on the local level implementation of the food, energy, water, land and biodiversity (FEWLB) nexus framework, and assesses farmers' understanding and implementation of nexus thinking in relation to the support of the Bergrivier Municipality. Agriculturalists (farmers) have been described as significant custodians of natural resources, as they sit in a key position when it comes to implementing and practising sustainable development. There has been little research into the relationship between farmers and local municipalities, or into the role that local government can play in supporting holistic resource management through agriculture. While there are many different actors contributing towards resource management, this research focuses on the agricultural sector within the municipality. Qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation and surveys, were used to undertake a case study of the agricultural sector within the Bergrivier Municipality. In a context where local government struggles to find its role in supporting socio-ecological resilience, the FEWLB nexus framework offers an opportunity to implement effective planning and policies that could enable more efficient resource use.
Restricted
Framework for adaptation to climate change for the City of Cape Town - FAC4T (City of Cape Town)
(2006-08) Mukheibir, Pierre; Ziervogel, Gina
The 20th century has seen the greatest warning in the past thousand years due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2001b). Climate models now predict that the atmosphere's temperature will increase by 1.4ºC to 5.8ºC by 2100. Climate change will continue to occur even if the global greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed significantly in the short- to medium term. Therefore, while controlling emissions is vital, this should be combined with efforts to minimise the effects of climate change. This is commonly called adaptation, and is generally defined as an adjustment in bio-physical, social and/or economic systems in response to an actual or expected climatic impact and its effect. The effect of climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and heat waves. The Northern and Western Cape provinces are projected as the two South African provinces most at risk of climate-induced warming and rainfall change. This makes the City of Cape Town's resource management more challenging.
Open Access
International Environmental Justice and the Climate Change Challenge
(2012-12) Lawhon, Mary; Ziervogel, Gina;
This course module is one section of a larger course called Geography, Development and Environment that runs as a first year course in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town. The course work provided here is one of 3 modules including 1) the global economic environment, 2) regional dynamics of development, and 3) the North-South debates on environmental problems. This module falls under the theme of North-South debates on environmental problems. The courses use theories of underdevelopment and climatic change to explain global and regional inequalities and environmental problems. Key concepts in the course are: trade, foreign aid, regional integration, and climatic change. The objectives of this section of the course are to begin understanding: 1. the concepts of environmental justice and climate change, 2. the relationship between environmental change and development, and 3. the international politics of global environmental change, This topic provides the scope for debate among students because of the contentious nature of the subject, and the lack of clear answers. Importantly this course focuses on presenting multiple explanations and diverse viewpoints and is intended to provide context, history and structure for students’ thinking. Students are not provided with solutions, but instead encouraged to develop their own explanations and responses to climate change and justice. This 4 week module, supported by powerpoint slides, uses climate change to explore key environmental and geographical issues including: justice, scale, international equality, global political processes, and environmental change. We begin by examining the foundation and principles of the environmental movement, distinguishing between different types of environmentalism and articulating early environmental conflicts between the North and South (presentations 1, 2, 4). We then develop ideas of environmental justice (presentation 3) and how it applies to climate change.
Open Access
Loss and damage from droughts: material and non-material impacts of water scarcity on women farmers in Gugulethu, Cape Town
(2019) Lavirotte, Lucy; Ziervogel, Gina; Norton, Marieke
Climate change is causing loss and damage (L&D) to those who are unable to adapt to its impacts. Coming from a growing recognition that adaptation to climate change has limits, the concept of L&D is a relative new-comer to the international agenda on climate change. To reduce L&D and compensate for it, the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) first needs to understand what these residual impacts of climate change are. However, the literature on lived-experiences of L&D is limited, especially on non-material L&D which is more difficult to measure. Using Warner et al. (2013) definition of L&D, this study first assesses what material and non-material losses and damages from the Cape Town drought have been on a group of urban-poor women farmers. Then, this research uses a barriers and enablers to adaptation framework to understand how to reduce these losses and damages. This qualitative case-study investigates women farmers’ lived-experiences of L&D during the 2015-2017 drought in Gugulethu, a low-income settlement in Cape Town, to feed into broader debates on ways to reduce L&D in global south cities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women farmers from the Umthunzi Farming Community and five other actors involved in urban agriculture in Gugulethu. The findings suggest that women farmers in this context are already experiencing L&D, with psychological, physical and social implications which appear to be particularly pertinent to their group. All participants had to reduce or stop farming which led to L&D on their urban agriculture benefits as well as L&D on their institutional trust towards the City of Cape Town. Most of these L&D were non-material. Some of the barriers to adapt and reduce L&D were a lack of external support (from the city and NGOs), a lack of financial capacity to adopt coping measures and a lack of knowledge on the possible coping measures and external support options. Enablers to reduce L&D from the drought were access to support from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (DoA), higher levels of education, a diversity of livelihoods and a strong network with other farmers. In conclusion it emerged that external support from government departments and NGOs to urban-poor women farmers is important for adapting to the possibility of future droughts. The vulnerability of these women farmers in low-income areas need to be addressed at their roots. These emerging conceptual openings emphasise the importance of exploring lived-experiences of L&D to better reduce the risk of L&D in vulnerable communities. Further research is necessary on compensation for unavoidable L&D, which is beyond the limits of this research.