3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Framing issues of environmental security in Angola & Mozambique - the nexus of land, conflicts and sustainable livelihoods in post-conflict situations(2009-05-19T08:33:19Z) Clover, Jeanette LeeABSTRACT Violent and protracted conflicts, such as those that affected Mozambique and Angola (both countries with a Lusophone colonial heritage), have had severe consequences in terms of wartime dislocation and destruction, especially in rural areas. Land issues per se are not endogenously conflictive, but in post-conflict settings, the scramble for access to the assets necessary to (re-)establish livelihoods for large numbers of people, as well as the pursuit of land access by large-scale commercial interests who capitalise on a fluid land tenure situation to acquire resources, may occur. A nuanced and comparative study of Mozambique and Angola is undertaken that explores the relationship between violence, resources and the environment. It asks two questions: i) What accounts for the relationship between violence (evidenced in both brutal physical acts, threats and increasing vulnerabilities) and land as a resource? ii) Are there lessons to be learnt from these findings that are particular to countries emerging from protracted civil wars? The thesis explores the changing discourses around the concepts of human security and environmental security, and the pressing land issues confronting the African continent. It highlights the complexity of issues – political, social and economic – and the necessity for a theoretical shift away from the popular approaches towards alternative ways of understanding the connections between the environment, violence and resources. It examines the specific dynamics of a post-conflict environment, an area that has received little attention, despite its potential for playing a significant role in ensuring broad-based development and in peace-building. A modified livelihoods framework is also used to analyse land issues on the basis that land is an element of a wider livelihoods approach with a focus on poverty alleviation and wealth creation. Findings mirror those of other international researchers who have found that conflicts over land often have less to do with resource scarcity, but that “violence is more likely when resources are in great abundance or have great economic and strategic value” (Peluso and Watts, 2001: 5). Furthermore, findings support the calls for taking a more inclusive concept of violence and non-violence that recognises that the outward manifestation of disputes may not be violence in the form of civil war, but social disruptions (Liotta, 2005). The value of a post-structuralist political ecology for analysing these various connections is demonstrated in the research findings. It is one which does not search for ‘environmental triggers’ of violent conflicts, but looks at the reciprocal relationship between nature and humans. Both countries are confronting many of the land issues that are common to Africa and which suggest an important new phase in the politics of land. In Angola land tenure and shelter are now insecure for many in both rural and urban areas, while in both countries there is mounting competition and conflict over land and landed resources. There are increasing threats of exclusionary practices and land grabs, but also the more subtle, ‘non-traditional’ security threats of the destruction and damage to livelihoods, of deepening impoverishment, evident in "creeping vulnerabilities”. The findings of the research confirm that in dealing with both equity and efficiency issues, and environmental sustainability and political stability, land policies need to be well integrated into wider social, economic and environmental planning – at various levels, local to global – to strengthen sustainable security. vi Land conflicts are generally contained as local-level disputes, often camouflaged by government or suppressed. While conflict theory points to apparent triggers – differential impacts and political mobilisation – it must be acknowledged that these tensions are more often than not politically sustainable, as leaders justify overriding the interests of the poor in the interests of growth. Furthermore, peace is not the default mode of society: conflicts are at times an integral part of the transformation of land tenures systems and not necessarily destructive in themselves. Concerns need to focus, rather, on those cases where inequity and violence are politically sustainable, and what this means for human security. It is this issue that is recommended for further research. “In contrast to thinking about violent conflict, a human-centred conceptualisation of environmental security asserts the need for cooperation and inclusion to manage the environment for the equal benefit of all people and future generations” (Barnett, 2001: 128).Item Language and livelihoods in Johannesburg: Cameroonians income generating strategies(2008-03-28T12:47:00Z) Katende, KalambayABSTRACT This research investigates how language affects the livelihoods of migrants and their use of social networks for income generation in Johannesburg. The study focuses on the Cameroonians, a community constituted by two main linguistic groups: Francophones and Anglophones. It explores the historic process of migration into the Republic of South Africa, the motivations behind the choice of the inner city of Johannesburg by Cameroonians, and it differentiates the type of social networks in which Cameroonians in this study engage in. The research report also explores how language shapes social networks among Cameroonians living in the inner city of Johannesburg. Findings of this study reveal that language does not have a direct effect on livelihoods as almost all Cameroonians migrants interviewed in this study are able to speak both English and French. It nevertheless, shapes the respondents’ opportunities and strategies as many rely on linguistic communities to access information, get social assistance, and find jobs. This study found that Cameroonians living in the inner city of Johannesburg use intra-linguistic social networks more than inter-linguistic group social networks for their income generating strategies. It also demonstrates the importance that language has in the lives of these respondents. The study is based on non-representative sample of Cameroonians living in Johannesburg. It used a multi-methods approach including in-depth face-to-face interviews and written sources such as journals, books and research reports were combined to gather relevant data. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data.Item Response scenarios of households to drought-driven food shortage in a semi-arid area in South Africa(2007-02-26T10:12:57Z) Akpalu, Delali AdjoaThe goal of this research report was to profile the coping strategies of households in Thorndale to the effects and impacts of the 2002/2003 drought. Thorndale, the study site is prone to drought and thus experiences severe drought almost every year. The rationale behind the selection of Thorndale for the study was based on this fact, in addition to the fact that the study area is relatively unstudied. The study’s major findings included inadequate agricultural extension service delivery in the community, while the drought’s impacts were economic, social, nutritional and health, food shortage, environmental and wildlife. The most significant and largest impact was water shortage. These impacts led to increased household dependency on the natural capital component of livelihoods in addition to prostitution and the community’s institutional arrangements. The main constraints households encountered in response to the drought’s impacts included the lack of employment opportunities, financial and infrastructural problems among others. It is recommended that with respect to food security, efforts should be made to ensure the trickle down effect of national level assessment of vulnerability on annual basis to rural households in South Africa’s drought-prone areas including Thorndale, in order to improve timely and practical solutions to issues of food insecurity. Furthermore, it should be ensured that the national level benefits of early warning systems trickle down to the local and community levels including Thorndale. Additionally, agricultural extension service delivery in the community needs to be improved.