Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Competing Interests in Urban Biodiversity Management in the Context of a Changing Climate: A Case Study of the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct, South Africa

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Geography of Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Africa

  • 982 Accesses

Abstract

Conservation through restoration and rehabilitation of ecological infrastructure is an important climate change adaptation strategy. The Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct project is a pilot biodiversity conservation project for ecosystem services, which in the broader scheme, enhances community resilience and ability to adapt to climate change. This study investigated biodiversity management in an urban context using the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct Project as a case study. We focus on power interplay among the GGEP stakeholders by using the Political Ecology conceptual framework. The study adopted a qualitative paradigm comprising focus groups discussions, individual interviews and observations with purposively selected key stakeholders. Results show that the project is providing key ecological services despite ineffective management of stakeholder demands which undermines biodiversity conservation efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, W. M., & Hutton, J. (2007). People, Parks and Poverty: Political Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, a Review. Conservation and Society,5(2), 147–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., Brown, K., & Tompkins, E. L. (2006). The Political Economy of Cross-Scale Networks in Resource Co-Management. Ecology and Society,10(2), 9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arha, A., Audichya, R., & Pant, D. C. (2014). Challenges in the Urban and Peri-Urban Transition Zones and Strategies for Sustainable Cities: Experiences from Selected Cities. Water Science and Technology Library,71, 71–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aronson, M. F. J., et al. (2014). A Global Analysis of the Impacts of Urbanization on Bird and Plant Diversity Reveals Key Anthropogenic Drivers. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences,7(281), 1780.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benson, E. (2013). ‘Post-2015’ International Development Goals: Who Wants What and Why (IIED Issue Paper). London: International Institute for Environment and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bixler, R. P. (2013). The Political Ecology of Local Environmental Narratives: Power, Knowledge, and Mountain Caribou Conservation. Journal of Political Ecology,20, 273–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blaikie, P. (2012). Should Some Political Ecology Be Useful? The Inaugural Lecture for the Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group, Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, April 2010. Geoforum,43, 231–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bob, U., & Bronkhorst, S. (2010). Environmental Conflicts: Key Issues and Management Implications. African Journal on Conflict Resolution,10(2), 9–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, R. L., & Jarosz, L. (2004). Ethics in Political Ecology: A Special Issue of Political Geography Introduction: Thinking About Ethics in Political Ecology. Political Geography,23, 807–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, A. P., & Nielson, E. (2003). Natural Resource Conflict Management Case Studies: An Analysis of Power, Participation and Protected Areas. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). (2011). South Africa’s Second National Communication Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa (RSA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). (2013). Long-Term Adaptation Scenarios Flagship Research Programme (LTAS) for South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Environmental Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). (2017). Draft South Africa’s Third National Communication Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). (2006). South Africa Environmental Outlook. A Report on the State of the Environment. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

    Google Scholar 

  • Díaz, S., Fargione, J., Stuart Chapin, F. I. I. I., & Tilman, D. (2006). Biodiversity Loss Threatens Human Well-Being. PLoS Biology,4(8), 1300–1305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driver, A. et al. (2012). National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: An Assessment of South Africa’s Biodiversity and Ecosystems (Synthesis Report). Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute and Department of Environmental Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD). (2011). State of Biodiversity Report 2010/2011. Durban: eThekwini Municipality.

    Google Scholar 

  • eThekwini Municipality. (2016). Integrated Development Plan 5 Year Plan: IDP Annual Review. Integrated Development Plan. Available from http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Government/City_Vision/IDP/Documents/Final%202016_17%20IDP%2029052016.pdf. Accessed 17 August 2018.

  • Forsyth, T. (2003). Critical Political Ecology: The Politics of Environmental Science. Routledge: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, T. (2005). The Political Ecology of the Ecosystem Approach for Forests. In J. Sayer & S. Maginnis (Eds.), Forests in Landscapes: Ecosystem Approaches for Sustainability. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, T. (2008). Political Ecology and the Epistemology of Social Justice. Geoforum,39(2), 756–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, T. (2013). Critical Political Ecology: The Politics of Environmental Science. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct (GGEP). (2011). Conservation Management Plan, Version 3. June 2011. Available from http://ggep.org/. Accessed 14 August 2012.

  • Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct (GGEP). (n.d.). Management Files. Durban: EPCPD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goddard, M. A., Dougill, A. J., & Benton, T. G. (2010). Scaling Up from Gardens: Biodiversity Conservation in Urban Environments. Trends in Ecology & Evolution,25(2), 90–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R., Nell, M., & Bertoldi, A. (2007). Overview of Urban Land as a Commodity in South Africa: Research Findings and Recommendations. South Africa: Matthew Nell & Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herndon, C. N., et al. (2009). Disease Concepts and Treatment by Tribal Healers of an Amazonian Forest Culture. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine,5, 27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2014). Summary for Policymakers. In C. B. Field, V. R. Barros, D. J. Dokken, K. J. Mach, M. D. Mastrandrea, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B. Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, & L. L. White (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. J., & Solomon, J. F. (2013). Problematising Accounting for Biodiversity. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,26(5), 668–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimenyi, M. S., Nyangito, H., & Kulindwa, K. (2004). Mainstreaming Environment into Development Planning. Paper Presented to the United Nations Environment Program (Paper No. 4 (UNEP)). Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, KIPPRA and University of Dar-es-Salaam, Kenya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kok, A., Lotze, W., & Van Jaarsveld, S. (2009). Natural Resources, the Environment and Conflicts. African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD). Available from http://www.accord.org.za. Accessed 9 October 2014.

  • Lanckriet, S., et al. (2014). A Political Ecology Perspective of Land Degradation in the North Ethiopian Highlands. Land Degradation & Development, 26(5), 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2278.

  • Leon, B. (2007). The Place of Township Transformation within South African Policy and Strategies. The DPLG, Urban Renewal Programme. NPDG, URP, SACN and DBSA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marais, H. (2011). South Africa Pushed to the Limit: The Political Economy of Change. Cape Town: UCT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauro, S. E.-D. (2009). Seeing the Local in the Global: Political Ecologies, World-Systems, and the Question of Scale. Geoforum,40, 116–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miraftab, F. (2007). Governing Post-apartheid Spatiality: Implementing City Improvement Districts in Cape Town. Antipode,39, 602–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musunduzi Municipality. (2013). KwaZulu-Natal Province, Provincial Gazette No. 881 (Vol. 7).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagendra, H., Sudhira, H. S., Katti, M., Tengö, M., & Schewenius, M. (2014). Urbanization and Its Impacts on Land Use, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in India. Interdisciplina,2(2), 305–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okigbo, R. N., Eme, U. E., & Ogbogu, S. (2008). Biodiversity and Conservation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Africa. Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Reviews,3(6), 127–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrings, C. (2010). Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Climate Change: The Economic Problem. Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, G. (2000). Political Ecology and Ecological Resilience: An Integration of Human and Ecological Dynamics. Ecological Economics,35, 323–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phipson, J. S. (2012). Preliminary Agricultural Potential Specialist Study: Jachtvlakte Sustainable Settlement Plan. Situated in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape: in extent 2382 ha. Revision 002. Port Elizabeth: SRK Consulting.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pincet, S. (2012). Nature, Urban Development and Sustainability—What New Elements Are Needed for a More Comprehensive Understanding? Cities,29, S32–S37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D., & O’Donoghue, S. (2013). Urban Environmental Challenges and Climate Change Action in Durban, South Africa. Environment & Urbanization,25(2), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D., et al. (2012). Exploring Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Durban, South Africa: “Learning-by-Doing” at the Local Government Coal Face. Environment & Urbanization,24(1), 167–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocheleau, D. E. (2008). Political Ecology in the Key of Policy: From Chains of Explanation to Webs of Relation. Geoforum,39, 716–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, C., et al. (2007). Assessment of Observed Changes and Responses in Natural and Managed Systems. In M. L. Parry, et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, R. (2015). Conservation of What for Whom: A Political Ecological Approach to Conservation. In N. J. Bennett & R. Roth (Eds.), The Conservation Social Sciences: What? How? and Why? Vancouver, BC: Canadian Wildlife Federation and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change (AHTEG). (2009). Connecting Biodiversity and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change (CBD Technical Series No. 41). Montreal: CBD Secretariat, 126 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2010). Global Biodiversity Outlook 3. Montreal, Canada. Available at http://www.cbd.int/gbo3. Accessed 11 December 2012.

  • Seppings, K. (2009). Tshelimnyama Phase 4 Housing Development: Background Information Document. Kerry Seppings Environmental Management Specialists. EIR-Tshelimnyama Housing Development—EIA NO (DM/0096/09). Available from http://www.kwikwap.co.za/ksems/docs/DM009609%20Appendices%201B.

  • Seto, K. C., Güneralpa, B., & Hutyrac, L. R. (2012). Global Forecasts of Urban Expansion to 2030 and Direct Impacts on Biodiversity and Carbon Pools. PNAS,109(40), 16083–16088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shackleton, C. M., et al. (2014). Low-Cost Housing Developments in South Africa Miss the Opportunities for Household Level Urban Greening. Land Use Policy,36, 500–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). (2013). Life: The State of South Africa’s Biodiversity 2012. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Springate-Baginski, O., & Blaikie, P. (Eds.). (2007). Forests, People and Power: The Political Ecology of Reform in South Asia. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics South Africa. (2011). Living Conditions of Households in SA 2008/2009. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics South Africa. (2014). Poverty Trends in South Africa: An Examination of Absolute Poverty Between 2006 and 2011. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. (2010). The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A Synthesis of the Approach, Conclusions and Recommendations of TEEB. Nagoya: UNEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, I., Mackey, B., McNulty, S., & Mosseler, A. (2009). Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change. A synthesis of the Biodiversity/Resilience/Stability Relationship in Forest Ecosystems. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal (Technical Series No. 43), pp. 1–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Towns, A. M., et al. (2014). Evidence in Support of the Role of Disturbance Vegetation for Women’s Health and Childcare in Western Africa. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine,10(42), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. D. (2014). Political Ecology I: An Alliance with Resilience? Progress in Human Geography, 38, 616–623.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2012). Sustainable, Resource Efficient Cities-Making It Happen! Paris: UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vejre, H. (2008). Land Use Planning and Management in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas. Land Use, Land Cover and Soil Sciences, IV, 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wangler, L., Altamirano-Cabrera, J.-C., & Weikard, H.-P. (2013). The Political Economy of International Environmental Agreements: A Survey. International Environmental Agreements,13, 387–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, N. M., & Winfree, R. (2013). Local Habitat Characteristics but Not Landscape Urbanisation Drives Pollinator Visitation and Native Plant Pollination in Forest Remnants. Biological Conservation, 160, 10–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, V. L., Victor, J. E., & Crouch, N. R. (2013). Red Listed Medicinal Plants of South Africa: Status, Trends, and Assessment Challenges. South African Journal of Botany, 86, 23–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yasmi, Y., Schanz, H., & Salim, A. (2006). Manifestation of Conflict Escalation in Natural Resource Management. Environmental Science & Policy,9, 538–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziervogel, G., New, M., van Garderen, E. A., Midgley, G., Taylor, A., Hamann, R., et al. (2014). Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in South Africa. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 5, 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.295.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Chuma Banji Chinzila, Fathima Ahmed & Urmilla Bob

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Andrew Emmanuel Okem

Authors
  1. Chuma Banji Chinzila
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew Emmanuel Okem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fathima Ahmed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Urmilla Bob
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

  2. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia

    Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

  3. Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Michael Addaney

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Chinzila, C.B., Okem, A.E., Ahmed, F., Bob, U. (2019). Competing Interests in Urban Biodiversity Management in the Context of a Changing Climate: A Case Study of the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct, South Africa. In: Cobbinah, P.B., Addaney, M. (eds) The Geography of Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04873-0_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04873-0_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04872-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04873-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation