Masters Degrees (School of Public Leadership)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (School of Public Leadership) by browse.metadata.advisor "Blignaut, James"

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    Exploring the tensions, pressures and transformations of urban rivers through a social lens : the case study of the Kuils River in the Western Cape, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Xotyeni, Akhona Lerato; Blignaut, James; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: In the past, urban river restoration studies have prioritised economic, ecological and natural science perspectives and rather neglected social, cultural and political perspectives. However, with the rapid deterioration and degradation of urban rivers due to anthropogenic factors amongst many others, there has been an increase in researchers who have called for the incorporation of the social sciences and the perspectives, values and desires of social actors. Since the beginning of time, people have always been co-dependent with natural resources and water has not been exempted. Therefore, through a critical analysis of empirical and non-empirical data, the study explored the following: The restoration of urban rivers from a socio-ecological perspective through the application of the wicked systems theories. According to research, wicked systems theories consists of a combination of complicated and complex factors. The complicated aspect refers to the institutions which are involved in a system while complex factors refer to social dynamics. The Kuils River case study has become a wicked problem and therefore this was the most applicable theory which could be used to unpack the different components of the case study. The study also explored local natural resource management theories, namely, the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) and Adaptive (Co) Management theories. Governance and management practices play a major role in shaping the desired state of the river, and there are also the roles of other stakeholders. Therefore, it is important for this study to explore and apply governance perspectives to the case study. In the final instance, the study aimed at filling a gap with regards to the lack of representation of social actors in river restoration in the past. This was done through highlighting the opinions, perspectives, values and uses social actors had for urban rivers. And also, through comparing recurring themes which came up during the literature review and theoretical frameworks in relation to management approaches with data contributed by the participants which were interviewed. This study found that most of the points which were raised by the interview participants corroborated with the research objects, as well as other existing information from previous research studies. The participants also raised new information which has subsequently been included in the findings and recommendation sections of this thesis.
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    A funding effectiveness evaluation framework : a novel tool for enhancing protected area management effectiveness
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Amy Elizabeth, Bower; Blignaut, James; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Widespread shortcomings in protected area (PA) management effectiveness are undermining the integrity of PAs as a multi-purpose conservation and sustainable development strategy. For without effective management, site objectives cannot be adequately fulfilled and so consequently, the anticipated benefits cannot be realised. Therefore, it is imperative that tangible efforts are made to promote greater management effectiveness in PA sites worldwide. And so, the aim of this research was to develop and test a novel mechanism that could be applied to help enhance PA management effectiveness. The developed framework is a funding effectiveness evaluation tool, which was designed to generate site-specific feedback regarding the on-site funding structure and resource distributions. A funding effectiveness evaluation was selected as the direction of development and research because there is a well-documented, strong positive correlation between funding and management effectiveness, and so improvements in on-site funding will likely yield improvements in overall management effectiveness. Moreover, on-site funding effectiveness has been previously overlooked by other management effectiveness assessment mechanisms, and so there is an opportunity to provide novel feedback and add an alternative mechanism to the available toolkit. To develop the funding effectiveness evaluation tool, methodologies from established PA management effectiveness evaluations as well as assessment tools from other fields of research were compiled and merged to generate a novel framework. Within this developed framework, there are two assessment phases: a PA risk assessment and a PA funding assessment. The PA risk assessment identifies the site-specific priority risks, which provide the contextual basis for the PA funding assessment. The PA funding assessment then evaluates how well the on-site funding structure and targeted resource distributions enable the reduction of site risk exposure. This assessment is conducted by measuring six quantitative indicators, from which rating scores and feedback regarding on-site funding effectiveness are produced. To test this developed framework, pilot applications were conducted at two PA sites within the United States of America, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From these pilot studies, practical real-world examples of the evaluation feedback were produced and initial insights into the framework strengths and weaknesses were discerned to direct future adjustments. But most importantly, the pilot applications provided a positive indication that the site-specific novel feedback generated by this funding effectiveness evaluation framework does have the potential to help enhance PA management effectiveness. Thus, the preliminary framework for the funding effectiveness evaluation tool produced by this research could provide an alternative, supplemental approach to pursuing greater PA management effectiveness.
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    The potential of renewable energy to improve energy, food, and financial security at farm level in the Langeberg Local Municipality, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Abelheim, Jonathan; Blignaut, James; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Agriculture in South Africa is placed under increasing environmental, social, and financial pressure from drought and unreliable electricity supply. The potential for renewable energy to offset these disamenities is investigated by examining the issue from international, national, and local perspectives. First, the International Perspective examines the energy policy environments created by Germany, China, the USA, India, and Brazil by following their energy policy evolutions, uncovering the policy environments created that promote the use of renewable energy in the private sector through extensive institutional support. Next, in the National Perspective, South Africa's energy policy evolution, the possibilities for power sharing communities, small-scale embedded generation and South Africa's carbon market frameworks are dissected for policy incentives and institutional avenues through which the agri-indust1Y could potentially access the benefits associated with renewable energy. Finally, in the Local Perspective, the geographic, social, and financial feasibility of combining agriculture with renewable energy is tested using qualitative and quantitative data and gathered from a local fanning community, industry experts and local government. The overall results showed that while South Africa's policy frameworks supporting on-farm renewable energy producers are maturing, there is significant potential for renewable energy to increase energy, income, and food security at farm level in the Robertson, South Africa.