Urban sustainability and social ecological systems: linking civic ecology, nature and ecosystems services for the achievement of the SDGs.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
To address global environmental change and ensure well-being, an improved understanding of
complex human-environment relationships is needed. It further requires that the role of natural
systems and ecosystem services are recognised for their contributions to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), are included in a broad range of development sectors, and are
managed and protected appropriately to safeguard those contributions. This PhD contributed
to the evolution of the application of sustainability frameworks, from global to local level, by
providing local-level evidence from two sources of change, civic / community action and local
government actions (eThekwini Municipality). Through the five papers produced in this PhD
research, I developed and assessed contributions of civic ecology, research organisation
processes, and government planning and management, to global sustainability, using socialecological
systems and ecosystem services theory as a foundation. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4, a
mixed methodological approach was used (household surveys, interviews, field observations
and impact assessment) to identify the systemic linkages between civic ecology interventions
of the Wise Wayz Water Care programme (case study), ecosystem services, SDGs, and human
well-being. Chapter 5 analysed virtual vs face-to-face international conferences of the
Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems programme (case study) and identified impacts on
inclusivity, organisational learning, carbon footprints, barriers and enabling conditions for
improved efficiency, and environmental sustainability, of international research collaborations.
Chapter 6 used the Durban Research Action Partnership (D’RAP) transdisciplinary scienceaction
collaboration as a case study, to explore the links between social outcomes and
ecosystem services from multiple viewpoints, through expert collaboration and engagement
for urban planning and sustainability. The main contributions made by this work are: (1)
Identification, quantification, and assessment of civic ecology interventions as a tool to
improve human well-being, using a social-ecological systems approach; (2) Linking local
interventions to global policy outcomes through quantified systems mapping of civic ecology,
natural capital, and ecosystem services enhancement, related to the SDGs; (3) Linking
ecosystem services to human well-being improvements and policy implementation through
transdisciplinary approaches. This thesis provided insights, tools, methods and evidence for
local-level actions, yielding national and international sustainability wins.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.