ResearchSpace
ResearchSpace is the institutional repository of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, unlocking knowledge, empowering impact, and preserving UKZN's research legacy.
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South Africa and the decolonisation of the Antarctic Treaty System.
(2024) Bellengère, Adrian Hugh.; Gevers, Christopher Carl.; Donnelly, Dusty-Lee.
Antarctica plays a pivotal role in global environmental health, influencing climate systems, weather patterns, ocean health, and biodiversity. As a key part of the planet’s environmental balance, its offers insight into global environmental dynamics and serves as an indicator of planetary health. However, it also contains vast mineral resources, the tempting exploitation of which, poses significant risks to the environmental health of both Antarctica and the planet. However, despite Antarctica’s global importance, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) concentrates governance in the hands of a few countries excluding the vast majority of the world’s nations from all decision-making processes, which undermines its legitimacy and the effectiveness of its environmental protection measures. This lack of global inclusion, combined with the ATS’s inability to address growing challenges, leaves Antarctica extremely vulnerable. Without significant reform, the ATS lacks the authority and legitimacy to effectively protect Antarctica’s environmental future. However, drastic systemic change is unlikely to occur within the necessary time frame to prevent irreversible damage so urgent, internal, steps are needed to bolster its ability to confront these challenges in both the short and long term. The ATS is thus suffering a crisis of legitimacy. It remains exclusive and unrepresentative, is controlled by a small group of nations, some of which have territorial claims and governs a continent that belongs to all of humanity. This is undemocratic, exclusionary and elitist. To enhance its legitimacy the ATS needs to become more democratic and representative. To do this, it must broaden its membership, enhance participation, and be more inclusive of voices from underrepresented regions. South Africa, a founding member of the ATS, and the only African country in the ATS, is uniquely positioned to advocate for these changes. With its unique geopolitical perspective, South Africa can lead efforts to decolonise the ATS and make it more democratic and representative. By using the existing legal structures and encouraging broader membership, South Africa can help improve the ATS’s legitimacy, making it better equipped to protect Antarctica’s environment and better enable it to govern Antarctica in the long-term interest of all nations.
Leveraging remotely sensed data and machine learning for quantifying soil organic carbon stocks in woody-encroached areas of Bisley Nature Reserve.
(2024) Mthiyane, Sfundo.; Mutanga, Onisimo.; Odindi, John Odhiambo.; Matongera, Trylee Nyasha.
Woody encroachment has emerged as a significant driver of land cover change in grasslands, with profound effects on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). SOC is an important indicator of soil fertility, and thus crucial for grassland productivity. Previously, woody encroachment has been reported as a primary source of SOC alteration in grasslands. However, there are still debates and uncertainties on whether this phenomenon amplifies or reduces SOC sequestration. Therefore, it is necessary to further evaluate SOC accumulation in grasslands affected by proliferation of woody plants. Remote sensing offers freely available and cost-effective data with improved spatial and spectral resolution to quantify SOC. In this regard, the current study aimed to evaluate the role of remote sensing in quantifying the spatial variability of SOC across a woody encroached Bisley Nature Reserve. The first objective focused on quantifying the spatial variability of SOC stocks in both pristine and woody-encroached grasslands using PlanetScope spectral bands and vegetation indices. At a depth of 0-30 cm, the study found that landscapes dominated by woody encroachment exhibited higher SOC values compared to pristine grasslands. Using Deep Neural Networks, a combination of PlanetScope spectral bands and vegetation indices model achieved acceptable accuracy (R² = 0.64) for quantifying SOC stocks at this depth. Interestingly, NDVI was the most important variable for estimating SOC within woody encroached grassland. However, to fully understand the dynamics of SOC accumulation and its vertical distribution across different soil depths, it was necessary to expand the analysis. Hence the second objective extended the investigation by utilizing a Random Forest algorithm and integrating additional remotely sensed data to model SOC stocks at multiple soil depths (0-30 cm, 30-60 cm, and 60-100 cm). This approach provided a more comprehensive view of SOC variability, revealing a higher concentration of SOC in the top 30 cm compared to deeper layers. By incorporating topographic variables, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope data, the model produced higher accuracy for deeper soil layers, with R² values of 0.76 at 60 cm and 0.79 at 100 cm. SAR data enhanced the model by offering insights into subsurface conditions. These findings underscore the necessity of investigating SOC at different depths to fully capture its spatial distribution and highlight the potential of remote sensing and machine learning to improve SOC mapping accuracy across woody-encroached grasslands.
Understanding bush encroachment in Bisley Valley Nature Reserve: the use of intensity analysis and cellular automata model on RapidEye and PlanetScope image data.
(2024) Mncwabe, Ntuthuko Prosperous.; Mutanga, Onisimo.; Odindi, John Odhiambo.; Matongera, Trylee Nyasha.
The encroachment of woody vegetation into grasslands is a worldwide phenomenon that progressively causes serious disturbances to plant and animal biodiversity, ecosystem function, and recreational activities. This phenomenon has become a major concern in nature reserves due to its adverse impact on woody vegetation and grass ratio causing various disturbances such as decline of palatable grasslands and effects on soil properties. Hence, a comprehensive analysis of bush encroachment is paramount for understanding the past, present and future distribution of the encroachment and to inform effective management schemes. This study assessed and predicted bush encroachment dynamics in Bisley Valley Nature Reserve using high spatial resolution remotely sensed multi-temporal image data. The first objective focused on monitoring bush encroachment and associated land use-land cover types in the nature reserve using RapidEye and PlanetScope data within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Using RapidEye and PlanetScope image data spanning the period from 2009 to 2023, the study estimated the changing extent of woody vegetation, grassland cover and bare areas, providing a comprehensive analysis of their dynamics over the 14- year study period. Over the study period, results show that approximately 130.69 ha (ha) of grassland was converted to woody vegetation, while approximately 2.78 ha of woody vegetation was transformed into grassland. Moreover, the study established a net increase of 127.91 ha in the total area covered by woody vegetation. The second objective sought to compute and analyze past, current, and future (2009-2033) bush encroachment trends and intensity of land cover transitions using intensity analysis and the Cellular Automata (CA) models. The findings revealed a steady increase in woody encroachment on other land cover types. Moreover, there was an intensive change of land cover in the first period (2009-2014) compared to the other periods. Additionally, the prediction of future bush encroachment demonstrated an increasing trend of woody vegetation in the next decade. This study provides valuable insights on the threat of bush encroachment in the study area and demonstrates the value of various approaches such as change detection, intensity analysis and prediction of future encroachment for spatially explicit and detailed analysis of bush encroachment. The study also revealed that there is a pressing need for evaluation and improvement of management schemes in the study area and other encroached landscapes.
Political corruption in Nigeria : examining the causes and consequences on development from 2010 to 2015.
(2025) Mazeka, Asanda.; Ntombela, Siyabonga Pherison.
This study explores the causes and consequences of political corruption on Nigeria's development from 2010 to 2015, focusing on the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this research adopts a desktop study design, incorporating Prebendalism, the Two Publics Theory, and the Political Alienation Theory to frame its analysis. Secondary data sources, including policy documents, peer-reviewed publications, and credible media reports, were methodically examined to uncover the underlying drivers of corruption, its developmental impacts, and the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures during this period. The findings reveal that entrenched prebendal practices, weak institutional frameworks, and widespread political alienation fuelled systemic corruption, resulting in economic stagnation, governance inefficiencies, and heightened insecurity, such as the proliferation of Boko Haram insurgency. Despite existing anti-corruption policies and legislation, enforcement mechanisms proved inadequate, further entrenching corruption. The study underscores the need for strengthened institutional capacity, enhanced political accountability, and measures to address socio-political alienation to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria. By providing critical insights into the interplay between corruption and development, this research offers practical recommendations for policymakers, scholars, and civil society actors committed to fostering good governance and combating corruption in Nigeria.
Remote access, use, and management of library resources by select School of Social Sciences postgraduate students and librarians in the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg campus.
(2024) Wawire, Lindah Namulanda.; Nsibirwa, Zawedde Gulikomuseesa.
The study aimed to investigate the remote access, use and management of library resources by the select school of social sciences postgraduate students and librarians at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. The study adopted a quantitative and qualitative research approach, with quantitative being the major approach. The post-positivism research paradigm was used and applied Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model, anchored on the social constructivism approach and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology developed by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003) based on social cognitive theory. The study target was 108 respondents, which included 100 postgraduate students and eight Subject Librarians from the UKZN, Pietermaritzburg campus. A purposive sampling technique was adopted for the study, and a mathematical formula suggested by Taro Yemen (1970), n = N/1+N(e)2 was used to determine the sample size of the postgraduate students. The total response rate of the respondents was 75(69%). Survey questionnaires were used to solicit quantitative data from postgraduate students, while interview schedules were used for qualitative data from the subject librarians. Self-administered questionnaires were sent to participants (students) via email to complete and return, and interviews were conducted with service providers via Zoom. Quantitative data were analysed through Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that postgraduate students accessed and used library electronic resources remotely, and the findings also indicate the availability of e-resources and services at the UKZN library. However, the electronic resources were not used to the maximum due to challenges such as inadequate literacy skills, financial constraints, technical and network problems, lack of search skills and inadequate knowledge to navigate through the databases. Moreover, students experienced download delays and limited subscribed titles. The researcher recommends that the university devise ways to help students get on board for training, as this will enable them to know what’s available and how to get access to the library’s e-resources. Likewise, the study proposed the need for extensive marketing and awareness of library e-resources, and most importantly the use of databases. Furthermore, strategies should be employed to enhance information literacy and self-efficacy.