CONCERNS AND ATTITUDES OF THE SOUTHERN NEIGHBOURS OF THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, TOWARDS THE PARK: WORKING TOWARDS AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION MODEL.
by
ANDREW ROBERT COLLIE Dissertation Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS in ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION in the FACULTY EDUCATION AND NURSING SCIENCE at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY
Supervisor: Prof HG van Rooyen Co-Supervisor: Prof J Strauss
November 1997 Table of Contents
Abstract 4
Acknowledgements 5
Chapter One: General Orientation 1.1.1 Background to the Study 6 1.1.2 The Research Participants and the Study Area 9 1.2 The Aim and Rationale of the Study 9 1.3 Research Problem and Hypothesis 11 1.4 Methodology 12 1.4.1 Literature Study 12 1.4.2 Interviews, Daily Diary and Questionnaire 12 1.4.3 Research Design 12 1.5 The Study Programme 13
Chapter Two: An Overview of Environmental Education 2.1 Environmental Education 14 2.1.1 Environment 14 2.1.2 Belgrade Charter 15 2.1.3 Environmental Education 16 2.1.4 Education Programmes 19 2.1.5 Environmental Education in South Africa 20 2.1.6 Environmental Education and the Environment 23 2.1.7 Attitudes and Concerns 24 2.1.8 Sustainable Utilisation of Resources 26 2.1.9 Environmental Literacy 28 2.1.10 Cultures (Man) and Environment 29
1 2.2 Conservation Bodies, the Environment and Ecotourism 31 2.3 The Kruger National Park and its Neighbours 33 2.4 Summary 34
Chapter Three: Study Area and Research Methods in Environmental Education 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 Research Paradigms 35 3.2.1 Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches 36 3.2.2 Paradigms of Research in Environmental Education 38 3.2.3 Research Methods 41 3.3 Study Area 42 3.4 Validity 44 3.5 Internal Threats to Validity 44 3.6 External Threats to Validity 46 3.7 Sampling 46 3.8 Pilot Study 47 3.9 In-Depth Study 48 3.10 Statistical Analysis of In-Depth Results 52 3.11 Summary 52
Chapter Four: Results of the Study 4.1 Introduction 53 4.2 Pilot Study 54 4.3 In-Depth Results 59 4.4 Analysis of Variance (F-value) 66 4.5 Fisher t-test 69 4.6 Summary 70
2 Chapter Five: Discussion of the Results and Proposed Education Model 5.1 Introduction 71 5.2 Pilot Study 71 5.3 Validity 73 5.4 Internal Threats to Validity 74 5.5 External Threats to Validity 74 5.6 Weakness of Questionnaire 75 5.7 Attitudes and Concerns 75 5.8 Ecological/Environmental Knowledge 79 5.9 Educational Model 86 5.10 Summary 90
Chapter Six: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations 6.1 Summary of Research and Conclusions 91 6.2 Recommendations 92 6.2.1 Recommendations Regarding Further. Research 93
References 94
Appendix A 103
Appendix B 106
Appendix C 111
3 Abstract
Wildlife areas are considered by many to be "wilderness" islands, which do not have anything to do with the local communities surrounding them. These areas are seen as elitist. The Kruger National Park is no exception to these thoughts. Due to its immense size, many neighbours of the park have over the years been ignored. A questionnaire was given to 127 of the neighbours along the southern boundary of the park to determine the environmental literacy of these neighbours. The neighbours sampled were from informal and formal settlements and tourist destinations such as lodges and hotels. From the results it was found that there was very little difference between these neighbours in terms of their environmental literacy. An environmental education model was proposed in order to address the lack of knowledge or misconceptions that the neighbours held about the environment.
4 Acknowledgements
The following people need to be thanked for their assistance in this project.
Ralf Kalwa, section ranger of Malelane, for his assistance in making contact with the neighbours of the KNP.
John Malwane, for translating and communicating with the residents of Matsulu.
Dr LEO Braack and the Scientific Research department of KNP for allowing this project to be undertaken and giving it their support.
Rosemary du Toit and Ronel Erasmus for distributing and collecting questionnaires.
Jan Erasmus for criticisms and input into the study.
Brian Harris assisting me in making contact with the Matsulu residents.
Sandy Rall for proof reading and making corrections.
Nyree Kirs for the illustrations.
Prof H.G. van Rooyen, Prof J. Strauss and the Rand Afrikaans University for assisting me and allowing me to carry out this project for a Masters of Education degree.
5 Chapter One
General Orientation
1.1.1 Background To The Study
"The accepted trend in conservation and government circles is that game parks should only be allowed to exist if neighbouring people benefit from them, and communities are involved in managing them."
(W.D. Lotter, Keeping Track, 1996)
Wildlife sanctuaries such as the Kruger National Park (KNP), have been seen in the past as isolated islands. Their main function was the preservation of the natural environment. This in turn led to these parks becoming tourist attractions. But today wildlife managers are realising that these "wilderness islands" are greatly affected by social factors, such as the economy and political factors (Fourie, 1991). The same is true that communities adjoining these "wilderness islands" are influenced by these wildlife areas (Fourie, 1991). As Huntley, Siegfried and Sunter (1989) claim "a favourable interaction between economic development, environmental health and - quality of life" is needed (fig. 1.1).
Figure 1.1 The three determinants of human wellbeing (Huntley. et al.. 1989).
6 One of the main concerns of nations today is the state of the environment (Kuiper, 1995). Environmental management is becoming a bigger issue today due to the increase in environmental damage and degradation.
Many different programmes have been developed to get to an acceptable environmental management level. These have included looking at the environmental attitudes of children (Leeming, Dwyer, Porter & Cobern, 1993; Szagun & Mesenholl, 1993; Musser & Malkus, 1994; Leeming, Dwyer & Bracken, 1995 and Bogner & Wilhelm, 1996) and different cultural groups and specific environmental issues (Sheppard, 1995 and Caro & Ewert, 1995).
The term "neighbouring community" is seen to be all neighbours that are directly adjoining the park's boundary. They are seen to have an effect on the park's functioning, with activities either across its borders or on its borders (Anon, 1995). These activities include poaching, littering and the planting of alien vegetation. In the case of the southern boundary of the KNP, the effects of the neighbours are great.
Due to the diversity of the neighbours in this region of the KNP, neighbour effects range from poaching to the removal of riverine vegetation and the planting of alien - vegetation. Many of the reasons for this can be attributed to the lack of communication between the KNP and its neighbours over the years.
In the past decades the KNP has not enjoyed a very good relationship with its neighbours. Feelings of resentment towards what has been seen as a "rich white , man's" playground, due to forced removal of people, from the area, to make way for conservation as well as the past political policies of South Africa which prevented black South Africans from utilising the KNP as a tourist destination. In addition, the laws also excluded the local people from any involvement in the KNP with regards to management, or economic or social benefits (Borchert, 1995 (a)).
It is still felt by many conservationists that the local people surrounding wildlife areas do not have the responsibility, knowledge or privilege of becoming involved in the
7 management of these conserved areas. However these feelings are changing as can be demonstrated by many projects in Africa and the rest of the world. The KNP therefore should be no exception.
Before the local neighbouring communities can be allowed to have a say in the management of the wildlife area, the management of the conserved area should have some idea as to the environmental literacy of its neighbours. Once this is achieved a programme needs to be set up to involve the neighbours of the park and the park management in meaningful dialogue.
An obstacle which has often hindered in such dialogue taking place, are the perceptions which the two parties hold about each other. The local neighbours are believed to just want benefits from the park, while the neighbours see the management just wanting to make as much profit as possible, while excluding the neighbours.
Since April 1994, South Africa has become a popular tourist destination, especially in terms of ecotourism. Many tourists, who understand the term ecotourism, want to see the ecosystem in its totality. This then includes the neighbouring areas of the park. If these areas are ecologically illiterate, 'effective ecotourism cannot take place.
In addition to poor ecotourism, the neighbours with their lack of environmental knowledge, will have negative attitudes towards both the environment and the KNP.
Although programmes have been set up to address the imbalances of the past along the western boundary of the KNP, through allowing curios to be sold to the park which are produced in the communities, no such initiative has occurred along the Crocodile River (the southern boundary). In the south of the park no one from the park management knows what the neighbours require. This needs to be determined before any form of interactions occur between neighbours and park.
8 Once a working knowledge is achieved with regards to ecological/ environmental knowledge and attitudes towards the park, some form of programme can be designed to address any problems.
1.1.2 The Research Participants and the Study Area
In order to determine the attitudes and concerns of all the neighbours along the southern boundary, the participants were drawn from as large an area and diverse communities as possible. These included the wildlife (game) farmers, the sugar cane and citrus farmers, the tourism industry, the local residents in formal settlements and the residents in the informal settlements.
The area of study covered the residential area of Matsulu through to Marloth Park running next to the Crocodile River, which is the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park (KNP). In total it was a distance of about 75km.
1.2. The Aim and Rationale of the Study
There is more and more pressure being placed on conservation bodies and wildlife areas to consult neighbours on the management of reserves. If this is not the case, the effect of the neighbours on wildlife areas will be enormous as the neighbours have a direct effect on the management of the areas by their everyday actions. In . order to make management of the reserves more effective, these wildlife areas need to know the environmental awareness and literacy of its neighbours.
The problem faced by conservation areas is that "on one side of the fence are well-managed ecosystems with excellent wildlife populations and abundant natural resources enjoyed by largely affluent citizens and foreigners. Across the fence are communities that eke out an existence characterised by high levels of illiteracy, unemployment, and social disruption" (Anderson, 1995).
9 The production of an environmental education programme to address the discrepancies in environmental literacy levels is essential.
Only certain areas of neighbours of the KNP are gaining some form of benefit from the park. Along the southern boundary, no great interest has been shown towards the neighbours. A few of the southern boundary section rangers have attempted to involve neighbours in park's projects. Unfortunately these incidents or neighbour-relations have been restricted to what the park wants the neighbours to do, or what the park believe the neighbours want. These projects have taken on the form of fish ladders in the Crocodile River or fences to stop marauding elephants. Infield (1986), through questionnaires, carried out a survey in which he attempted to determine the "local attitudes towards conservation" in the Umfolozi/Hluhluwe/ Corridor Complex Game Reserve.
No evidence of this type of investigation is available for the western boundary of the KNP. Even though forums have been set up to enable neighbours to sell curios or supply the KNP with fresh produce, the KNP never established to what extent, other than through verbal communications with some of the local tribe heads, these neighbours required assistance. It was a positive step however to allow the local people to have some form of involvement in the KNP.
A reason for the apparent lack of interest in the attitudes, environmental awareness or literacy of the park's neighbours is that the rangers' primary function is to maintain good and correct conservation standards in the park.
The neighbours along the southern boundary of the KNP are a very diverse group, ranging from miners to farmers and poverty-struck communities to luxury development syndicates.
The conclusion must therefore be that wildlife managers such as the KNP can no longer afford not to get involved in community development programmes (Fourie,
10 1991). These programmes can and should be, to begin with, of an educational nature.
1.3. Research Problem and Hypothesis
As no attempts have been made to determine the attitudes and environmental awareness or literacy of the southern boundary neighbours, it must be assumed that all of these neighbours see the KNP in the same negative "light".
This is not necessarily the case. The following questions can be asked: what is the environmental knowledge and literacy of the various groups of people living along the southern boundary of the KNP, and how does each group's knowledge differ from the next? -
The second part of the study therefore involves an hypothesis. It can therefore be: even though the cultural and often educational levels are vastly different, it must be taken that the communities are essentially the same when it comes to viewpoints about the environment and the KNP. Therefore the various communities, informal settlements, formal settlements and the tourism industry have the same level of ecological/environmental knowledge and attitudes towards the environment.
11 1.4 The Methodology
The study was divided up into various sections.
1.4.1 Literature Study
Initially a literature study was conducted in order to obtain current information on trends in environmental education research as well as commonly used research designs in environmental education. A further component of the literature study was to determine current research in South Africa in environmental education.
1.4.2 Interviews. Daily Diary and Questionnaire
The second part of the study required determining the attitudes and possible concerns of the people in the study area. The interviews were conducted on an one- on-one manner and recorded on a 60 minute tape. In attending various meetings in the area, a diary was kept of responses by the neighbours towards the environment and to the KNP. From the interviews and diary, a questionnaire was drawn up. The questionnaire consisted of ten multiple choice-type questions based on the most common statements heard during the interviews as well as on observations made on a day to day basis. The statements in the questionnaire were generalised statements.
1.4.3 Research Design
Initially a situational-type analysis (Marsh, 1992) was conducted to determine the attitudes and concerns of the participants in the study area. This resulted in a qualitative study as day to day observations, interviews and the questionnaire resulted in data. The data was then divided into categories to allow for a quantitative
12 approach to be used. This further allowed for a comparison in ecological knowledge and literacy to be determined between the different communities in the study area.
The information then gained was used to suggest a model which could be used by the KNP in addressing the neighbours which were lacking in environmental knowledge and literacy. The model was based on similar work carried out in KwaZulu/Natal by O'Donoghue (1993) and Infield (1986).
1.5 The Study Programme
Chapter two, the literature study, deals with the current issues in environmental education. This is followed by a discussion of the research methods and research paradigms currently used in environmental education, as well as a description of the study area and the research methods used in this study. The results of the pilot and in-depth studies are recorded in chapter four: In chapter five an education model for the study area is proposed, based on the results that were obtained. Finally in chapter six recommendations for future studies have been listed.
13 Chapter Two
An Overview of Environmental Education
2.1 Environmental Education
"Environmental education is a process of social change, involving a diversity of educational responses to environmental issues which arise out of interactions between social and bio-physical systems and processes" (Janse van Rensburg, 1994). But before any change or education can come about, a number of terms need to be defined. There needs to be a working knowledge of environmental education and what it is, before any educating can take place.
2.1.1 Environment
A "concept" is the way we see a certain thing in our own mind. If we take, for example, the concept of a house and ask a group of ten people to each draw what they believe a house is, we will end up with ten differently drawn houses (J. Byrne, personal communications, 1995). The environment, according to Meadows (1989:55) is "the total surroundings in which all living things exist and from which they draw their sustenance".
The term "environment" has many different meanings to different people. A term frequently used, "the natural environment" (Fuggle & Rabie, 1994), is commonly used to describe the biophysical components of the environment. It is often taken for granted that the concept "environment" is understood by everyone to mean the same thing (Fuggle & Rabie, 1994).
14 Fuggle and Rabie (1994) have divided the term environment into a further three categories. These are the: Natural environment - the world in its pure state, with its renewable and non-renewable resources, Spatial environment - man-made and natural areas, and Social environment - other people. This can all be summed up by the Deutsches Worterbuch (1984; as quoted by Fuggle & Rabie, 1994) which defines the environment as "the entire surroundings of an organism, for man also the totality of his natural and culturally altered living space".
Rolston III (1994) argues that there are three different kinds of environment. That being the urban environment, the rural environment and the wild environment. These three types of environment occur on a continuum, with the urban and wild environments being on the extremes. In the centre of this continuum we find the rural environment which is a "hybrid where nature and culture blend" (Rolston III, 1994). The urban environment differs from the wild environment in that in the urban environment nature has been replaced by culture.
2.1.2 Belgrade Charter
In 1976, the United Nations Declaration for a New International Economic Order, called for a new concept on development. It needed to be one which took into account the needs and wants of all communities, the pluralism of societies and of the balance and harmony between man and the environment (UNESCO-UNEP, 1976).
The new global ethic had to be one in which the promotion of positive attitudes and behaviour towards individuals and societies was consonant with man's place in the biosphere. This then would recognise and sensitively respond to the complex and ever-changing relationships between man and nature (UNESCO-UNEP, 1976).
15 This then meant the reforming of educational processes and systems and that this should be carried out through environmental education. The audience for environmental education should be the general public. Within the global picture, this would be divided into two groups: 1. formal education sector - including pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary education, as well as teachers and environmental professionals in training and retraining programmes, and 2. non-formal education sector - this would include youth and adults alike, individually and collectively, from all sectors of the population, such as the family, workers, managers and decision-makers, in environmental as well as non-environmental fields (UNESCO-UNEP, 1976).
2.1.3. Environmental Education
"Environmental education is a process of social change, involving a diversity of educational responses to environmental issues which arise out of interactions between social and bio-physical systems and processes" (Janse van Rensburg, 1994). Education about the environment needs to look at two issues. These being green and brown issues. The green issues are concerned with ecological issues such as deforestation, preservation of wilderness areas and sustainable utilisation of resources. The brown issues however are concerned with social problems. These. include, air pollution, land-use planning, water pollution and safe drinking water (Le Roux, 1996). Environmental education should be looking at the education in a holistic manner in which we consider both green and brown issues.
Another concept that needs to be looked at is the concept of education. Smith (1995(a)) defines education "as a practical action through which the educator
16 involves him / herself with the educand". The educand can be either a child or an adult.
Environmental education however has been defined in a number of ways since the early 1970's, when the Nevada Conference of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and National Resources (IUCN) defined it as the following (UNESCO-UNEP, 1994): "Environmental education is the process of recognising values and clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the inter-relatedness among man, his culture and his biophysical surroundings. Environmental education also entails practice in decision-making and self-formulation of a code of behaviour about issues concerning environmental quality".
This form of education is therefore concerned with the relationship between man and nature and aims at improving the quality of life at the same time as the quality of the environment (UNESCO-UNEP, 1994). This is achieved by actively increasing the level of environmental awareness, understanding and an appreciation for the environment as a totality (Meadows, 1989).
The basic aim of environmental education, as laid down by the Tbilisi Declaration (UNESCO-UNEP, 1978), "is to succeed in making individuals and communities understand the complex nature of the natural and the built environments resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic, and cultural aspects, and acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes and practical skills to participate in a responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving environmental problems, and in the management of the quality of the environment". This aim of environmental education is achieved through the following objectives: awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills, and
17 5. participation (UNESCO-UNEP, 1978). These objectives need to be followed almost in a hierarchical order. By this I mean that only once the preceding objective listed above is achieved by a person can they then move onto the next objective. Awareness is the most basic objective while participation is the final stage.
Awareness implies making people sensitive to the total environment and its problems. Once this is achieved a basic knowledge and understanding about the environment is necessary. This knowledge could then provide the learner with a positive attitude towards the environment so that the learner can apply skills to solve environmental problems. Finally, the learner should actively participate in the environment to make a difference and solve environmental problems (UNESCO-UNEP, 1978).
In order to achieve these aims and objectives a number of guiding principles were set out at the Tbilisi Conference (UNESCO-UNEP, 1978). Environmental education needs to: consider the environment in its totality, be a continuous lifelong process, be inter-disciplinary in its approach, examine major environmental issues from local to global areas, focus on current and potential environmental situations, taking all historical perspectives into account, promote the need for co-operation between all organisations (local to international) with regards to prevention and solving environmental problems, consider the environment in any plans for development and growth, enable learners to have a role in planning their learning experiences, relate environmental awareness, knowledge, problem - solving skills and values clarification to every age, especially to the learner's own community,
18 assist learners to discover the symptoms and real causes of environmental problems, emphasise the complexity of environmental problems, and utilise a variety of learning environments and educational approaches.
2.1.4 Education Programmes
South Africa is believed to have a unique cultural diversity and socio-economic circumstances and this then necessitates educational strategies with a difference (Janse van Rensburg, 1994). Programmes such as the "Campfire" project of Zimbabwe (Makombe, 1994; Holt-Biddle, 1994) and promoting environmental awareness in Botswana (Mogome-Ntsatsi & Adeola, 1995) worked in those specific situations and need not work in South Africa or along the Crocodile River - the southern boundary of the KNP. Throughout the world, education is often considered by rural people adjacent to conservation areas to be the most useful benefit they can receive (McNeely, 1988). This benefit can be in two forms. One is money to build schools (Begg, 1995), as in the case at the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in KwaZulu/Natal, or to provide educational opportunities as in visits to the parks or visits to schools by conservation officials.
Infield (1986) found in his studies in the Umfolozi and Hluhluwe game reserves that much ignorance and negative attitudes towards these conservation areas was due to the fact that there were no educational links between the local people and the management of the conserved areas. Many of the locals believed that through education, conservation would be improved and therefore their children would get to know "the wild animals".
The problem with many of today's conservation areas is that their environmental education programmes are aimed at the First World tourists entering the park (Fourie, 1987). Fourie (1987) like Infield (1986) believe that the importance of environmental education is to increase conservation awareness.
19 According to Fourie (1987), this could be achieved in the KNP by: creating educational links with schools and colleges, having regular environmental days, and educating the staff of the KNP first.
2.1.5 Environmental Education in South Africa
In recent years environmental education in South Africa has developed and become popular, just the same as anywhere else in the world. Many studies (Fourie, Joubert & Loader, 1990; Fourie, 1991; Parker & Yeld, 1994; Gubb & Gubb, 1994) have been conducted to determine the need for environmental education and the process which should be followed in order to develop it.
Fourie, et al. (1990) claim that "environmental education aims at fostering a permanent attitude towards nature and therefore towards oneself. Another way of putting this is that environmental education aims at a philosophy of life". They claim that the term "life" refers to a way of life as well as to the wonder of life.
As life is multifaceted, the term has been used to show that everyday life "actually transcends the biological level and also manifests itself in populations (social life), ecosystems (ecosystem life) and the spiritual processes and products of humankind (spiritual life) (Fourie, 1991). Fourie (1991) goes on to claim that should such a • concept be accepted by conservation managers and put into use "innovative ways of striving for a balanced management" may be opened.
Just such a concept has been implemented with the neighbours of the Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province of South Africa. Here it was hoped that the new game reserve would form a partnership with the people around the reserve (Begg, 1996).
20 "It was hoped that the people living around the reserve would form a partnership with wildlife which would boost their socio-economic status, improve their quality of life, and empower them to act on their aspirations instead of herding someone else's cattle in perpetuity" (Begg, 1996).
Through the idea of making the environment an integral part of everyday life, the Madikwe community "now have the capacity and skills to make a difference to their lives" as well as the employment opportunities which have arisen (Begg, 1996). One of the main problems facing the implementation of such programmes is funds. Every year fewer and fewer funds are made available to conservation or environmentally orientated programmes (Parker & Yeld, 1994). If big industry is unable to fund environmental programmes, conservation bodies then need to rely on and utilise ecotourism.
The reason that funding for conservation orientated programmes is limited, is that housing, electricity, water, sewage and refuse removal are now taking preference (McDonald, 1994). Indirectly however, if these basic needs of society are addressed, environmental problems will decrease. If people are content with their own well-being, less environmental damage should occur. Infield (1986) found that this was true with regards to his studies in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi complex in KwaZulu/Natal.
Other than funding, the next obstacle in effective environmental education is the shortage of land. Due to the past political ideology of the country, many people were moved off arable land into marginal areas (Allen, 1994). Unfortunately these areas, more often than not, are directly adjacent to wildlife areas.
This then has placed an enormous stress on the wildlife areas through various land claims (Allen, 1994). In addition to land claims, many of these neighbouring inhabitants believe that they have rights to grazing in these areas or the removal of wood.
21 This situation does not help with effective environmental education as these people's lives are not content. Their own well-being is at stake and the environment therefore must take second place.
It is therefore important for South African conservation and environmental authorities to realise that people are important (Yeld, 1994). In order for effective environmental education to take place, the quality of human life needs to be improved and communities need to be enabled to take care of their own environments (Yeld, 1994).
Gubb and Gubb (1994) suggest that the most effective way of allowing communities to develop while the environment remains intact is through the use of non-governmental organisations (NGO's). They claim tht "despite the lack of funds and resources, the NGO's are closer to the people, are less bureaucratic and more innovative than the State or the profit-driven private sector".
The main problem with community orientated problem solving is that, due to past policies in South Africa, many people are inexperienced in participatory decision-making (Gubb & Gubb, 1994). Therefore through NGO's becoming involved in community upliftment programmes no government ideologies can affect the development of a participatory decision-making process. Through this then, communities can become involved in the building of a sustainable society (Gubb & Gubb, 1994).
Gubb and Gubb (1994) believe that another one of the reasons for the possible success of NGO's is that because they are community- based they are able to draw on a large, diverse pool of skills and resources. These may include training programmes or even ways to disseminate information.
22 2.1.6 Environmental Education and the Environment
Education is initially directed at people whose well-being is the ultimate goal (Fien & Trainer, 1993). Authors wrongly believe that environmental education, dealing with global environmental problems and strategies for sustainable development, will change global patterns of development. This however is naive as it neglects the ethical structural determinants of individual lifestyle change (Fien & Trainer, 1993).
Environmental problems and crisis can normally be linked to poor education or miseducation or a combination of the two (Schreuder, 1995). In addition, education programmes tend to bypass the intellectual issues and moral dictates needed for taking responsibility for the earth (Plant, 1995).
Poor education or miseducation has occurred in South Africa due to previous political policies. The poor education arose as a result of poor or no funding to certain sectors of the South African society, therefore resulting in many people having poor or limited basic education (Schreuder, 1995). Miseducation, however, is as a direct result of the modern education system where one finds "a predominant belief in science and technology" (Beck, 1992; as quoted by Schreuder, 1995) and that "nature may be manipulated and exploited without reverence for its own intrinsic value". This miseducation is further aggravated by the fact that it is believed that "human beings are at the centre of all significant concerns" (Bowman, 1990; as quoted by Schreuder, 1995).
Environmental education is actually an innate complex field of study. It draws on conflicting political, sociological, pedagogical and environmentalist strands, in order to give meaning to the ecological crisis in terms which are holistic and inter-disciplinary (Plant, 1995). A drawback to the environmental education programme in Zimbabwe was that it stressed science learning to a large degree but gave little attention to the social, historical and cultural aspects of the country (Kuiper, 1995). Even though environmental education has been taught in Zimbabwe
23 since 1982, there is still no change in peoples' behaviour to the environment and environmental degradation (Kuiper, 1995).
Environmental education is unfortunately increasingly seen as an instrument of social change, that will assure a sustainable future. However, this apparently simple equation, of more environmental education leading to a more environmentally sustainable society, is at best an act of faith (Sterling, 1993). Human societies need to live in harmony with the natural world and the "long term task of environmental education is to foster or reinforce attitudes and behaviour compatible with this new ethic" of creating harmony (IUCN, UNEP & WWF, 1980; as quoted by Sterling, 1993).
2.1.7 Attitudes and Concerns
The concept of attitude has been regarded for a long time as the central concept of social psychology (Foster & Nel, 1991). Even though attitude is seen as the central concept to this field of psychology, it has been incredibly difficult to define. Both Allport in 1935 and Campbell in 1963, used numerous definitions in order to define - the concept. According to Foster and Nel (1991), Eiser and van der Pligt in 1988, claimed that attitudes do not exist in "splendid isolation in the heads of individuals". Attitudes are communicated through symbols and interactions and their meanings are shared contextually and culturally. They carried on to claim that "attitudes are both a social product and an intrinsic part of social action".
Gray (1985), claims that the term "attitude" has three components: The first component is a cognitive one which is made up of beliefs, facts, principles and knowledge. An example of this component would be the fertility cults which kept man aware that he was a product of the soil and due to his superstition kept him from performing destructive behaviours to the soil (Gray, 1985). The second component of attitude is the affective component. This component is a result of emotions and feelings towards an object. The third component that Gray (1985)
24 assigns to attitude is the conative component. This component refers to behaviour or intent. More often than not attitude refers mainly to the affective component (Gray, 1985).
Gray (1985) continues and claims that an attitude without a behaviour does not seem to be anything at all. In other words a negative attitude only exists if it is accompanied by destructive behaviour.
As mentioned above, a positive attitude is one of the objectives of environmental education. But a "negative attitude" or destructive behaviour towards the environment is often the result of ignorance or unawareness of what effect one's behaviour is having on that environment (Gray, 1985). An example of this is where deforestation can result in soil loss and erosion being anything from 10 to 6000 times greater than what it would have been under natural processes (Gray, 1985). But an attitude of over-utilisation of natural resources is not new to modern day society. This phenomenon occurred as early as the establishment of ancient Greece and Mesopotamia (Hughes, 1975 & Hyams, 1976).
By behaving in a way in which one has no concerns towards the environment, which is in an ecologically unsound way, is to behave in a humanly unfair and threatening manner. It tends to also be an economically expensive practise (Gray, 1985).
2.1.8 Sustainable Utilisation of Resources
The paradigms in which ecologists operate has changed considerably over the years. Initially ecologists followed a process known as preservation. This then changed to conservation, and today more and more ecologists follow a process known as sustainable utilisation (Rodgers, 1996).
Sustainability has been defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
25 needs" (WCED, 1987). Development can be defined as "the modification of the biosphere and the application of human, financial, and living and non-living resources to satisfy human needs and improve the quality of human life" (IUCN, 1980:para 1.4; as quoted by Bak, 1995).
In order for sustainability to be able to occur, environmental literacy, which provides basic knowledge, skills and motives to people (UNESCO-UNEP, 1989), are required. Being sustainable means "living on income, not capital" (Orr, 1992). This means that the soil, water, air and forests should all be in the same good condition they were five hundred years ago, in five hundred years time (Rolston III, 1994). Sustainable utilisation of resources combined with the correct care for the natural world should lead to a win-win situation (Rolston III, 1994).
Sustainable development can be divided into two different sections: environmentally (ecologically) sustainable development, and socially sustainable development (UNESCO-UNEP, 1990).
Ecologically sustainable development is described by Meadows (1989) as follows: "human wealth and economic development ultimately derive from and depend upon the resources on the earth, the earth's resources are sufficient for all living creatures' needs, if they are managed efficiently and sustainably, both poverty and affluence can cause environmental problems, and economic development and care for the environment are compatible, interdependent and necessary".
As far as socially sustainable development is concerned Meadows (1989) claims that: 1. "the key to development is the participation, organisation, education, and empowerment of people,
26 development must be appropriate not only to the environment and resources but also to the culture, history and social systems of the place where it occurs, development must be equitable, and development involves the continuous balancing of opposites and the breaking down of barriers and separations between freedom and order, groups and individuals, work and play, settlements and nature".
The problem with sustainable development is that it is actually difficult to obtain. This is due to the fact that secular man has moved away from the ancient myths, which held him reasonably well within his ecological framework (Gray, 1985). Sustainable development requires people to have morals of sharing with their fellow man. Unfortunately people are often selfish and only consider themselves and consider their "best bet" in order to obtain maximum benefit from a resource (Bak, 1995). This is clearly demonstrated in the "Tragedy of the commons" theory (Hardin, 1968) where people are too greedy. Clarke (1991) refers to this "unsustainability" (Bak, 1995) as overkill. In other words, while there are resources they must be used. This all illustrates that society would rather "secure short-term benefits for the individual than long-term benefits for the group" (Bak, 1995). An example of man - trying to secure short-term benefits is the decline in rhinoceros populations, both black and white, but more so the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) due to poaching (Steele, 1991). Due to poverty on the African continent (Steele, 1991) and the value of the horn, this animal has been hunted mercilessly.
The diversity of all species therefore needs to be maintained. This is known as biodiversity. The fastest way of removing resources and therefore making them unsustainable, is to reduce the biological diversity on earth. As Meadows (in Clarke, 1991) quoted in the Los Angeles Times, "... biodiversity performs environmental services beyond price. How would you like the job of pollinating all trillion or so apple blossoms in New York State some sunny afternoon in May? It's conceivable maybe that you could invent a machine to do it, but inconceivable that the machine could work as elegantly as the honey bee, much less make honey on the side." 27 Biodiversity is not only the different number of species on earth but also the interactions between all living organisms. It is these interactions which allow and enable the existence, complexity and health of ecosystems and it is on this that humans depend for survival (Peyton, et al, 1995).
2.1.9 Environmental Literacy
The final goal of environmental education should be to produce people who are environmentally literate. These people would then be willing and capable of taking positive environmental actions for the environment (Wilke, et al, 1994). Hungerford and Volk (as quoted in Wilke, 1996) claim that one way of improving environmental literacy is to: teach environmentally significant ecological concepts, provide carefully designed and in-depth opportunities for learners to achieve some level of environmental sensitivity, provide an instructional setting that increases the learner's belief that they can make a difference by acting in responsible ways.
People are believed to be environmentally literate when they: are aware of all environments of which they are a part, see their place of work, residence and recreation as part of the fabric of their own ecosystem, are aware of the natural resources upon which they are directly and indirectly dependent and that they have some understanding of renewable and non-renewable resources, have a conviction of their individual responsibility for the vitality of the land, have convictions for caring for their environment, no matter how small the matter, and are concerned about maintaining a quality of life which is not only acceptable to the majority of society, but is also in harmony with the carrying capacity of the environment (Technikon RSA, n.d.).
28 2.1.10 Cultures (Man) and Environment
Culture refers to the way of life of a group of people, their ideas, traditions, secular beliefs, religious affiliations, language, values and norms. It is something that is acquired by experience and may undergo some changes throughout one's life, unlike race which is genetically determined. Thus many racial groups may practice the same culture (Collie & van Zyl, 1995).
Since the beginning of time different cultural groups have used the environment in different ways. The ancient African cultures used the environment in its "natural" way without making any modifications. By modifications I am referring to building factories or having extensive farm lands in which crops were planted or livestock grazed. In southern Africa the environment was used in a totally "sustainable" manner. If we take as an example the marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea), it can be clearly seen how man has utilised this species over the years. The fruits of this tree have, over a long time been used to make alcoholic beverages, jellies and been used for traditional medicines by the Zulu and Shangaan peoples (Coates Palgrave, 1988). Early inhabitants would have used all of the other naturally occurring plants, animals, water and soil that was available without destroying it. This early man would have competed for these resources with other tribes in the area but I am sure there would have been some form of co-operation between these groups so as not to deplete the region of the resources. This unfortunately is not the case today.
Today we are faced with a situation that can only be summed up as "overkill" (Clarke, 1991). This can be seen in a number of examples were man takes far more than he requires and then leaves the excess to waste. Along the KwaZulu/Natal coast people flock to the region during winter to catch sardines in the "sardine run". People take more from the sea than what they require and then end up dumping the excess fish on the beach (Clarke, 1991). A similar thing happens along the Crocodile river, where farmers take water from the river to irrigate their crops. As the water is there the farmers believe that they can
29 remove water whenever they like and end up irrigating the fields even when it is raining. This results in due course of minerals washing out of the soil.
This then leads onto the "Tragedy of the Commons" (Hardin, 1968). The "commons" in this case is the Crocodile River, which is shared by a number of farmers, luxury developments and the Kruger National Park (KNP). The "tragedy" is that each user of the river believes that if they take a bit more water than what their quota is, no one will know. The only problem is that in 1995 the Crocodile River stopped flowing into Mozambique, even though there was water in the river (A Deacon, personal communications, 1996).
This all boils down to different cultures viewing the environment in different ways. The "white" culture in South Africa is referred to as an "individualistic consciousness", while the "black" culture is known as "collective consciousness" (Kotze, 1993). When I talk of this consciousness I am referring to the way in which people think due to the way in which they were brought up. In other words, their culture. White people in South Africa have always thought of themselves first before anyone else. Blacks, however, seem to stick together. This has been as a result of them being forced into marginal areas in the form of townships (A Botha, personal communications, 1995). Because of this consciousness, modern South African man has viewed and worked with the environment, in a similar way. Whites have tended to utilise the environment for their own good, be it for aesthetic value, conservation or farming. The black South African citizens have tended to attempt to fit into the environment in a harmonious way. Tribes, like the Bushmen, have tried to be nomadic farmers, never destroying the environment where they lived. Once an area had been utilised, but before it was degraded, they would move onto a new area. Due to the politics of "apartheid", other black tribes were not as successful, being forced to stay and farm in the same area. This then led to the nomadic way of life being brought abruptly to an end. The only problem was that these groups of people still utilised the environment in its totality before realising that it was too late.
30 Land unfortunately can no longer be considered as mere property with the sole purpose of pure economic gain, as land constitutes communities, and humankind is part and parcel of the living community (Leopold, 1966). In addition any damage done to the environment is often permanent with regards to the immediate generation. For example, once soils, resulting from soil erosion, are washed into the oceans they are gone permanently (Gray, 1985). It could be argued that according to the first law of thermodynamics, the amount of energy in the universe is constant and unchanging (Gray, 1985) and environmental damage such as soil loss is not therefore permanent.
2.2 Conservation Bodies, the Environment and Ecotourism
According to Gigliotti (1992), many of the environmental problems that are experienced today are as a result of the values on which society has been built. Values such as individualism, materialism and in South Africa, separate development of racial groups have all led to environmental degradation.
For the sake of wild life areas, conservation organisations need to become involved with neighbours of these areas. The long-term survival of the KNP is completely dependent on the education and upliftment of the local people (Fourie, 1991).
In Zimbabwe, during the late 1980's, a programme known as "Campfire" was implemented in order to make the local people aware of their environment as well 'as giving them control of resources in the environment and allowing the local communities to receive some form of benefit from the exploitation of natural resources (International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 1994). For the initial programme, communities with considerable wildlife resources were selected.
From the initial programme, it was found that it was a success, especially in: 1. "re-awakening appreciation of the value of wildlife in local people,
31 eliminating or drastically reducing poaching, reducing complaints about problem animals, supporting the emergence of local environmental structures, improving environmental conservation practices, using wildlife revenues for food security in times of drought, initiating local land-use planning, increasing household revenues, funding schools and clinics, and providing grinding mills and other community infrastructure" (IIED, 1994).
There were however also constraints. These were in the form of not allowing the local people to have full control over the natural resources and in some instances the communities did not receive the full amount of revenue due to them, which had been generated from their wildlife management (IIED, 1994).
The requirements for such a programme to operate effectively are that: the scale in terms of the size of the community must be small enough so that there is conformity to the rules, costs and benefits derived from the wildlife management must be evenly distributed among the members of the community, and sanctioned authority, linking responsibility to control areas must be present (IIED, 1994).
A further way of ensuring that the neighbours of the wildlife areas and the conservation areas do become involved with each other, is to implement an integrated environmental management (IEM) (Preston, 1993) policy for the area. According to Preston (1993), IEM is a sensible way of planning and promoting development within an area. The policy inter alia promotes open participation with interested parties, allows for informed decision-making and results in accountability for the decisions that are taken (Preston, 1993).
32 Ecotourism is another option that wildlife mangers can use to improve the state of the neighbouring environments. The term "ecotourism" can be defined as ecological tourism, which simply means a tour of the ecology of an area (Curzon, 1993). Fowkes (n.d) defines ecotourism as: "to travel to relatively undisturbed areas for study, enjoyment or activity that concerns itself with the flora, fauna, geology and ecosystems of an area, as well as the people who live nearby, their needs, their culture and their relationship to the land".
This ecology of the area can best be explained in most cases by the local people themselves. Not only is information given to tourists, but money generated from the tourists is placed back into the communities through wages and important facilities such as clinics and schools (Curzon, 1993 and Borchert, 1995 (b)). Through this the local people learn the value of the environment. Initially protection of the area by the local people may be for financial gain but eventually it is hoped that they will see the ecological importance.
2.3 The Kruger National Park and its Neighbours
"In the far east of South Africa, forming a common boundary with Mozambique along the low ridge of mountains known as the Lebombos, lies the Kruger National Park. It is a huge tract of land - a full 350 kilometres from north to south and 90 kilometres across at its widest point. The park stuttered into life during the early decades of this century and has matured through many vicissitudes to become, without question, one of the most renowned sanctuaries for wild animals in the world" (Borchert, 1995 (a)). As far as the tourism industry is concerned, it cannot be underestimated. Each year approximately one million people visit the KNP. In conservation circles it is believed that it should be recognised as a "World Heritage Site" (Borchert, 1995 (a)). The KNP today is faced with the problem of a rapidly expanding population of impoverished people all along its borders. Until recently however, the management
33 of the KNP were reluctant to recognise that any kind of social problem existed along its borders (Borchert, 1995 (a)). Fortunately this is changing. With the realisation that communities such as Cork, Makoko, Belfast and many others, battle to exist on overpopulated land with limited resources (Roderigues, 1996), the KNP has set about to rectify the problems (environmentally and socially) through upliftment programmes. These programmes .unfortunately are mostly concentrated on the western boundary of the KNP.
Through the social ecology department of the KNP, various community upliftment programmes are offered. These programmes are jointly run between members of the KNP social ecology department and community leaders in what is known as forums. The forums inter alia solve problems jointly; there is no more an "us and them" scenario. Education of local people is carried out by teachers from Skukuza Primary School, the establishment of traditional healers and assisting them in obtaining their herbs, providing local arts and crafts markets for the sale of curios, and working with farmers in controlling problem animals from the park, as well as purchasing fresh produce from the farmers for use in the KNP (Roderigues, 1996).
2.4 Summary
If the goals of environmental education are going to be followed, a level of environmental awareness will need to be determined, before any form of participation can take place. As the Kruger National Park is facing increasing pressures on its land by growing numbers in the neighbouring communities, it is essential that awareness and knowledge about and for the environment be considered and put into practice.
34 Chapter Three
Study Area and Research Methods in Environmental Education
3.1 Introduction
Research methods in environmental education require a clear definition of the research paradigm being used as well as the relevant research approach being followed. This being either a quantitative or qualitative approach. In addition any threats to the research need to be identified and validity of the research instruments need to be obtained.
3.2 Research Paradigms
Smith (1995(b)) defines a paradigm as "a way of seeing things". He goes on to claim that "a paradigm is the total frame of reference of a person which determines how he/she sees, interprets and judges people and things". In education, Smith (1995(b)) distinguishes seven different paradigms: positivism, hermeneutic view of science, phenomenology, conceptual analytical school of thought, critical theory, Christian science, and systems theory. According to Smith (1995(b)) these seven paradigms can be placed on a continuum, between two broad views of science, that being, the naturalistic and interpretative views of science.
35 The naturalistic view of science as a research method, seeks factual knowledge whereas, the interpretive view of science is rather a way of understanding knowledge.
The problem which now arises, for a researcher in education, is which research paradigm should be used? Shulman (1988) claimed that "education is a field of study rather than a discipline and as such has applied the research methodologies of other disciplines to the study of its problems rather than develop its own unique forms of inquiry" (as stated in Hart, 1997). Hart (1997) however goes on to claim that the "current trend in education is to use methods for a practice-based research that is context specific, "trying to figure out what's happening here and now", using descriptive strategies, with heavy dependence upon naturalistic observation and narration, to join researchers, with practitioners so results are practical and at the same time contribute to understanding".
3.2.1 Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
"The principal characteristic of scholarly and scientific inquiry, as opposed to informal, intuitive kinds of inquiry, is the use of rationally grounded procedures to extend knowledge that a community of scholars regards as reliable and valid" (Human and Organisation Development Knowledge Area Study Guides [HOD], 1991, as stated in Rudestam & Newton, 1992).
The two methods of research are quantitative methods and qualitative methods. These two methods can be used in any of the paradigms mentioned earlier.
Quantitative methods of research has an epistemological foundation based on logical positivism, which maintains that all knowledge is derived from direct observation and logical inferences based on direct observation (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). In order to obtain useful patterns and relationships from the data, and expressing these relationships with numbers, statistical methods are used.
36 An important focus of quantitative research is the study of averages or group effects as opposed to the study of individual differences (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). In using quantitative research design the emphasis is placed on precise measurement and the controlling for extrinsic sources of error (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). Through the isolation of variables and the use on control measures, the research is able to infer causal relationships between the variables of interest.
In qualitative research, the data is expressed in words rather than in numbers. The data gathered in qualitative research is usually reduced to themes or categories and evaluated subjectively rather than evaluation through statistics and group analysis as in the case of quantitative methods (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). Using qualitative methods results in more emphasis being placed on description and discovery in the study compared to hypothesis testing and verification in quantitative methods (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). Qualitative research designs are usually not intended to prove or test a theory, but it is more likely that the theory will emerge • once the data is collected (Rudestam & Newton, 1992).
According to Patton (1980) (as stated in Rudestam & Newton, 1992) there are three fundamental assumptions when using qualitative research methods. There exists an holistic view, in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This means that when using qualitative methods, the researcher is seeking to understand phenomena in their entirety in order to develop a complete understanding of a person or situation. This differs from quantitative methods which seeks to isolate and measure defined and often controlled variables. An inductive approach is used. This means that qualitative research starts with specific observations but moves towards the development of general patterns that emerge from the study. In addition the researcher does not impose organising structures or make assumptions about the interrelationships between the data prior to making the observations.
37 3. Is a naturalistic inquiry. Qualitative research is intended to understand the phenomena as they occur naturally. The qualitative research method is a discovery orientated approach in the natural environment.
According to Rudestam and Newton (1992) a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies is often a good approach to use. This could be achieved by using questionnaires and group discussions, followed by quantitative analysis of the responses to the questionnaire.
3.2.2 Paradigms of Research in Environmental Education
"Mark Twain once said that if the only tool one has is a hammer, then one tends to treat everything as if it is a nail. While a hammer remains functional, if not optimum, for driving a screw, it becomes less useful for a bolt and basically dysfunctional for paper staples, twist ties, tape or glue. What is used for "holding and fastening" requires different tools be they hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, scissors, or human hands" (Cantrell, 1997). According to Cantrell (1997), Mark Twain's insight demonstrates common practices in environmental education research. For many years environmental education researchers have "hammered" with one research paradigm, "positivism, as if all topics of inquiry were nails". Positivism has been described by Smith (1995(b)) as emphasising "sensory knowledge and knowledge that can be observed and measured. Positivism literally means having positive certainty about a statement". Smith (1995 (b)) goes on to claim that the aim of science using a positivistic approach, is to "explain, control and predict phenomena in order to facilitate technical control".
There are however a number of other research paradigms commonly used in education; inter alia hermeneutics (interpretive), phenomenology, conceptual analysis and systems theory (Smith, 1995(b)).
38 Each of these research paradigms are used in specific instances. Phenomenology is typically used by researchers using interviews or extended conversations as the source of their data (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). The researcher is usually "concerned with describing the lived experience of the person as free as possible from theoretical or social constructs". Researchers using this paradigm are "not interested in an explanation" but rather "interested in the essential features of the experience" (Rudestam & Newton, 1992).
Hermeneutics, however, is concerned with "deriving a rich understanding of the context for data, the setting out of which it arises, and that gives it meaning" (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). This arose in reaction to the positivistic's idea that the "humanities and social sciences" (Smith, 1995(b)) should have the same research methods as the natural sciences (Smith, 1995(b)). Conceptual analysis is concerned with explaining the full meaning of a concept when it is not understood. It is claimed that conceptual analysis does not aim at factual questions and no value judgements are expressed. This research paradigm is therefore only used to explain or determine the meaning of concepts and not to provide facts or evaluate situations (Smith, 1995(b)). Systems theory is also known as the holistic approach to science. In this research paradigm, " the whole is more than the sum of its parts and that explanation or understanding of a problem must take place with due regard for the total situation or the surrounding circumstances" (Smith, 1995(b)). According to Smith (1995(b)) "by 'system' in systems theory is meant the surrounding forces or groupings of factors which exercise an influence on a certain problem". Here a researcher is concerned with breaking up a phenomenon into its various parts or "essences" (Smith, 1995(b)).
A further research paradigm which can be added to the above is ethnographic inquiry (Rudestam & Newton, 1992). According to Human and Organisation Development Knowledge Area Study Guides [HOD] (1991) as quoted in Rudestam and Newton (1992) "ethnographers attempt to capture and understand specific aspects of the life of a particular group. The focus is on obtaining full and detailed
39 descriptions from informants. Typically, the ethnographer initiates prolonged contact and immersion in a setting of interest while at the same time maintaining as much detachment as possible from the subject matter".
Wals (1997) proposes yet another research paradigm, that of critical phenomenology which should "compliment" research in environmental education, rather than "contradict" it. The reasons for this paradigm are that: "environmental education has the potential to lead to educational reform that ultimately can help reshape relationships between people, and, between people and their surroundings, environmental education should lead to the development of autonomous thinking about issues that affect the quality of life of humans and other species, and our planet is facing destruction as a result of symptomatic environmental problems such as; overpopulation, deforestation, excessive waste, which ultimately are rooted in the unequal distribution of wealth, the uninhibited strife for economic growth, and inadequate education" (Wals, 1997).
Critical phenomenology combines interpretive and critical science research methods in an attempt to understand the participants' view of the world as "manifested in their actions in their life world and their reflections on their position in this world" (Wals, 1997). According to Wals (1997), that "from an environmental education perspective, research should then .focus on gaining a better understanding of peoples' own perceptions, ideas and theories in relation to their environment, environmental issues and nature in order to obtain new insights in adapting environmental education to the social and physical context in which the community is embedded". In addition, it is a research approach that suggests that environmental education research should have a pedagogical end in that participants in some way benefit from the research (Wals, 1997). In this way the researcher does not only learn about the participants in the research, but is able to get to know with them the reality of the challenges facing them (Wals, 1997).
40 3.2.3 Research Methods
Research methods commonly used in qualitative research are interviews and questionnaires (J. Strauss, personal communications, 1995). When these methods are used to determine the initial situation of a study it is termed situational analysis (Marsh, 1992). This is a method often used by curriculum developers at school level (Marsh, 1992). Situational analysis can be defined as identifying factors which bear upon a specific problem in the study area (Marsh, 1992).
Techniques which are most commonly used in situational analysis are surveys in the form of questionnaires, interviews and checklists, and meetings as in discussions and brainstorming (Marsh, 1992). According to Marsh (1992) there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to this research method. The advantages include: it is an objective way of deciding upon priorities for the study, it can lead to innovative and creative priorities and solutions, and it can be an efficient procedure. The disadvantages include: it is often difficult to pinpoint needs, there is an undue emphasis upon how to satisfy needs and little on should it be done, and in many circumstances, less costly and informal methods are likely to be more useful.
This method is only of use if the data which is collected is of value and used (Marsh, 1992).
41 3.3 Study Area
In this study, the neighbours of the KNP were all the people living between Matsulu and Marloth Park (in a west-east direction) and Revolver Creek and Wilson's Kop (in a north-south direction), in the Onderberg area of Mpumalanga, South Africa (fig. 3.1). People living in this area are involved in a number of different activities with regards to their income. Farming activities in the area are mostly sugar-cane farmers, but a number of citrus, mango and wildlife game farms are also found. This area is considered by locals to be an important tourist attraction and therefore we find a number of holiday destinations in the area, catering for the tourist market, both national and international. The local industries have also resulted in both formal (previously all white) settlements and informal (all black) settlements being situated along the Crocodile river.
42 INKOMA RIVER #)(4 RESSANO GARCIA
MOZAM- BIQUE
ea&
Figure 3.1 Map of the study area Taken from the Transvaal Sugar Board's "map of the Onderberg".
43 3.4 Validity
Kerlinger (1986), defines validity in the form of a question. "Are we measuring what we think we are measuring?" There are inter alia two types of validity to be considered: content validity, and construct validity (Kerlinger, 1986).
Content validity determines if the questions in the questionnaire cover all of the attitudes and concerns of the neighbours of the KNP. To ensure that all of the attitudes and concerns of the neighbours were included in the questionnaire, all statements regarding the KNP and environment from the pilot study were included in the questionnaire.
Construct validity is the validity of a construct such as attitude, interest or intelligence (J. Strauss, personal communications, RAU, 1995). An instrument is said to have construct validity if it can differentiate between groups who are known to have differences regarding the particular constructs being tested (J. Strauss, personal communications, RAU, 1995).
3.5 Internal Threats to Validity
This form of validity deals with the problem of whether or not the treatment, in this case the questionnaire, actually caused the observed outcomes in the study (Vockell, 1983). Based on Vockell, 1983, there are four possible threats to this study: history, selection, maturation, and instrumentation.
44 History, according to Vockell (1983), refers to any external event occurring in the environment at the same time that the experiment (study) is taking place. Unfortunately due to the current political situation in the country with regards to land claims against the KNP (J. Erasmus, personal communications, 1996), most people living in the informal settlements are wanting some kind of benefit from the KNP. In order to overcome history as a threat, no indication of the KNP was given by the administrator of the questionnaire. Even though the administrator of the questionnaire in the informal settlements was an employee of the KNP, no KNP vehicles were used as transport and no KNP uniforms were worn.
Selection refers to a group's performance in a study and it may be due to the group's composition rather than the variables in the test (Vockell, 1983). Although the study group was believed to have certain expectations, the main focus of the study was to see if these expectations were true. Selection therefore was not a threat to the study.
Maturation, which deals with changes in outcome of the test with changing time (Vockell, 1983), does not affect this study as a "once off' administration of the questionnaire was done.
Instrumentation, as defined by Vockell (1983) is that, "observed differences in an outcome variable could be the result of changes in an instrument rather than the result of the treatment itself. Changes in an instrument include not only alterations in the items, but also changes in the way the instrument is administered, differences in observers, and any other variations which may influence the way performance of the outcome variable is recorded". Respondents to the questionnaire could have looked for "correct sounding" answers, in other words, answers which contained the words, Kruger National Park. This would then lead to incorrect readings being given by the questionnaire. In order to overcome this, questions were based as much as possible on statements given by the respondents in the pilot study. The statements in the questionnaire were then written in the local way of thinking.
45 3.6 External Threats to Validity
"A research design is said to be externally valid to the extent that its results can be generalised over replication, using other subjects from the relevant population, and involving other experimental conditions" (Huysamen, 1987). This then means that in order to have external validity the data collected must be a true representation of the population and can be generalised for that population. For the data to be generalised, random sampling must take place.
3.7 Sampling
The sampling method used was stratified sampling (Kerlinger, 1986). A stratified sample was taken, so that the attitudes and knowledge of all people along the Crocodile River could be determined. In addition, the results between the different groups could then be tested to determine if there were inter-group differences. The study area was divided up into the "municipal areas" along the river: Matsulu, Kaapmuiden, Malelane, and Marloth Park. Out of these four groups the three main "analysis" categories of formal settlement, informal settlement and tourism industry were obtained. Matsulu and Kaapmuiden were mostly informal settlement, and Malelane and Marloth Park consisted of both' formal settlement and tourism industry. Respondents to the questionnaire in all of the areas were randomly selected. People in the area at the time of the survey were given a questionnaire and requested to complete it. No prior warning was given to any respondent about the survey.
46 3.8 Pilot Study
Interviews were conducted with neighbours in the study area. A total of six interviews were conducted and recorded on a 60 minute tape for later analysis and as a record of the interview.
For each interview the respondents were asked two open-ended questions: What are positive and negative points regarding the KNP, What do they consider to be environmental issues today?
Interviews were initially used instead of questionnaires (Bogner & Wilhelm, 1996; Gigliotti, 1994 and Szagun & Mesenholl, 1993) as many of the respondents are illiterate and due to cultural differences, misinterpretation of questions could easily have occurred. In addition to the interviews, a diary was kept of daily observations when working in and with the neighbours (appendix A). An open-ended question was used in the interview as I was attempting to determine attitudes and concerns of the neighbours in the study area. Interviews were conducted until the pattern being obtained was repeated. This point is known as the "theoretical saturation point" (Wals, 1997). From the results obtained in the pilot study, a questionnaire (table 3.1) was drawn up for the in-depth study. This questionnaire was based on questionnaires used by Leeming et al. (1995), Smith-Sebasto (1995) and Bogner (1996). Even though many of the respondents in the area were illiterate and did not understand English, interviews were not used for the in-depth study, as this form of data collection would take too long to collect and analyse in a meaningful manner. In order to overcome the language and literacy barrier, a translator from the KNP accompanied me on the data collection.
47 3.9 In-Depth Study
What is learnt about one participant or a small group of participants' thinking about environmental issues, can raise one's awareness of features that might be found among other participants in the research group. This however does not mean that all participants in the research share the same or even similar ideas, but rather "opens one's eyes" to the fact that these are some features one might be looking for (Wals, 1997). For this reason, a questionnaire was constructed, based on the interviews which had been carried out as well as on everyday observations (appendix A).
The questionnaire (table 3.1) was constructed in the form of a multiple choice test. This was done so that the respondents on the test could be "led" to choose options to prevent ambiguity. All of the statements in the multiple choice test, were statements that had been given by the interviewees in the pilot study as well as from daily observations (appendix A). A total of 127 questionnaires were answered. This was achieved by either leaving questionnaires in a place to be answered by respondents by themselves and then later collected for analysis, or in the parts of the study area where literacy was a problem, an interpreter was used to read the questions to the respondents, with the ,options, and then mark off the required answer in each case.
The sampling method used was the stratified random sampling technique (Kerlinger, 1986). This involved dividing the study area up into "magisterial areas". The area was then randomly sampled, regardless of gender or cultural group. In order to make analysis of results easier, different coloured pieces of paper were used for different groups of people:
48 White - people living in informal settlements Pink - people in formal settlements White - subsistent farmers Pink - sugar cane, citrus and mango farmers Pink - game and stock farmers Yellow - luxury developments or ecotourism areas
49 Table 3.1 Questionnaire that was drawn up from the pilot study. This questionnaire was used in the study areas.
Please mark with a X only one answer (A. B. C, or D) to each question.
1.As a neighbour (work/live) of the Kruger National Park, I think I should have ... free access to and accommodation in the park. reduced tariffs on entrance to and accommodation in the park. the same treatment as anyone else. I do not know.
2. The Kruger National Park ... is a safe place for plants and animals. should provide educational opportunities with regards to conservation. is only for tourists. I do not know.
3. The function of places like the Kruger National Park are ... to protect endangered animals and plants from being killed by the local people. to protect the local people and their property from dangerous animals. to protect ecosystems for all South Africans to enjoy. I do not know.
4. The neighbours of the Kruger\National Park should be able to ... catch fish, remove reeds and sand from the Crocodile River and cut grass when they want to. receive some benefit from the Park. should fall under the same environmental rules and laws as the rest of South Africa. I do not know.
50 5. Neighbours of the Park should ... be happy to look into the Kruger National Park from where they live or work. participate in environmental programmes to improve the appearance of the Kruger National Park. be involved in management policies of the Park. I do not know.
6. Officials of the Kruger National Park ... are only interested in conservation and nothing else. want to make as much money as possible. should be involved in all community upliftment programmes. I do not know.
7. The "health" of our local environment is the responsibility of ... the Kruger National Park. the local farmers. all people in the area. I do not know.
8. Pollution/litter ... is only papers and tins lying around the area. is anything which damages the environment. is all the rubbish which is washed down the river. I do not know.
9. "Exotic plants" is a name that we give to ... plants which produce colourful flowers. plants which do not normally grow in a specific area. plants which grow on land. I do not know.
10. The term "poaching" refers ... only to the illegal capture of animals. to the illegal capture of animals and fish. to the illegal removal of any living organism. I do not know.
51 3.10 Statistical Analysis of In-Depth Results
Even though the study was primarily a qualitative study, it was necessary to compare the results of the questionnaire quantitatively. The quantitative data was used to compare the results obtained from the different groups of respondents with regards to environmental knowledge and literacy.
An analysis of variance test (F test) for unequal sample sizes (Howell, 1995) was used to test the null hypothesis (H o) for both attitudes and concerns as well as ecological/environmental knowledge of the neighbours in the study area. The F test only allowed for testing the hypothesis for the group, and does not show which groups are similar or dissimilar (Howell, 1995). A Fisher t-test (Howell, 1995) was used to determine which of the study groups were similar.
3.11 Summary
The research method to be followed was one which involved both qualitative and quantitative approaches. This was because an initial level of environmental literacy needed to be determined, before further research could be carried out. This initial survey in the form of the pilot study was the qualitative approach of the research, while the second part of the study was the quantitative approach, using a questionnaire in the in-depth study.
52 Chapter Four
Results of the Study
4.1 Introduction
The results of the study included both the pilot and in-depth studies. The pilot study was based on recorded interviews, which were recorded on audio cassettes, based on open ended questions. The in-depth study involved a questionnaire which was given to the neighbours in the study area. These respondents were randomly selected. In order to compare the results, quantitatively, from the respondents in the various areas, an analysis of variance and Fisher West were carried out.
53 4.2 Pilot Study
Table 4.1 Results from one on one interviews to determine core attitudes towards the KNP and concerns on environmental issues. Under the attitudes towards the KNP, the (1) is the positive point and (2) the negative aspect.
Respondent Attitudes towards KNP Environmental issues
Citrus and mango [None] Conservancies farmer 1. Dispute over park's Alien plants boundary Loss of soil 2. 2. Not working together, Riverine bush eg. building of fish ladder 2. 3. Too rigid at times towards neighbours
54 Respondent Attitudes towards KNP Environmental issues
Public Relations [None] Biodiversity Officer of an Poor advice from Park's Conservancies industry officials regarding game Pollution - in all stocking on their game forms farms.
Reconstruction Pupils and traditional Biodiversity - maintain for and development healers can learn about the future generations. committee of a environment. Environmental education local informal 1. No easy access to the for children and settlement KNP; it is to far to drive traditional healers. from Matsulu to Malelane Water - shortage due to Gate. forestry. 2. 2. Nobody has come to Litter - not being Matsulu to educate the collected. pupils about the importance of the environment. 2. 3. Get no benefits from the park. 2. 4. Land in the KNP belongs to "them". 2. 5. Predators from the KNP raid the homesteads along the boundary and kill livestock.
55 Respondent Attitudes towards KNP Environmental issues
Businessman Just being able to live Soil Erosion next to the park is an Over utilization of advantage. Always able to vegetation for grazing look into the park and see and fuel (fire wood) by animals. rural communities. 1. Should get cheaper Loss of biodiversity entrance and Removal of indigenous accommodation tariffs. forests for the planting of Be given half price for commercial forests such "quiet times". Need to as SAPPI or MONDI. implement "double tariff' Water - shortage due to system. misuse in general and 2. 2. Accommodation for pollution by forestry and weekends should be agriculture. easier to get. Litter along roads
Public Relations 1. 1. Selling of indigenous Litter and "waste" Officer of a hotel plants at the gates Removal of wood and 1. 2. Night drives into the trees park eg. Phalaborwa Environmental education 3. Overall good, especially good conservation management 1. Staff rude at gate, not helpful or friendly 2. 2. Insufficient toilet facilities - need a few more "Afsaal's" 2. 3. Poor examples set by field guides
56 Respondent Attitudes towards KNP Environmental issues
Game Farmer 1. 1. Positive efforts from Litter staff to share Education information on game Stocking of buffalo - with local farmers. "Red Line" 1. 2. Due to KNP controlling Power lines to poaching well, it serves Mozambique as a deterrent to Alien plants - especially poachers to go onto along Crocodile River local, privately owned Land damage game farms. (degradation) - soil 2. 1. KNP does not reach out erosion to neighbours enough, expects neighbours to do all the work - ie. does not always offer assistance - has to be asked. 2. 2. Does not do enough in educating the neighbours about the environment or conservation.
57 From table 4.1, it can be seen that the attitudes towards the KNP were varied. Both the citrus and mango farmer and the Public Relations Officer of the local industry, did not have a positive point to make about the KNP. The negative points were mostly related to how the park had harmed the interviewee in some way. The negative points were specific to that interviewee and not a general complaint.
The environmental issues were more general and for this reason there was overlap in term of "important" issues. These were issues such as loss of biodiversity, pollution, loss of natural resources and even the lack of environmental education taking place in South Africa.
58 4.3 In-Depth Results
Table 4.2 Percentages of choices to the multiple choice questions for the formal settlements (n = 44)
Question Question Option Number A B C D 1 5 63 32 0 2 23 72 0 5 3 28 0 72 0 4 5. 5 90 0 5 9 72 14 5 6 14 14 67 5 7 0 0 100 0 8 5 95 0 0 9 18 72 5 10 0 23 77 0
59 a co 0 be e ae ae 1111110D
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n ma (
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• • • u q he f t o ions t ues q
CV he t ts to ts den n o esp f r O O O O co 8 o 8 8 8 8 e tag rcen Pe Table 4.3 Percentages of choices to the multiple choice questions for the informal settlements (n = 74)
Question Question Option Number A B C D 1 19 16 58 2 39 53 5 3 3 30 22 40 8 4 4 26 66 4 5 15 74 8 3 6 9 14 72 5 7 11 5 81 3 8 19 70 7 4 9 12 39 38 11 10 39 14 39 8
61 0 • CO ts en in l co tte J Se 74) l = n ma ( for 0 ire In stionna ue q he f t o ns tio es u q he t to ts den n o sp E E 111=116 Xi &ME MS I MO g{152 RN WM SS:M(61M %COO/ SW E 01 DI 11: 111 MI S f re 0 0 o 8 5? R e tag n rce Pe 2 4. e ur ig F Table 4.4 Percentages of choices to the multiple choice questions for the tourism industry (n = 9) Question Question Option Number A B C D 1 0 67 22 11 2 56 44 0 0 3 44 0 56 0 4 11 22 67 0 5 33 56 11 0 6 22 11 56 11 7 0 0 100 0 8 0 100 0 0 9 11 89 0 0 10 0 22 7. 8 0 63 co o be Sz ae MUDD MIN ••••••••• ••..„...: 0 try s du In m 0 is = 9) r n l() ( Tou a ire a ionn t es u q f the o tions s ue (NI he q he t '7' 7'7 , 7 7.7.: • 7 • to ts den • • on IMMEMEMMIK=EVENIMEM::: sp MiESSMSMEMSSASENNEWESIMEMNEWEEM&VSMESSMESSES EMEEW re 0 0 0 f (,) 8 8 co t-- 8 8 o e tag cen 3 Per 4. e ur Fig The three graphs, figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, have many similarities, but also many differences. From the graphs, questions 3 through to 8, had the majority of respondents choosing the same option in the multiple choice questions. In question 1 of the informal settlement respondents (fig. 4.2), the majority of the respondents chose option C. That being that as a neighbour of the KNP, they should receive the same treatment as the rest of South Africa. This however was not the case for the formal settlements and tourism industry (fig. 4.1 and 4.3). These two groups believe that they should be receiving reduced tariffs on entrance to and accommodation in the park. Question 2 resulted in the formal and informal settlement's respondent having a similar response to the question. Both these groups selected the option of the KNP being a place that should provide educational opportunities with regards to conservation. The respondents in the tourism industry however, seemed to think that the KNP is mostly a safe place for plants and animals. Questions 9 and 10 both dealt with ecological terms. The informal settlement respondents (fig. 4.2) were largely unsure about an option, as options B and C both received approximately the same response, 39% and 38% respectively (table 4.3). For question 10 options A and C had the same number of responses, 39% each (table 4.3). The respondents from the formal settlement (fig. 4.1), had more definite views on the terms. For question 9, 72% (table 4.2) selected option B (the correct option), that exotic plants were plants which did not normally grow in a specific area. Question 10 received a similar response form the formal settlement respondents, 77% (table 4.2), in that the term poaching referred to illegal removal of any living organism (option C). The tourism industry (fig. 4.3), had 89% (table 4.4) of the respondents selecting option B in question 9 and 78% (table 4.4) selecting option C for question 10. For questions 7 and 8, the responses for all three groups were similar. These two questions both dealt with pollution of the local environment. From the graphs, it is seen that all three groups felt strongly about the situation. The informal settlement 65 respondents chose option C in question 7, 81% of the time (table 4.3), and option B of question 8, 70% (table 4.3) of the time. The formal settlement respondents all (100%) selected option C of question 7 (table 4.2), but only 95% of the respondents selected option B of question 8 (table 4.2). The tourism industry (fig. 4.3) all chose (100%) option C for question 7 and option B for question 8 (table 4.4). 4.4 Analysis of Variance (F-value): In order to determine whether or not the attitudes of the neighbours to the KNP differed from the desired attitudes of the KNP, an analysis of variance test (F statistic) (Howell, 1995) was carried out on the "correct" answers of the neighbours. These answers were "correct" in terms of what staff of the KNP along the southern boundary considered correct. Table 4.5 Comparison of attitudes and concerns (questions 1 to 7) of the neighbours of the KNP. as a mark out of seven (7). Formal Informal Tourism Settlements Settlements Industry EX 224 .337 27 n., 44 74 9 • . X 5.09 4.55 3 66 Table 4.6 Summary table of values in table 4.5. used to determine the F-value for testing the hypothesis on attitudes and concerns. Source df SS MS F Group 2 33.69 16.84 10.14 Error 124 205.92 1.66 Total 126 239.61 . From table 4.6, the summary table, it can be seen that the F-value is 10.14. From the table of critical values of the F Distribution in Howell (1995), F .01 (2,124) = 4.79. As 10.14>4.79, Ho will be rejected at the 1% significance level. The neighbours of the KNP therefore do not have the same attitudes or level of awareness towards the park. The calculations to the above tables are in appendix B. Table 4.7 Comparison of ecological/environmental knowledge (questions 8 to 10) of the neighbours of the KNP. as a mark out of three (3). Formal Informal Tourism Settlements Settlements Industry EX 108 113 24 nj 44 74 9 X 2.45 1.53 2.67 67 Table 4.8 Summary table of values in table 4.7. used to determine the F-value for testing the hypothesis on ecological/environmental knowledge. Source df SS MS F Group 2 29.01 14.5 18.86 Error 124 95.35 0.77 Total 126 124.36 - From table 4.8, the summary table, it can be seen that the F-value is 18.86. From the table of critical values of the F Distribution in Howell (1995), F .01 (2,124) = 4.79. As 18.86>4.79, Ho will be rejected at the 1% significance level. The level of environmental literacy between the various groups is not the same. The calculations to the above tables are in appendix B. 68 4.5 Fisher t-test This test was used to test the hypothesis between the study groups. Table 4.9 Fisher t-test values for both attitudes and concerns and ecological/environmental knowledge differences between the neighbours in the study area. The formal settlements are p 1 . informal settlements. p2 and tourism industry. p 3. P1 VS P2 pi vs p3 p2 vs p3 Attitudes and 2.2 4.43 3.41 concerns Ecological / 5.51 -0.69 -3.68 Environmental Knowledge From table 4.9, it can be seen that the t-test value for p i vs p2 (attitudes and concerns) is 2.20. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t.01 (124) = + 2.60. As 2.20<2.60, Ho cannot be rejected at the 1% significance level. Both the formal and informal settlements have similar attitudes and concerns towards the KNP. However for the ecological/environmental knowledge, p i vs p2, the t-test value is 5.51. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t.01 (124) = + 2.60. As 5.51>2.60, Ho will be rejected at the 1% significance level. This being that there is a significant difference between the formal and informal settlements with regards to ecological/environmental knowledge. For p 1 vs p3, the t-test value for attitudes and concerns is 4.43. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t .01 (124) = + 2.60. As 4.43>2.60, Ho will be rejected at the 1% significance level. The tourism industry and formal settlements therefore have differing attitudes and concerns towards the KNP. 69 However in the ecological/environmental knowledge comparison (p 1 vs p3), the t-test value is -0.69. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t.01 (124) = + 2.60. As 0.69<2.60, H o cannot be rejected at the 1% significance level. Formal settlements and the tourism therefore have a similar level of ecological/environmental knowledge. The t-test value for p2 vs p3 (attitudes and concerns) is 3.41. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t .01 (124) = ± 2.60. As 3.41>2.60, Ho will be rejected at the 1% significance level. This is also true for ecological/ environmental knowledge (p 2 vs p3) where the t-test value is -3.68. From the table of "Percentage Points of the t Distribution" in Howell (1995), t .01 (124) = + 2.60. As 3.68>2.60, H o will be rejected at the 1% significance level. For both the attitudes and concerns and the ecological/environmental knowledge, the informal settlements and tourism industry were different. 4.6 Summary Various similarities and differences were seen from the results. The ecologiCal knowledge for the formal settlement and tourism industry were at a similar level, with the informal settlement respondents lacking in environmental knowledge. The results indicated that the formal and informal settlements have similar attitudes and concerns for and about the environment. These results led to a proposed education programme for the area which could attempt to bring all three study areas closer in terms of ecological knowledge and attitudes and concerns for and about the environment. 70 Chapter Five Discussion of the Results and Proposed Education Model 5.1 Introduction The results have been discussed separately, as the pilot study and the in-depth study, and then linked. Shortcomings of the research methods used have been discussed, giving alternative approaches for future research. A proposed education model has been developed based on the findings of the research. 5.2 Pilot Study The pilot study served to give an initial impression of the neighbours in the study area. The reason for this was that up until now no concrete or substantiated work has been carried out with the neighbours on the southern boundary of the park. Since this study began, a workshop was held (14 May 1997) (Appendix C) by the section ranger of Malelane, with his section's immediate neighbours, to see if some kind of working relationship could be set up. As can be seen from table 4.1, a complete cross section of the community along the Crocodile river was taken in the pilot study. Under the "Attitudes towards KNP" column, statements made by the respondents have been recorded. These statements are generally negative. Statements such as "no working together", "poor advice from park's officials" and "KNP does not reach out to neighbours enough" are not good indications for what neighbours should think about each other. Infield (1986) found similar attitudes by the neighbours of the wildlife areas of KwaZulu/Natal. 71 These negative attitudes and ideas were well-established many years ago, approximately at the start of this century, when Stevenson-Hamilton set about with the proclamation of the KNP. With the prevention of annual hunting rights (which then took place during the winter months), the local farmers felt alienated (Stevenson-Hamilton, 1993; Carruthers, 1995). According to Carruthers (1995), the general reluctance of conservation bodies to "dwell on the less romantic aspects of wildlife conservation" is understandable, "for these well taint the virtue" of the conservation exercise. She goes on to say that unless the "other side of the fence" is taken into account, and understood, there may be nothing left to conserve. These ideas were echoed by the people of Matsulu, who want assistance from the KNP, but nothing is forthcoming in statements such as, "nobody has come to Matsulu to educate the pupils about the importance of the environment". Furthermore, many of the Matsulu residents involved in the interview felt that the "land in the KNP belongs to "them". This is only partly true, as according to Stevenson-Hamilton (1993), the African farmers and locals were allowed to stay in the KNP provided that they did not poach any of the animals. At the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 1937, cattle living within the boundary of the park died or were destroyed. This then meant that these people living in the park could no longer survive, so they moved out. The Africans living within the park's boundary were threatened with forced removal from their land should they be caught poaching, especially now that they did not . have any cattle any longer (Carruthers, 1995). In these cases, "wanting their land back" statements could be seen in a different light, that of forced removals. However, there were interviewees that did not see the KNP in such a negative light. "Positive efforts from the staff to share information" and "due to KNP controlling poaching well, it serves as a deterrent to poachers to go onto privately owned land" were some of the positive comments. These people did include those members of the neighbouring community which had actively been involved in attempting to establish relations with the KNP through conservancy programmes. 72 The environmental issues however, were more common amongst the interviewees than the attitudes towards the KNP had been. Biological diversity and alien plants were common environmental issues that were raised. This was followed by pollution, education and conservancies being established. These issues were seen as fairly critical issues in Preston, Fuggle and Siegfried's (1989) study of the perceptions and attitudes of ecologists and business leaders. In this study it was found that the business leaders placed a greater emphasis on the appearance (aesthetic value) than the ecological value of the environment. This is not the case on the southern boundary of the KNP. Due to the diversity of the inhabitants of this area and that of the interviewees, equal value has been placed on all of the environmental issues. This is because the people who were interviewed are relying on the ecological health of the area for their income. In the case of the tourism industry, its beauty and in the case of the farmers, good clean water for their crops. 5.3 Validity The questionnaire did not have a very good content validity because it was not possible to determine all of the attitudes and concerns of the neighbours of the KNP in the pilot study.. This was firstly due to many of the neighbours not wanting to freely communicate with any outsider about how they felt about the KNP. Secondly, there is a traditionally long-standing lack of trust between the neighbours and KNP officials. As early as 1925, when there was a brown locust swarm, farmers blamed the staff of the then Sabi Game Reserve, for protecting the locusts and ignoring the farmers (Stevenson-Hamilton, 1993). This "dislike" of the protected area continued for many years, with articles appearing in Johannesburg newspapers such as: "I would like [wrote this correspondent] to draw your readers' attention to the scandal of the Sabi Game Reserve where they have been 73 breeding lions for the last twenty-five years. I have lived opposite the reserve since 1914 and have noticed a great shrinkage in game. Zebras used to cross over in droves and it was a common sight to see them in the reserve, but I have not seen one since 1922. Blue wildebeest is another species which is disappearing from the Sabi Game Reserve. Of all the white elephants, and for sheer waste of money and game, and mismanagement, I think the conduct of the Sabi Game Reserve "takes the cake"" (as quoted in Stevenson-Hamilton, 1993). Construct validity however was much better than content validity. Here the constructs being measured were attitudes and knowledge. From figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, it can be seen that there are differences between the formal settlements, informal settlements and tourism industry with regards to attitudes towards the KNP and knowledge about the environment. 5.4 Internal Threats to Validity As the study is attempting to determine levels of attitude and environmental literacy, it is difficult to determine that the treatment is causing the outcomes. The outcomes are "new" and need to be treated as such. The past activities in the area, be they political or social, would have affected the outcomes on the questionnaire but it is also relevant in that it was these past activities that had affected the thinking of the people in the area. The only possible threat to the outcomes may have been the questionnaire itself in that it could have led the respondents to the "obvious" answer in each option. 5.5 External Threats to Validity External threats were ruled out of the study, as the sampling being stratified attempted to cover all the possible groups. So, in fact, it was almost equivalent to 74 taking most attitudes of the country. The composition of the study area was a continuous spectrum from the poor to the wealthy, agriculture to industry and environmentally "friendly" to potentially damaging. For this reason the results should be applicable to other areas of South Africa. 5.6 Weakness of Questionnaire A possible weakness of the questionnaire is that the multiple choice options limit the responses. A more accurate approach in future will be to have a number of options, but then with a "yes/no" response. This would give a much clearer indication of the attitudes of the respondents and then result in an attitude index being drawn up (Foster, 1991). Many of the respondents did indicate verbally that more than one choice in the multiple choice questionnaire could be relevant. For example: The function of places like the Kruger National Park are ... to protect endangered animals and plants from being killed by the local people. to protect the local people and their property from dangerous animals. to protect ecosystems for all South Africans to enjoy. I do not know. Many respondents would have liked to answer "yes" to options A and C but by having to choose only one option it may have slanted the results. 5.7 Attitudes and Concerns Pre-April 1994, "the white public of South Africa had come to regard its national parks with a considerable degree of pride" (Carruthers, 1995). Black South Africans had however not been able to experience these protected areas to the same degree. 75 Swan (1971) as quoted by Gigliotti (1992), suggests that the "roots of environmental problems stem, in large, from the basic values upon which society has been built". In addition, Eiser and van der Pligt (1988) as quoted in Foster and Nel (1991) claimed that "attitudes are both a social product and an intrinsic part of social action". In other words the KNP has, to a certain extent, created their own neighbour problems. From table 4.9, it was seen that the formal and informal settlements had similar attitudes towards the KNP. As permanent neighbours of the park utilising the same resources, conflict has occurred between these neighbours and the KNP as to how the resources should be used to the best interest of both parties. The KNP has often been criticised for under utilising their resources as is the current belief with regards to the carrying capacity of the elephant population in the park (R. Kalwa, personal communications, 1996). The neighbours however are viewed by the KNP as over-utilizing the natural resources as in the case of wasting water drawn from the Crocodile River. This then would have resulted in negative feelings towards each other. These negative feelings, with supposedly valid reasons, would have led to "negative" attitudes towards the KNP. The tourist industry did not have the same attitudes as the formal and informal settlements, for very good reasons. They rely on the KNP for their income. As long as they are positive towards the KNP the park will treat them well. Evidence of this is seen in the number of open vehicles transporting tourists through the park. Up until a few years ago, no open vehicle, other than an official KNP open vehicle, was allowed in the KNP. Tourists were shown the park in mini-buses. Based on the views of the interviewees in the pilot study as well as the responses for the questionnaire, westernised ideas for conservation and protected areas are not the same for the rural people (especially those in the informal settlements). According to Mokgoko (1986) as quoted in Fourie (1987), "the African people hold a pragmatic view of nature and the way to address them is to instill in their minds the understanding that wildlife is of value to them - like their cattle, sheep and goats". 76 Positive attitudes towards conserved areas can therefore be most easily achieved by providing some form of benefit to the local inhabitants. This is supported by Infield's (1986) findings. From this then it is clear that a programme be established for rural people (including formal and informal settlements) to develop the perceptions needed. Fourie (1987) claims that this can only be achieved if the programme (strategy) is based on the rural man's perceptions of nature. From the pilot study, members of the Matsulu Reconstruction and Development Committee wanted some form of interaction from the KNP. For them education of the youth with regards to conservation and environmental management was essential. This fits in well with Fourie's (1987) suggested strategy. He claimed that the suggested strategy be placed on three pillars. These being, sharing of knowledge, industry, and direct benefits. The importance of sharing knowledge and providing education is that it increases conservation awareness (Infield, 1986 and Fourie, 1987) which then will lead to a positive attitude towards the environment. This could be achieved by increasing the educational links with schools and colleges, holding environmental days and educating the staff of the KNP (Fourie, 1987). At present schools along the southern boundary of the KNP are invited into the park for a day visit. The problem is that not many schools are invited and the schools that are invited are from a select group. In addition there is as yet no set programme developed to educate these school groups. This is partly due to the fact that no qualified education staff have been employed to run these programmes within the KNP. The running of the programme is often left to conservationists, but more commonly, left to the Nature Conservation students doing their practical component of their diploma. 77 Links with local tertiary institutions do not exist. An effort has to be made with local teacher-training centres so that environmental awareness amongst the teachers can be created. This knowledge can then filter down to the children and eventually into the homes of these park neighbours. Environmental days that have been held in the southern part of the park involved interactions with business executives from the local industries. This took the form of a night drive in the park, followed by a meal. This form of interaction is acceptable if these industries are prepared to become involved in either funding education programmes for schools or to further their own staffs environmental awareness. On one such drive it was interesting to note that, once the businessmen were inside the park's boundary and it was getting dark, they commented on the noise of the pumps and generators working in their factories. Fourie (1987) felt that environmental days should take on the form of informing neighbours on the current KNP activities and offering the neighbours skills in the form of correct veld-burning, erosion control and even population dynamics. These could all be illustrated by means of practical examples at these environmental workshops. Fourie (1987) felt that these environmental workshops could achieve certain goals. Firstly, the lack of communication between neighbours and KNP staff could be overcome. Secondly, the local people could obtain a tangible benefit from the park in the form of new knowledge which would help them in their local context, and thirdly, better veld management in the neighbouring areas would benefit the KNP as it would reduce the silt load and pollution of the perennial rivers. • Educating the staff of the KNP was also seen by Fourie (1987) as a way of creating positive attitudes towards the park by the neighbouring communities. He felt that if the staff who live in these neighbouring areas were correctly educated by the KNP, they would feed the newly acquired information to the communities. This then would lead to improved neighbour relations. 78 At present the KNP has an induction course which is offered to the staff but due to logistic problems not all of the staff are able to go on this course. This problem can be overcome by the different tourist-camp managers organising local training courses. This would train the staff about the part of the park in which they live. Although this might not create direct ecological value to the neighbours of the park in the specific area, it would, however, create an interest and an awareness for the environment. This would eventually lead to the improved attitudes towards the KNP. 5.8 Ecological/Environmental Knowledge "One widely held belief concerning environmental quality is that concern and awareness about the environmental problems are primarily restricted to the wealthier segments of a society. It has been thought that individuals who are lower in economic status are generally too preoccupied with issues of economic survival and physical well-being to be concerned about the environment" (Caro & Ewert, 1995). From table 4.9, it can be seen that there is a definite relationship between wealth and ecological/environmental knowledge. Both the formal settlements and the tourism industry "scored" well with regards to what they know about the environment. However, the informal settlements, who are not nearly as wealthy as the other two study areas, did not do well with regards to the knowledge aspect of the questionnaire. It is possible to blame the economic situation for their lack of knowledge but this is not the only reason for the lack of knowledge. Due to the past political policy of the country, many of the people living in these informal areas were denied access to the KNP, other than for employment. For those members of this society, education was not a right but rather a privilege. The schools in these areas did not visit the KNP, as financially they could not afford it and in many cases there was no interest. The only form of environmental awareness or knowledge that the people living in the informal settlements received was that from the media. This can be seen in figure 79 4.2, questions 7 and 8, which has to do with pollution. In question 7, 81% of the respondents are aware that pollution in the area is their responsibility. The awareness has been created through advertisements in newspapers, magazines and even on colddrink cans and the packaging of sweets. From the study, 70% of the respondents agreed that pollution/litter is anything that damages the environment (fig. 4.2, question 8, option B). The question which now needs to be asked is, if the residents of the informal settlements are aware of the damages caused by the pollution, then why is nothing being done about it? The answer I believe is relatively straight forward. Due to the lack of education, the community is only aware that it is wrong to litter or it is wrong for pollution to be in the river or surrounding environment. But as to why it should be wrong there have been no answers given. The media has therefore left out a very crucial point. It is in cases like this that the park needs to become actively involved in moving into these areas and educating the local people about litter problems. This can be achieved through litter clean-up days with different sections of the community on different days. For example, one day could involve the businessmen of the area, where a second day, possibly a month later could involve the women of the area. This type of programme was attempted with the environmental section of the local sugar factory. Case Study 1: Environmental awareness Clean up of Crocodile River. Getting the land owners along the river involved and to meet KNP personnel. A total of 35 rubbish bags and seven tyres were removed from the river. The total operation covered approximately 2km of the river on the KNP side of the channel. All of the rangers from Malelane section, Wolhuter and Bushman Trails rangers as well as staff from Transvaal Sugar Board (TSB) conservation section were involved. 80 Animals such as bush buck and a python were found and the importance as well as dangers of each were pointed out. Any forms of alien vegetation were pointed out to the neighbours taking part in the clean up. A follow up clean-up on the other side of the . channel will now be carried out. Not only was litter picked up, but the neighbours were able to talk to the rangers of the park and, in so doing, learnt something about the environment. Most important however these neighbours were made aware of the environment, thereby increasing their ecological/environmental knowledge. When looking at questions 9 and 10 (fig. 4.2), a completely different situation is seen. These two questions deal with actual knowledge about the environment. In question 9, 39% of the respondents chose the correct answer but the other 61% did not know what an exotic plant was. For this reason many of the inhabitants of the informal settlements, living on the banks of the Crocodile River, could and are planting declared weeds. The seeds of these weeds are then washed into the KNP and down the river, spreading very easily. A similar problem exists when studying question 10 (fig. 4.2). Again only 39% on the people living in the informal settlements knew that the term "poaching" referred to the illegal removal of any living organism. If these people living up along the fence or boundary (the bank of the Crocodile River) of the KNP do not know that they may not catch fish from the river, hunt or cut reeds from the river, the KNP has an enormous problem. The fact is that many of these people are not employed and are starving. It is for this reason that the KNP has to address the problem, through education, providing incentives in the form of local work, resources for making curios and even, to begin with, food. It costs the KNP thousands of Rands annually to employ rangers to patrol the boundaries of the KNP, to protect it from poaching. If some of these same rangers 81 could be used in educating the neighbours in the informal settlements their "job" would be made easier. Although the problems discussed are more evident in the informal settlements, it also occurs in the formal settlements. In the case of the question referring to exotic plants (fig. 4.1, question 9), 72% of the respondents chose the correct answer. What is however worrying, is the fact that five percent of the respondents had no idea as to what the term meant. A further 23% chose the incorrect answer showing that they have a misconception concerning the meaning of the term. The problem with these poor responses is that many of the respondents in the formal settlements own farms which border the KNP directly. If their knowledge is poor regarding the environment, they are passing on the incorrect information to their employees who live in the many informal settlements in the area. The same goes for question 10 (fig. 4.1) referring to poaching. Here 23% of the respondents believed that "poaching" referred only to the illegal capture of animals and fish. This is a large number of people who may be breaking the law when it comes to conservation and are not even aware of it. But it is not only with regards to the questions asked in the questionnaire that the neighbours of the KNP are ignorant. Many of the farmers in the area show and seem to demonstrate poor farming methods. Not only does this result in loss of income for the farmer but is also resulting in severe environmental damages occurring. As mentioned previously, the main crop grown in the area is sugar cane. For this, large quantities of water is required for irrigation purposes. A survey carried out in the study area, with regards to water utilisation from the Crocodile River, revealed that 0.67 I / second / hectare was being drawn from the river and an area of 470 Ha was being irrigated (J. Erasmus, personal communications, 1996). All irrigation of the sugar cane was done by overhead irrigation systems which are controlled by computer (L. van Rensburg, Transvaal Sugar Board, personal communications, 1996). However, during the time of collecting data, it was noticed that these 82 overhead sprinklers were never or very seldom switched off during the day. This occurred regardless of pouring rain or mid-summer days when the air temperature was in excess of 36°C. This phenomenon resulted in one of two things happening. Firstly a large quantity of water was being wasted from the Crocodile River, and secondly, nutrients which the farmer should have in the soil were being leached, resulting in the farmers needing to add extra fertilisers. These nutrients which are being leached are then washed into the Crocodile River causing an imbalance in the natural nutrients of the river, resulting in algal blooms and the water hyacinth flourishing. All of these allegations that I have made with regards to irrigation systems running continuously and nutrients being washed from the soil were denied by the farmers. However, run-off water from the Riverside Farm has been estimated at 900 000 I/day by the management of the Leopard Creek golf course. This is not far off the water used by the local sugar factory, 1 099 635 I/day (J. Erasmus personal communications, 1996). If the soil is only absorbing 100 000 I/day the rest will be run-off. This illustrates overkill of the water and river systems as discussed by Clarke (1991). This, in turn, is a good example of the "tragedy of the commons" as discussed by Hardin (1968). This destructive behaviour to the environment (Gray, 1985) in the form of leaching of the soil and nitrification of the river system, is due to ignorance and "unawareness" (Gray, 1985) of the farmers to the local environment. The implication of this study is that the KNP needs to urgently develop or adopt an environmental education programme that can be used with its neighbours. Should this not happen, the management of the KNP will be creating problems for themselves. The education programme can be seen as a community upliftment programme. From the study (question 6, option C) a large percentage, both from the informal (72%) and formal (67%) settlements, felt that the officials of the KNP should be involved in all community upliftment programmes. One of the ways of community upliftment is through education (Lorton Communications, 1994). It was found, 83 through such a programme between the Bop Parks and their neighbours, that through education there was an improved awareness for the environment. The need for education in these neighbouring areas was further emphasised from the response to question two. Again both the informal (53%) and formal (72%) settlements were in favour of the KNP providing educational opportunities with regards to conservation (option B, question 2). This could be achieved by holding workshops or college-type meetings, where the neighbours could be taught about various aspects of the environment. These meetings could be held in addition to the environmental days. The reason for this is that the people attending the college-type meetings would be learning specific information with regards to the environment, in terms of conservation. The education received would not qualify the neighbours as conservationists but could be used as a pool to select people for employment. This means it would be multi-purposed. For those that could not receive employment within the park, could act as "environmental watchdogs" in their community. Funding for this could be negotiated with the local industries. A further means for improving ecological/environmental knowledge is through ecotourism. From the questionnaire it was clearly seen that the majority of the respondents believe that the function of the KNP is to protect ecosystems for all South Africans to enjoy (question 3, option C). The group most in favour of this option was the formal settlements (72%). This is not surprising, as many of these people live on the banks of the river as they own farms. Surprisingly, it is these farms which are most affected by hippopotamus or elephants destroying their crops but still they want to protect the environment. Also surprising, was that 40% of the informal settlement respondents chose option C of question 3. This supports findings found by Sheppard (1995) that Africans (blacks) were less interested in environmental issues than whites. Although the group percentage in favour of protecting ecosystems for all South African (option C, question 3) was lower in the informal settlements (40%) than the formal settlements (72%), the majority of the respondents in the informal settlements were in favour of 84 the concept. This then implies that the local people from all the communities are generally in favour of working towards improved knowledge concerning the environment and therefore wanting to support an ecotourism orientated area. In an ecotourism project in Rocktail Bay, the community found that instead of destroying the hippopotamus of the area which fed nightly on their crops, they could charge tourists to the local lodge to come and view the hippopotamus. This income that was generated could then be used to purchase items for which the crops being destroyed would have paid for (Fowkes, n.d). As the study area has a high tourist turnover, these farmers should be encouraged to invite tourists onto their properties for game viewing. In doing this they would be generating income from the environment and educating tourists in the local flora and fauna. These "eco-tourist farms" would then clearly demonstrate how conservation and development (in the form of agriculture) can work together. In addition, these farmers would then be encouraged to remove alien vegetation from the environment and protect the endemic vegetation as tourists would quickly start to notice the incorrect vegetation. The ecological/environmental knowledge can further be improved through a -policy of integrated environmental management (IEM) (Preston, 1993). Through the management of the KNP becoming involved in the community and community upliftment programmes, careful planning of projects can be done. This planning and open discussions of the environmental impact that projects may have, may result in the neighbours gaining a better understanding for the environment. Through open and informed decision-making taking place, education of the community will also be taking place. It will also demonstrate that the KNP is willing to assist the communities in obtaining some benefit from the park. The projects that could be initiated could be along the lines of promoting ecotourism in the area without damaging the environment in any way, rather enhancing it. 85 5.9 Educational Model Many of the neighbours in the study area believed that they should participate in environmental programmes to improve the appearance of the KNP (question 5, option B). It was found that 72% of the people in the formal settlement, 74% of the informal settlement, and 56% of the tourism industry were interested in this idea. Unfortunately, people can only help to improve the appearance of the KNP if they know what is ecologically wrong. Here, again, education is needed first. Many people seem to believe that environmental education can create awareness while inter alia transmitting information, teaching knowledge, developing habits and skills and presenting guidelines for problem-solving and decision-making (Mogome-Ntsatsi & Adeola, 1995). This is very similar to the way in which Saveland (1976) viewed environmental education. He claimed that environmental education should be "a process aimed at producing a citizenry that is knowledgeable concerning the total environment and the role of man, able to participate in activities for maintaining and improving the quality of the environment while meeting human needs, and motivated to do so". In order to achieve these goals a "top-down" instruction with wildlife experiences (O'Donoghue, 1993) has been used. This system has served its role well with regards to school groups and many ecologically or wildlife oriented interest groups. O'Donoghue (1993) suggests a new approach to addressing communities, especially those closely associated with wildlife areas. He refers to the approach as the "CLEAR" principles. The "CLEAR" stands for: C - community, L - learning, E - environment, A - active awareness, and R - resources. 86 The most important aspects of these principles is that there is meaningful communication between the neighbouring communities and the wildlife area. This meaningful communication is starting to happen in the study area as a forum is being set up involving the neighbours and the KNP (R. Kalwa, personal communications, 1997). Communication can also be achieved through letters or pamphlets being distributed to the neighbours as was done for the new home- owners of the Leopard Creek Golf Course. Case Study 2: Environmental knowledge An article was written to inform the neighbours along the Crocodile River to the importance of riverine vegetation. It was felt that an article such as this one was necessary as many riverine trees had already been cut down in the building of the Leopard Creek Golf Estate lodges. RIVERINE (RIPARIAN) VEGETATION All the plants growing between the middle of the river and up to the top of the bank is known as the riparian vegetation. This in other words includes reeds, bushes and large trees. These plants play a direct role in the functioning of the river, by affecting both water quality and flow rate of the river. In addition to these functions the vegetation: controls the erosion of the river beds and banks by slowing and spreading the water, increases the deposition rate of both organic and inorganic wastes, increases the aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, provides resistance to invasion by invader and alien plants, 87 natural shading (especially in a hot climate such as the Lowveld), and provides enormous.aesthetic value. Destruction of the vegetation in any way will therefore increase river bank erosion, as well as making the entire riverine system susceptible to invasion by alien and invader plant species. Unfortunately some of these invader plants are already evident. Bushes such as: * Lantana (Lantana camara), a weed from tropical America, Thorn apple (Datura stramonium), a weed from North America, and Wild tomato (Solanum sisymbrifolium), a weed from South America. A tree species in the area is the: Syringa (Melia azedarach) The reason that these invader plant species do well on the river banks is because the area has been abnormally disturbed due to de-bushing in some places. By removing the endemic vegetation, birds and animals which would normally have foraged in the riparian vegetation, move out of the area to feed. This then removes much of the aesthetic value of the riparian zone. A question which can now be asked is how do home-owners along the river-front who want to see the river more clearly do so? It is unwise to clear out the small bushes and shrubs as, already mentioned, this will allow for invader plants to colonise the area easily. Growing in this under-bush are many saplings of the old Fig (Ficus sycomorus), Sausage (Kigelia africana) and Matumi (Breonadia salicina) trees. These saplings of course are the future riverine trees. If you should feel that you need to enhance your view of the Crocodile River you can trim one or two branches from the tree. In order to do this without adversely affecting the tree, you can contact the ranger at Malelane who will 88 be able to advise you as to which branches can be trimmed off the established trees. It will be the ideal to establish a balance between ecological importance of the riverine vegetation and aesthetic value of the area. If at any time you have any queries about the ecology of the area, please feel free to contact us so that we can be of assistance to you. The learning aspect of the CLEAR principles requires that learning has a. common purpose. From the questionnaire in the study, lack of environmental knowledge has been shown through questions 9 and 10. These types of concepts would need to be addressed in the learning process. The resources needed to drive this type of programme are available in the form of the education facilities in the KNP as well as some dedicated staff members who are wanting to make a difference with regards to the neighbours of the park, especially now along the southern boundary of the KNP. Models such as the "Campfire" project of Zimbabwe (IIED, 1994), although effective, would not be a viable option for the southern boundary of the KNP. The main reason being that the area is too large. It would therefore be impossible to control effectively, as to who obtains what benefits. An alternative approach would be through education, to create a buffer zone (IIED, 1994). Buffer zones which are normally created around small wildlife "islands" rely on the local communities acting as co-managers and beneficiaries of the resources (IIED, 1994). Once again, this would not be a good option for the southern boundary of the KNP as the area is too large. The model which I then propose for this area is one that considers all of the neighbours. Firstly, the neighbours need to be made aware of the environment 89 before any knowledge can be imparted. Through the use of environmental days and environmental workshops, the neighbours will be made aware of the environment. Once the neighbours become interested in the wildlife around them, study groups (R. Kalwa, personal communications, 1996) or forums can be set up. Those neighbours not attending or not interested in these study groups or forums should be kept up to date on local environmental issues through regular newsletters. This then means that the local industries need to become involved through assisting to finance such publications. The improved knowledge about the environment, in turn, may lead to improved attitudes towards the environment as well as improved neighbour-relations between the KNP and the neighbouring communities. Through the improved awareness, knowledge and attitudes, active participation in projects can be achieved through IEM type programmes. This will then ensure that riverine vegetation is not removed so that the local home-owner can get a "better view" of the Crocodile River but rather, that a combined problem-solving, IEM type approach of all the home-owners in an area can get together to find a way for all to view game, drinking at the river, without destroying the vegetation. 5.10 Summary The pilot study was an important part of the study as it highlighted many other facets of the communities thoughts on the environment and their attitudes towards and about the environment. Both studies were also able to demonstrate various shortcomings in the research design, which can be overcome in future. In addition other research questions arose from this studies findings. 90 Chapter Six Summary. Conclusions and Recommendations 6.1 Summary of Research and Conclusions Considering the diverse cultural and economic nature of the study area, the ecological/environmental knowledge and attitudes of the neighbours did not vary too greatly. Although there were differences, these were not as great as what was expected. This "similarity" between the neighbours on the southern boundary of the KNP makes the implementing of any education model far more easy than if the group was greatly different. Through a process of involving all the neighbours in the study area, in environmental days and environmental workshops, the level of environmental literacy should increase. This in turn might lead to improved attitudes towards the environment and to the KNP. The model which needs to be followed would be similar to O'Donoghue's (1993) CLEAR principles. Through this type of programme the neighbours would become involved in programmes relating to the KNP. It would be aided by a IEM-type policy in which the management of the KNP and the neighbours of the park would jointly solve problems relating to the area. This could then lead to the area becoming an ideal eco-tourist opportunity or destination, due to it having a well-managed ecosystem. Ecotourism would then be one of the ways in which the neighbours of the park would receive some benefits. These benefits would however be direct benefits to the 91 neighbours themselves and not necessarily communal as in projects such as the "Campfire" project of Zimbabwe. In general, the neighbours of the KNP on the southern boundary are not intentionally destructive towards the environment but rather unaware as to their environmental responsibility. This has been mainly due to a lack of interest shown by the KNP management and a lack of communication between the neighbours and the park itself. Once this has been addressed, through education programmes, IEM-type policies and environmental days where the neighbours can easily communicate with the KNP officials, the southern boundary of the KNP will become a stable and healthy ecosystem. 6.2 Recommendations The KNP needs to prioritise those areas on its boundaries which need immediate attention with regards to addressing environmental knowledge. This would require a list of projects or developments which are pending to be drawn up, so that IEM-type assessments can be carried out and where necessary education be carried out with regards to environmental damage. Once this has been achieved the KNP can set about educating the neighbours with regards to general environmental knowledge and awareness. This would involve the Social Ecology department of the KNP, which is responsible for educating the neighbours of the park. This department would need to draw up a management plan with regards to education. If need be they should consult with environmental education specialists to draw up education policies and programmes. These education programmes can be incorporated into the current forum which was established in May 1997. At present the members of the forum are establishing areas of development along the boundary of the park and monitoring their progress. An education programme which could be coupled with this could deal with sustainable development. Later education programmes could deal with topics such 92 as agriculture and soil erosion, wise water use, reducing water pollution, alien vegetation, and many others. 6.2.1 Recommendations Regarding Further Research What now needs to be done in the study area is to set up the environmental days and workshops. Once continued action has been taken to improve the ecological/environmental knowledge and thus improve the attitudes of all of the neighbours in the study area, a new research programme needs to be done to determine whether or not the workshops and environmental days have been a success. The study could then be carried out on two groups. One group which fell into the original study area, and the second group which did not fall into the study area, but is still adjacent to the KNP. This area would be mostly the area from Komatiepoort to the Mozambican border. This new area would act as a control group, not receiving the new treatment, that being the environmental workshops and days. The new research programme should be more in depth, as new knowledge would have been imparted, -so a higher level of environmental literacy should have been attained by the original study group. 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New York: Macmillan Publishing. WALS, AEJ 1997: Critical phenomenology and environmental education research. WCED 1987. Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. WILKE, RJ 1996: Environmental literacy and the college curriculum. EPA Journal, 21(2): 1-4. WILKE, RJ; HUNGERFORD, HR; LANE, JF & PEYTON, RB 1994. Strategies for the training of teachers in environmental education. Paris: UNESCO-UNEP. YELD, J 1994: The South African environment post-April 27, 1994. African Wildlife, 48(3): 3. 102 Appendix A Diary of observations of neighbours on a day to day basis - these observations with the interviews were used in drawing up questions for the questionnaire. February 12th KNP invited to a meeting at Leopard Creek golf course to assist developers with "problem animals" such as hippos, elephants, lions and baboons March 27th KNP invited to the monthly meeting of the Onderberg Wild en Ecobewaringsvereniging April 10th Advising developers at Leopard Creek golf course on alien plants 18th Managers at local sugar factory not interested in talking to KNP in order to overcome problems 24th Developers at Leopard Creek seeking advice from the KNP with regards to problem animals: (a) cages for refuse to prevent baboons and (b) fence or "wall" to stop elephants and lions comming onto the property 103 May 19th Lions Club of Malelane wanting to get involved again with the restoring and improving of the trail in Berg-en-Dal for the blind and physically handicapped Leopard Creek closed off sluces of their dam in order to save water for the watering of their greens and fairways, rather than continually drawing water from the Crocodile River KNP assisted a local game farmer whose farm is situated on a citrus farm by giving suggestions on management 23rd Were called by Leopard Creek developers to come and collect a 3.5m python which was being tormented by construction workers building lodges for the golf course 30th At the Onderberg conservancy meeting, members voiced their concern about the loss of topsoil in the area. It was felt that the farmers should be just as interested in the abiotic component of the environment as the biotic component June 5th Took developers of Leopard Creek on a night drive, and noticed that these people were unhappy about the noise which was coming from factories bordering the park as well as noise coming from the pumps farmers have next to the river 6th Meeting of farmers in the Onderberg area on "problem animals": cheaper to destroy the animal rather than relocate due to funds (Mpumalanga Parks Board) - farmers have mixed feelings farmers were encouraged to join their local conservancy farmers do not see the environment in its totality, see separate components, that is, water or soil or plants, not intergrated 104 July 8th Elephants in neighbouring sugar cane lands, as farmer not taking correct precautions. The farmer is not a member of any of the conservancies in the area 31' Two members of the Onderberg conservancy order soil books August 20th Poor response by neighbouring industry, farmers and local residents in wanting to be involved in a litter clean up of the Crocodile River September 5th Formation of a unified conservancy in the area - Onderberg Conservancy, a combination of wildlife (game) farmers and crop farmers 105 Appendix B Calculations of F-value 106 Table B-1 Comparison of attitudes and concerns of neighbours (questions 1 to 7) as a mark out of seven (Howell. 1995). Formal Informal Tourism Settlements Settlements Industry (pink) (white) (yellow) Scores on 3 3 6 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 • uestions 5 5 5 5 6 5 0 6 5 4 2 6 5 4 4 7 5 3 5 5 5 3 4 6 6 6 4 5 3 5 3 3 3 6 6 6 4 3 5 6 7 5 6 2 4 6 5 5 3 5 4 5 5 6 3 5 6 3 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 2 4 5 6 5 . 5 5 4 4 6 6 4 6 6 6 6 4 4 6 4 6 3 4 6 5 6 5 5 5 3 5 4 3 4 5 5 6 6 5 6 3 6 7 2 0 3 0 6 7 7 4 224 337 27 - 44 74 9 . 5.09 4.55 3 G = 588 N = 127 107 SStotai = X2 - (G)2/N = 2962 - 2722.3937 = 239.6063 SSgroup = T21/nj - G2/N = 2242/44 + 3372/74 + 272/9 - 5882/127 = 33.686153 SSerror = SStotal SSgroup = 205.92015 108 Table B-2 Comparison of ecological/environmental knowledge of the neighbours (questions 8 to 10) as a mark out of three (Howell. 1995). Formal Informal Tourism Settlements Settlements Industry (pink) (white) (yellow) Scores on 3 3 3 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 questions 3 3 3 2 1 2 2 0 1 3 3 3 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 3 3 1 2 3 0 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 1 3 3 2 3 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 3 3 2 3 1 0 2 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 1 2 3 2 0 1 2 3 3 3 3 1 2 2 1 2 1 3 3 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 3 3 3 EX = 108 113 24 nj = 44 74 9 . )7 = 2.45 1.53 2.67 G = 245 N = 127 109 SStotal = X2 (G)2/N = 597 - 472.6378 = 124.3622 SSgroup 1-2jinj G2M1 = 501.64496 - 472.6378 = 29.007168 SSerror = S Stotal SSgroup = 95.355032 110 Appendix C Appendix C - Minutes of a meeting held at Berg-en-Dal. Kruger National Park. to develop communication channels between the KNP and the neighbours bordering the southern boundary - 14 May 1997. 111 MINUTES FOR THE BERG-EN--SAL L1PEN DAY 14 MAY 1997 Present: H.J Radley, D.R Dehrmann, C- Howell, P. du Plessis, S. Davies, G. Lishman, G. Pech, M- Menge, F. Nel, T. Thou, R. Brown, K. Quinn, L. van Rensburg, A.H Winterbach, P. Scott, C.F du Toit, W. King, C. Shaw, J. Maritz, D. Joubert, H. Nel, F. Esselen, J. van Staden, F. van Staden, C. Robertson, M. Kr0Q, W.L Smit, S.0 Spear, B. Roberts, C. Arnold; J. McCarter, H.L van Dyk, A.R Deacon, F.J Venter, N.J van Wyk, C. Rhodes, Pepworth, R. Elphick, D. Deacon, J. van der Walt, P. Southey, Kip, D. Elphick, A.J Lubbe, M. Krischker, D. van den Berg, N. McSeveney, S. Ballot, M. Kuun, C. Barlow, M. Kruger, P. Buckmaster, H. Gous, L. Deakin, J. Erasmus, J. van der Merwe, R. Kalw,t, INTRODUCTION On 1997.05.14 an Open Day was held in Berg-en-Dal to discuss the way forward and possibly take ownership of a plan for the rapid development that the Onderberg region is currently experiencing. AGENDA (as modified on the day) WELCOME - RALF KALWA 1.1 The meeting was opened by Ralf Kalwa at 09h30. 1.2 Apologies on behalf of the MEC who-had to attend a cabinet meeting as well as Cornelius Ruiters whose wife had a baby. 1.3 Development in isolation always gives rise to some sort of negotiable conflict. As partners in the Onderberg we should talk about the collective impact of development in the area. DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT - A FRUGER PARK PEr 4:SPECTIVE JOHANN VAN DER MERWE - SENIOR MANAGER CONSERVATION SOUTH 2.1 Don't accept conflict as a permanent feature of conservation. 2.2 The plan is to establish some sort of . relationship as we mostly share a common interest. 2.3 Seen a number of attempts fail because of a lack' of sinceretv. u. AN ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDY - E.I.A SUCCESS - RALF KALWA 3.1 KNP periphral development policy will have an impact.on the outside of the Park, just as outside development has a influence on the KNP. 3.2 Test all developments under some sort of process. .3.3 A successful example of the above is the E.I.A done for the proposed deck at the Malelane Lodge. 4. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM MPUMALANGA A DEPARTMENTAL AND REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE - SHAUN DAVIES 4.1 Change inevitable - let it change in a sustainable way. 4.2 What is established here could be a blueprint for the province. 4.3 Formulate something, put it through cabinet and get it legislated. 4.4 Would be nice to have a limited development area. • DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCE CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE -- A SOIL CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE - MIKE MENGE.- REGIONAL MANAGER NELSPRUIT' 5.1 Difficult to enforce the Resource Conservation Act without manpower. 5.2 Lines of communication between Pretoria and regional offices cut off. 5.3 - Decisions still been made - even in the Onderberg area - without consulting with role players / stakeholders. Together proper decisions could be made that satisfy all. 5.4 Please bring the department on board. NEIL VAN WYK - CHIEF ENGINEER, DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND RESOURCE PLANNING 6.1 Department of Water Affairs - custodian of water resources in South Africa. 6.2 White Paper for water accepted by parliament - principles involved have to be acted upon and implemented. 6.3 Cannot borrow what we cannot replace. 6.4 Still some scope for water resource development in the . Crocodile river catchment - balance between demand and supply. 6.5 Crocodile river part of an international catchment. 6.6 Department would like to partake and contribute in.functions such as the Berg-en-Dal Open Day. ONDERBERG CONSERVANCY - A DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE - RICHARD ELPHICE - VICE CHAIRMAN - ONDERBERG CONSERVANCY 7.1 Structure of organisation. 7.2 One of the roles is to act as a mediator eg between greens and destroyers. 7.3 Would like to become more active in the decision-making. 7.4 Get together to achieve a win-win situation. 7.5 Act as a watchdog for the environmental community. 7.6 A forum could help us all to achieve one goal:. development in a way that everybody shares in the wealth of the area. 7.7 Re-design some of the mistakes of the past. 7.8 Conservancy lines of communication always been available. 7.9 This meeting should get a short list of people that we can communicate with - Solve problems and sensitive answers. TEA / COFFEE BREAK GRETA PECH : STRATEGIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 9.1 Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) 9.2 Mpumalanga Integrated Spatial Framework (ISF) 9.3 Land Development Objectives (LDO) 9.4 * Stategic Environmental Management Plan * Maputo Corridor Development * Department Planning (Economic) OPEN SESSION - CHAIRMAN: JOHANN VAN DER MERWE Body? Need? Take representitive decisions Xc Working Group: Geographic / Economic Unit eg Onderberg / Nkomazi area * west of gorge possible in future Consultations upstream for effect downstream NOWAC - irrigation! STAKEHOLDERS: i. Malelane / Marloth - / Komatipoort TLC Nkomazi East 84 West TRC * Matsulu Formal business:. Chambers Organised Agriculture * Conservancy Kruger Park South. Tourism Association (Lodges / Hotels) Mining : Magnesite mine Industries Forestry : Mandl Escom . Spoornet : Department of Transport Room for more Sustainability : sustainable co-ordinated development Lobbying Communication Understanding Inter-action / Intergrating Informal discussions Watch-dog Common future planning STEERING COMMITTEE . # to come up with vision / mission statement Johann van der Merwe / Ralf Kalwa & department : initiators J. P. S. Ngdmane (TRC West Chairperson) Mike Mabuza (TRC East Chairperson) Hendrik van Dyk .* Council nominations or Chairpersons Chairperson of Afrikaanse Sakekamer Richard Elphick Paddy Buckmaster (Tourism) Richard Pepworth Leon van Rensburg (TSB) Freek Venter Ian Scott (Organised Agriculture) Dr. Hoppie Nel (TSB) Martin Kruger : Mar loth Park NEXT MEETINGS: Thursday 29 May 14h00 Malelane Club Thursday 26 June 09h0o Berg-en-Dal Conference Centre NAMES: Onderberg Development Forum Onderberg / Nkomazi Environmental Forum * Recommendations by Steering Committee 11, THE WAY FORWARD? Steering Committee : way ahead. 12. LUNCH End of meeting. Compiled by: Jan Erasmus Wolhuter Wilderness Trail Kruger National Park