Relationships between Conservators, Community Partners and Urban Conservation Areas: A Case Study of Nature Reserves on the Cape Flats Lameez Eksteen 2646105 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Magister Artium Degree in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of the Western Cape Supervisor: Professor Sally Peberdy 15 November 2012 i Abstract Relationships between conservators, community partners and urban conservation areas: A case study of nature reserves on the Cape Flats. Cape Town is a unique city. It has a global biodiversity hotspot, in the midst of an urban area. Historically, nature conservation practice excluded and marginalized certain groups of people based on their race and class. This has led to peoples‘ disconnection from nature. Rapid biodiversity loss is a major concern for conservators. In the last three decades, there has been a paradigm shift in conservation practice in certain parts of the world. The Cape Flats Nature programme based in Cape Town followed suit and aimed to stimulate a bottom-up participatory approach to conservation and replace the traditional top-down management strategy. The programme was tasked to reconcile the challenges of complex and conflicting relationships between urban poverty, unequal access to resources and biodiversity conservation. This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between conservation management, community partners and urban conservation areas. These relationships are vital for the progression of new conservation practice in places where people live and work. In addition, the transformative aspects of conservation in relation to social inclusion and the shift in conservation approaches was investigated. The study was conducted at five of Cape Town‘s nature reserves, Edith Stephens Wetland Park, Macassar Dunes, Harmony Flats, Wolfgat and Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserves. Data collection included in depth interviews with key informants from various conservation organizations, the Cape Flats Nature Programme team, the managers of the selected reserves and community partners. Others included observational methods and analysis of secondary data. It was found that relationships between conservators and local communities are not easily created and maintained but relationships regardless of its depth are equally beneficial to communities and the conservators. Balancing social needs with conservation needs is a struggle for conservators but many successes came in cases where this balance was realized. In addition, the transformation of conservators‘ identity has changed community perceptions of conservation practice holistically. Although, many informants feel that transformation continues to remain unequal. ii Keywords Biodiversity conservation Community conservation Community ownership Conservation managers Community partners Urban conservation area Cape Town Transformation iii Abbreviations ANC-African National Congress BEE- Black Economic Empowerment BotSocSA- Botanical Society of South Africa C.A.P.E- Cape Action for People and the Environment CBC- Community-Based Conservation CBNRM- Community Based Natural Resource Management COCT- City of Cape Town CFN-Cape Flats Nature CFR-Cape Floristic Region ECA- Environmental Conservation Act 73 of 1989 IUCN- World Conservation Union NEMA- National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 NEMBA- National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 2004 NEMPA-National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act 2003 NGO- Non Governmental Organisation SANBI- South African Biodiversity Institute SanParks- South African National Parks TMF- Table Mountain Fund WWF- World Wide Fund for nature iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, for understanding the value of education and instilling a passion for learning within your children. v Acknowledgements Firstly I would like to thank the Almighty for providing me with the necessary strength and capability to acquire the knowledge and experience gained in this research process and my entire academic career. Without the grace and blessings of the Almighty nothing would have been possible. Furthermore, I wish to extend my appreciation to my supervisor Professor Sally Peberdy, who went above and beyond the call of duty. She truly had a remarkable influence on my life and guided the positive decisions I made, for that I shall be eternally grateful. Her encouragement, patience, motivation and constructive criticism at various stages of this research have been tremendous. If not for her tolerance, I would not have been able to overcome all the obstacles that I faced while working on this dissertation. In addition, I would like to thank the lecturers and post graduate student body of the Geography and Environmental Studies department for their continuous support and advice. A special thanks to Mike Dyssel, Elsworth McPherson, Mandy Carolissen, Winston Harris and Kris Agbor. I wish to thank my parents and brother, David, Sumaya and Deen and the extended Adams and Eksteen families for their unconditional love and support. To my closest friends Amina, Zolani and Caryn, thank you for being my inspiration and my guiding light when days seemed dark. You each had a unique role to play at various stages of the research process. I appreciate all your sacrifices! To my newly found family at WWF-SA‘s Environmental Leaders Programme (Glenda, Zi and the interns)-Thank you! Your support in the latter part of this research was tremendously invaluable. I would like to thank all the respondents for sacrificing their time to participate in this research. Thank you for your contribution in improving and developing the sector for the betterment of people and the environment. Lastly, Thanks to the Mellon Foundation Scholarship for providing me with the necessary financial support to undertake this study. vi Declaration I declare that Relationships between Conservators, Community Partners and Urban Conservation Areas is my own work, that it has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university and that all sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. Signature:………………….. Date:……………………………. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Chapter outline ................................................................ ........................................................ 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................ .............................................................................. 7 2.1 People and the Natural Environment ...................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Complex Relationships ................................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Evolving Relationships ................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3 The Western Relationship with Nature ........................................................................... 8 2.1.4 Relationships with the natural environment .................................................................... 9 2.2 An overview of Conservation in South Africa ...................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Romanticised past ......................................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Pre-Colonial Conservation ............................................................................................ 14 2.2.3 The Start of Western Conservation ............................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Conservation for Whites Only ...................................................................................... 16 2.2.5 Separating People and Nature ....................................................................................... 17 2.3 Value of Urban Conservation Areas ..................................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Imagining the Urban ..................................................................................................... 19 2.3.2 Why Conserve Biodiversity in Urban Areas? ............................................................... 20 2.3.3 Urban Nature Conservation .......................................................................................... 21 2.3.4 Conservation Value to Urban Areas ............................................................................. 24 2.4 Role of Communities in Conservation .................................................................................. 27 2.4.1 Conceptualising the Community ................................................................................... 27 2.4.2 Community-Based Conservation .................................................................................. 28 2.5 Transformation in conservation post-1994 ........................................................................... 34 2.5.1 Overview of Racism.....................................................................................................