The establishment of communal conservancies aims to have the local communities share in the benefits especially of wildlife resources, in this way spearheading the conservation of the environment. The Desert Margins Programme in Namibia aimed to develop vegetation resource data for the Otjituuo, Okamatapati, Ozonahi, African Wild Dog, Otjinene, Epukiro, Otjombinde, Omuramba Ua Mbinda, Eiseb and Ondjou communal conservancies, in order to assist with natural resource planning. For this purpose, a phytosociological survey of this area, with 422 relevés, was conducted during 2004. The data was captured in Turboveg and forms part of the Namibian phytosociological database (GIVD AF-NA-001). The data was split into two, representing two major land forms, the ‘hardeveld’ and the ‘sandveld’, respectively. A classification was undertaken using the Modified two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) procedure. Further refinements, based on field observations and literature sources, were performed using Cocktail procedures. Thirteen vegetation associations were formally described in this article, of which two were subdivided into subassociations. These associations can broadly be grouped into broad-leaved savanna types typical of the central and northern Kalahari of Namibia and microphyll savannas found on the transitions to the Central Plateau. One association, the Burkeo africanae–Pterocarpetum angolensis, forms the southern fringe of the Zambesian Baikiaea Woodlands ecoregion of the World Wildlife Fund, whilst all the other associations fall within the Kalahari Acacia–BaikiaeaWoodlands ecoregion. The Combreto collini–Terminalietum sericeae is the most widespread association and dominates the landscape. Threats to the vegetation include overutilisation and regular fires, both of which could easily lead to desertification. This threat is aggravated by global climate change.Conservation implications: This article described 13 plant associations of the central Kalahari in eastern Namibia, an area hitherto virtually unknown to science. The information presented in this article forms a baseline description, which can be used for future monitoring of the vegetation under communal land use.

In southern Africa, many early conservation efforts from the late 1800s and early 1900s either displaced local communities or restricted their access to natural resources. This naturally affected community attitudes towards protected areas and efforts were later made to rectify growing tensions. In the last few decades of the 20th century, these efforts led to conservation and ecotourism models that increasingly included communities in the decision-making and benefit-sharing process in order to garner their support. Although the results of these policies were mixed, it is clear that the future success of conservation and, consequently, ecotourism in many areas will depend on the attitudes and behaviour of communities living in or adjacent to protected areas. Managing and understanding community expectations and attitudes under varying socio-economic circumstances will lead to more efficient, equitable and sustainable community-based conservation and ecotourism models. This study was based on 1400 community interview schedules conducted in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, allowing for an accurate comparison of attitudes across countries, protected areas and communities. The results highlighted important demographic and socio-economic factors to consider in terms of understanding the attitudes of those living in and around protected areas. Suggestions were put forward for managing community relationships and garnering long-term support for protected areas and ecotourism. Conservation implications: It was observed that, in general, community members living in or adjacent to conservation areas in southern Africa have an understanding and appreciation of the importance of conservation. Formal education was found to positively impact attitudes and human–wildlife conflict negatively impacted attitudes, highlighting important policy focus areas.

Protected areas are increasingly expected to serve as a natural income-producing resource via the exploitation of recreational and touristic activities. Whilst tourism is often considered a viable option for generating income which benefits the conservation of a protected area, there are many cases in which insufficient and opaque planning hinder sustainable development, thereby reducing local benefit sharing and, ultimately, nature conservation. This article delineated and examined factors in governance which may underlie tourism development in protected areas. Based on Graham, Amos and Plumptre’s five good governance principles, a specific analysis was made of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam, which highlighted challenges in the practical implementation of governing principles arising for nature conservation, sustainable tourism development and complex stakeholder environments. Despite the limited opportunity of this study to examine the wider national and international context, the discussion facilitated an overview of the factors necessary to understand governance principles and tourism development. This article could serve as a basis for future research, especially with respect to comparative analyses of different management structures existing in Vietnam and in other contested centrally steered protected area spaces. Conservation implications: This research has shown that tourism and its development, despite a more market-oriented and decentralised policymaking, is a fragmented concept impacted by bureaucratic burden, lack of institutional capacities, top-down processes and little benefit-sharing. There is urgent need for stakeholders – public and private – to reconcile the means of protected areas for the ends (conservation) by clarifying responsibilities as well as structures and processes which determine decision-making.

Changes in the environment are first observed in changes in the vegetation. Vegetation survey, classification and mapping form the basis on which informed and scientifically defendable decisions on the environment can be taken. The classification and mapping of vegetation is one of the most widely used tools for interpreting complex ecosystems. By identifying different plant communities we are essentially identifying different ecosystems at a particular hierarchical level. Phytosociologists in Europe have been involved in such studies following, in particular, the Braun-Blanquet approach since the early 1900s. In South Africa, such studies were undertaken on a limited basis from the early 1970s and have since then steadily increased. The surveying of the enormous diversity of South African vegetation is one of the objectives of phytosociological studies. The demand for such data has steadily increased over the past few years to guide conservation policies, biodiversity studies and ecosystem management. In South Africa, numerous publications on the vegetation of conservation and other areas in the different biomes have been produced over the last few decades. However, vegetation scientists in South Africa experience unique problems. The purpose of this article is therefore to provide an overview of the history and the specific focus of phytosociological studies in South Africa and to recommend minimum requirements and methods to be followed when conducting such studies. It is believed that the incorporation of these requirements will result in scientifically justifiable research of high quality by phytosociologists in South Africa.Conservation implications: Effective conservation cannot be obtained without a thorough knowledge of the ecosystems present in an area. Consistent vegetation classifications and descriptions form the basis of conservation and monitoring exercises to maintain biodiversity. The incorporation of these guidelines and requirements will facilitate quality phytosociological research in South Africa.

Resource harvesting is permissible within South African protected areas under certain conditions as part of benefit sharing that seeks to strengthen relationships with communities living adjacent to parks. However, not all resource use is authorised and little is currently known about what is harvested, or the extent and impacts of harvesting in parks. This limits capacity to monitor and set the boundaries for such use. This paper provides a checklist of resources harvested within each of 19 national parks managed by South African National Parks. Data were gathered by means of a question-based survey of park staff. A database detailing the parks from which each resource was harvested and its purpose(s) was compiled, representing the most comprehensive list of resources harvested from parks to date. A total of 382 harvested biological and abiotic resources (284 terrestrial and 98 aquatic), used for a wide range of purposes, were identified across parks. Many of the resources, especially animals (96%), were harvested destructively. The strongest motivation for harvest was subsistence, although most resources were also used for financial gain through informal business. Although current data are not sufficient to determine harvest sustainability for most resources, better data and increased awareness of resource use activities will enable future research to this end.Conservation implications: The checklist of harvested resources provides critical baseline data for parks, which will facilitate assessment of park-specific priorities for research, monitoring and management action.

Little is known about Southern ground-hornbill (SGH) population ecology outside of large, formally protected areas where the largest declines in numbers have been recorded. The SGH has started re-colonising, establishing group territories and breeding successfully in the Limpopo Valley on the northern border of South Africa, following localised extinction from the 1950s to the 1970s. A group of SGH was monitored over a period of 14 months by means of radio telemetry across privately owned land in order to investigate their seasonal habitat movements in this semi-arid, predominantly livestock-based environment. We also investigated seasonal fluctuations in invertebrate prevalence, as an indication of food availability and its influence on seasonal SGH group movements and foraging activity patterns. There was a clear increase in food availability during the summer rainfall period allowing the group to forage over a wider area, whilst winter foraging remained localised within their range. Kernel home range analysis indicated a marked difference in size between the summer (13 409 ha) and winter (5280 ha) home ranges, with an overall home range of 19 372 ha, which is approximately double that of home ranges recorded that fall within formally and informally protected reserves. In this article, we proposed that food availability is the driving force for home range size and seasonal activity patterns in a semi-arid livestock-ranching habitat.Conservation implications: The Limpopo Valley SGH population is one of the most significant outside protected areas in South Africa. This population is especially vulnerable to threats such as poisoning, persecution for window breaking and drought, as shown by their near extirpation from the area. Conservation efforts need to focus on awareness amongst local farmers, provision of artificial nests and continued monitoring of groups.

As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida in the Grassland Biome, foliage-dwelling and grass-dwelling spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) were collected in the Erfenis Dam Nature Reserve in the central Free State Province from November 2005 to August 2007. Foliage-dwelling spiders were collected from three common tree or shrub species (Acacia karroo, Searsia ciliata and Searsia lancea) and grass-dwellers from four contrasting grasslands (uniform Themeda triandra, mixed, weedy and woodland grasslands). From the grass layer, 1649 spiders were collected, representing 15 families and 82 species, whilst 496 tree-dwelling spiders were collected that represented 17 families and 52 species. There was some overlap in the fauna of the two strata, resulting in a total of 108 species from 18 families being collected. The Araneidae, Philodromidae, Salticidae and Thomisidae were consistently the most abundant in all grassland types and tree species, although Salticidae were scarce on A. karroo. Assemblage analysis indicates high similarity and overlap in the fauna of the four grassland types, suggesting that the structural complexity of grasslands has a limited effect on species composition. In contrast, the foliage-dwelling assemblages were more distinct, with only some overlap between the faunas of S. ciliata and A. karroo, suggesting a stronger vegetation structural effect in shaping arboreal spider assemblages. The isolation of trees and shrubs within the extensive grassy habitat may contribute to the more unique fauna and lower species richness of the woody vegetation. Conservation implications: This study uncovered a rich diversity of plant-dwelling spiders from central South Africa. Grassland faunas show considerable temporal variation and some variability in microhabitat preferences, and sampling protocols should take this into account when spiders are considered in management plans and biodiversity surveys in reserves and private land.

Until recently, fire ecology was poorly understood in the eastern coastal region of the Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK), South Africa. Rainfall in the area is aseasonal and temperatures are milder than in the winter-rainfall and drier inland parts of the CFK, with implications for the management of fire regimes. We synthesised the findings of a research programme focused on informing ecologically sound management of fire in eastern coastal fynbos shrublands and explored potential east–west trends at the scales of study area and CFK in terms of fire return interval (FRI) and fire season. FRIs (8–26 years; 1980–2010) were comparable to those elsewhere in the CFK and appeared to be shorter in the eastern Tsitsikamma than in the western Outeniqua halves of the study area. Proteaceae juvenile periods (4–9 years) and post-fire recruitment success suggested that for biodiversity conservation purposes, FRIs should be ≥ 9 years in eastern coastal fynbos. Collectively, findings on the seasonality of actual fires and the seasonality of fire danger weather, lightning and post-fire proteoid recruitment suggested that fires in eastern coastal fynbos are not limited to any particular season. We articulated these findings into ecological thresholds pertaining to the different elements of the fire regime in eastern coastal fynbos, to guide adaptive management of fire in the Garden Route National Park and elsewhere in the region.Conservation implications: Wildfires are likely to remain dominant in eastern coastal fynbos, whilst large-scale implementation of prescribed burning is unattainable. Fires occurring in any season are not a reason for concern, although other constraints remain: the need for sufficient fire intensity, safety requirements, and integration of fire and invasive alien plant management.

The assessment of protected area management effectiveness was developed out of a genuine desire to improve the way protected areas are managed and reported on, in relation to a formalised set of conservation objectives. For monitoring and reporting purposes, a number of participatory methods of rapidly assessing management effectiveness were developed. Most rapid assessment methods rely on scoring a range of protected area-related activities against an objective set of criteria documented in a formal questionnaire. This study evaluated the results of two applications of the same management effectiveness assessment tool applied to the same protected area, namely the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa. The manner in which the assessments were undertaken differed considerably and, not unexpectedly, so did the results, with the national assessment scoring significantly higher than the provincial assessment. Therefore, a further aim was to evaluate the operating conditions applied to each assessment, with a view to determining which assessment was more closely aligned with best practice and hence which score was more credible. The application of the tool differed mainly with respect to the level of spatial detail entered into for the evaluation, the depth and breadth of the management hierarchy that was consulted, the time in which the assessment was undertaken and the degree of peer review applied. Disparate scores such as those obtained in the assessments documented here are likely to bring the discipline of management effectiveness assessment into disrepute unless an acceptable and standardised set of operating procedures is developed and adopted. Recommendations for such a set of ‘indispensable constants’ were made in this article to ensure that management effectiveness assessments remain robust and reputable, thereby ensuring an honest picture of what is happening on the ground. Conservation implications: We proposed that standard operating procedures should be in place when protected area management effectiveness assessments are undertaken, in order for the results to be credible. This involves ensuring that the right people participate and that each participant is allowed sufficient time to peer review each other.

A survey to document and describe the alpine flora and various focal faunal taxa on six isolated inselberg-like peaks (total area of 31.9 ha), all 3000 m or higher, located in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site, South Africa, was undertaken in early summer in 2005. Study of the fauna of these peaks should be informative because the impacts of controllable anthropogenic threats on the invertebrate communities on them should be minimal or absent in comparison with those on the main massif. A total of 341 invertebrate individuals representing 61 species were recorded from the focal taxa (Oligochaeta, Gastropoda and certain groups of Insecta, i.e. focal taxa within the Blattoidea, Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera). The 61 species recorded consisted of two species from the Oligochaeta, one species from the Gastropoda and 58 species from the Insecta. Eleven species (one from the Oligochaeta, ten from the Insecta) are endemic and 11 species (one from the Oligochaeta, ten from the Insecta) are probably endemic to the Drakensberg Alpine Centre, constituting 36.1% of the total species recorded. The results suggest that the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC), as for plants, is a centre of endemism for invertebrates. Cluster analysis showed that the species composition of the two northern peaks, Sentinel and Eastern Buttress, clustered together, separate from a cluster formed by the Outer Horn, Inner Horn and Dragon’s Back and from the cluster formed by the southernmost peak, Cathkin. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling results indicated that distance from the Sentinel, the most northerly peak sampled, and mean minimum temperature for July had the strongest correlations with the species data, reflecting change over a straight-line distance of nearly 60 km in a south-easterly direction.Conservation implications: Only a small proportion (ca. 5.5%) of the DAC is conserved, the majority of which lies in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site. Conservation of more of the DAC, including more of its latitudinal extent, is required to adequately conserve its unique plant and invertebrate communities.