Demographic and Economic Changes in Small Towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the Inside Out

Nel, Etienne; Taylor, Bev; Hill, Trevor; Atkinson, Doreen

doi:10.1007/s12132-011-9131-z

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Fickle markets, increasing input costs and political marginalization have further compromised rural livelihoods (Nel et al, 2011). The consolidation of farms and a historical transition from predominantly livestock farming to ecotourism and game farming is increasingly common (Archer, 2004).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The consolidation of farms and a historical transition from predominantly livestock farming to ecotourism and game farming is increasingly common (Archer, 2004). Downscaling and land-use change associated with local farming activities have considerable implications for a region already characterised by poverty and welfare dependence (Nel et al, 2011).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study region is expected to continue experiencing political and economic marginalisation with dramatic demographic shifts as regional socio-economic centres such as Graaff Reinet increasingly urbanize and grow through depopulating of surrounding rural areas (Nel et al, 2011). Adaptive capacity is thus of considerable importance to the regional community.…”

Section: Moving Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social processes promoting the adaptive capacity of rangeland managers to achieve resilience in the Karoo, South Africa

Villiers

Esler

Knight

2014

Journal of Environmental Management

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There is a recognized need to find working examples of structures that transfer the abstract concept of resilience to practical action for land management. Holistic Management™ is a decision-making framework promoting an adaptive land management across semi-arid and arid rangelands. We determined if Holistic Management™ promoted adaptive capacity among land managers in comparison to conventional management approaches within the context of the Karoo rangeland, South Africa. An Adaptive Capacity Index was developed which quantified the extent to which practices of land managers were aligned with six key traits of adaptive capacity. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 20 self-defined Holistic Management™ land managers and 20 self-defined non-Holistic Management™ land managers. Social capital amongst land managers was explored using a social network analysis. Holistic Management™ land managers demonstrated higher adaptive capacity and greater participation in study groups. Holistic Management™ therefore appears to be a working example of a land management framework that promotes adaptive capacity of land managers in semi-arid to arid rangelands. Holistic Management™ may connect individual decision-makers to collective decision-making through social learning networks in the form of study groups. These study groups are thought to promote learning and innovation, which is key for implementing adaptive management.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Moving Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social processes promoting the adaptive capacity of rangeland managers to achieve resilience in the Karoo, South Africa

Villiers

Esler

Knight

2014

Journal of Environmental Management

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“…28 In addition, shale gas development in the Karoo is being considered by the South African government. An area of 171 811 km 2 of the Central Karoo, delimited by the applications for exploration rights for shale gas lodged by different companies, plus a 20-km buffer, constituted the study area of a strategic environmental assessment that considered shale gas development in the Karoo.…”

Section: Karoo Townsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power laws, demography and entrepreneurship in selected South African regions

Toerien¹

2018

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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Statistically significant Pareto-like log-log rank-size distributions were recorded for population and enterprise agglomeration in the towns of three different regions of South Africa, and are indicative of skewed distributions of population and enterprise numbers in regional towns. There were no distinct differences between groups of towns of regions from different parts of the country. However, the regional agglomerations differed from those of groups of towns randomly selected from a database. Regions, therefore, appear to have some uniqueness regarding such agglomerations. The identification of Zipf-like links between population and enterprise growth in regional towns still does not fully explain why some towns grow large and others stay small and there is a need to further explore these issues. The extreme skewness in population and enterprise numbers of different towns’ distributions should, however, be considered in local economic development planning and execution.

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“…A review of recent themes in the investigation of small towns in South Africa argued that a narrow set of issues, mainly concerning economic expansion and change, have formed the key vantage point from which to view small town South Africa. 12 Depopulation and small town decline 13 and migration of individuals and households to places that are better able to provide livelihoods 14 set the scene against which the National Development Plan 2030 11 considers towns and rural areas important cogs in the planning of a better future for South Africans.…”

Section: Research On Small Towns In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

The enduring and spatial nature of the enterprise richness of South African towns

Toerien¹

2017

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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Enterprise richness (measured by the number of enterprise types) showed a statistically significant log-log relationship (or power law) with the total number of enterprises in (1) towns in different regions of South Africa and (2) towns in the same region but seven decades apart. Entrepreneurial space in towns develops or disappears in a regular way as towns grow or regress, which is further proof of orderliness in the enterprise dynamics of South African towns. The power laws are very similar to one another, which was powerfully illustrated by the fact that one relationship extracted from seven-decade-old information could accurately predict the enterprise richness of modern towns in South Africa. The enterprise richness power law of towns in South Africa extends over space and time. Recent reviews of research on small towns and local economic development in South Africa have ignored the orderliness detected in their enterprise structures. Islands have provided laboratories for the study of natural evolution and the MacArthur–Wilson Species Equilibrium Model based on island biogeography was a main contributor to progress in ecology. Research on regional economic geography in South Africa should move beyond the merely descriptive/narrative to more quantified research. In considering the lack of employment and poverty in South Africa, the National Development Plan suggests that towns and rural areas are important cogs in efforts to overcome these problems. Development plans that are out of sync with the observed regularities are perhaps bound to fail.

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Demographic and Economic Changes in Small Towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the Inside Out

Cited by 24 publications

References 24 publications

Social processes promoting the adaptive capacity of rangeland managers to achieve resilience in the Karoo, South Africa

Social processes promoting the adaptive capacity of rangeland managers to achieve resilience in the Karoo, South Africa

Power laws, demography and entrepreneurship in selected South African regions

The enduring and spatial nature of the enterprise richness of South African towns

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