Tony Binns

Tourism as a Local Development Strategy in South Africa

The promotion of tourism has been identified as a key strategy that can lead to economic upliftment, community development and poverty relief in the developing world. In the last few years, tourism has also emerged as a significant development option in post–apartheid South Africa. In the context of some current debates on tourism in poor countries, the paper examines how economic, social and environmental resources are being utilized to promote tourism as a local economic development strategy in South Africa, and more specifically it focuses on current local government endeavours in this regard and two communities that have suffered the loss of their economic resource base. Tourism–based development initiatives, one in KwaZulu–Natal and one in the Western Cape, are evaluated in the context of generating economic growth, alleviating poverty and addressing the apartheid legacy of discrimination and inequality. The significance of the dynamics of development processes involved in these initiatives has much wider relevance for local economic development, both within South Africa and elsewhere.

Urban agriculture under threat: the land security question in Kano, Nigeria

This paper is concerned with the issue of providing food to the rapidly growing urban populations in poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Much emphasis has been given in recent years to the growing of basic foodstuffs in urban and peri-urban areas. While there is a considerable body of literature which views urban agriculture in a relatively positive light, other less extensive literature raises concern about its impact on environment and people. The literature shows that urban agriculture provides farmers with important employment and food provisioning opportunities that would not otherwise be available. However, empirical evidence presented here from the city of Kano in northern Nigeria suggests that such activities and livelihoods are being threatened by acute problems of tenure insecurity and encroaching land development. It is suggested that local authorities have a key role to play in enabling and supporting urban cultivation, since there are city-wide benefits to be gained from such activities, including food supply and employment creation among low-income residents, and flood control. More research is needed to clarify certain issues, not in the least to answer the expressed concerns about the impact of urban agriculture on environment and health.

Feeding Africa's growing cities into the 21st century: the potential of urban agriculture

Sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing more rapidly than any other part of the world and there is an escalating demand for fresh foodstuffs from the urban population. The growing of crops in and around towns and cities is frequently a widespread and long-established activity, yet a greater understanding is needed of the patterns and processes involved. From a survey of literature and detailed empirical evidence from Kano and Dar es Salaam, this paper presents a framework for analyzing urban agriculture and proposes a number of policy recommendations which could possibly enhance its future sustainability.

People and environment in Africa.

General issues the effects of urbanization on rural environments in Africa environmental resources - their use and management by the Bedouin of the Nubian Desert of southern Egypt West Africa - desertification, drought and development in the Sahel local agro-ecological management and forest-savanna transitions - the case of Kissidougou, Guinea southern Africa - sustainability of smallholder food production systems in southern Africa - the case of Zimbabwe health and health care in the new South Africa.

Place Marketing, Tourism Promotion, and Community based Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa The Case of Still Bay—The “Bay of Sleeping Beauty”

Local economic development(LED) is a common community-based development response to changes in the economic fortunes of a locality. Various economic strategies are associated with LED, some of the most prominent being those of place marketing and attempts to refocus economic activity along new or previously underused avenues, with tourism promotion being an increasingly common option. The authors examine the responses of the small community of Still Bay in Western Cape Province, South Africa, to economic crisis and the absence of vital social facilities. Critical to the success and sustainability of this LED initiative was the establishment of various community development projects, in which certain key actors took a leading role in bringing the community together. Community cooperation, linked with successful place marketing and tourism promotion strategies, has laid the basis for the economic revival of the town and empowerment of historically disadvantaged groups.

Learning from the people: Participatory rural appraisal, geography and rural development in the ‘new’ South Africa

Abstract Top-down rural development strategies in Africa have generally not succeeded in raising living standards among the rural poor. It is argued that inappropriate development strategies have stemmed from methodologies that fail to appreciate the whole picture in rural communities, and in particular ignore local peoples perceptions, needs and understanding. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) represents a significant step forward in the design of methodologies and a selection of these techniques is evaluated. Many PRA methods have much in common with the field research methods that have been used by geographers over many years to interpret people-environment relationships. A research investigation in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, suggests that geographers could have an important role to play in this area of applied research and, in particular, in the context of post-apartheid South Africa there is an urgent challenge to be met in promoting rural development in poor, former black Homeland areas.

Supporting Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa

South Africas apartheid era has left a bitter legacy of retarded economic development. Local Economic Development has been identified by the South African government as a key strategy through which issues of development and, more importantly, poverty alleviation can be addressed by local governments. This paper reviews current Local Economic Development policy in South Africa, before proceeding to an examination and analysis of the impact of the primary government support mechanism designed to promote such development initiatives, namely the Local Economic Development Fund. Whilst such support is of vital importance, far greater levels of intervention will be needed to fully address the massive scale of current local development needs.

The village in a game park: local response to the demise of coal mining in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract Changing economic circumstances as a result of deindustrialization and market forces dramatically affect local areas and lead to a variety of local-level responses. Economic change and the reaction to this process have received much attention in the context of the decline of old heavy industrial regions in Western Europe and North America. But deindustrialization is also occurring elsewhere, for example, in countries such as South Africa, where the decline of mining and related industries is having a severe impact on the livelihoods of individuals, households, and communities. Considerations of institutional thickness, resourcefulness, and capacities inherent within host communities contribute to an understanding of the likely potential of the development response undertaken. This article considers the situation in a once important coal-mining region in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, focusing particularly on the community of Utrecht. In the postapartheid period, unemployment in the area has escalated, at a time when greater empowerment of the historically disadvantaged black population is urgently needed. Through cooperation within the community, together with the injection of external funding and collaboration in a series of joint ventures, Utrecht is progressively rebranding itself as a center for tourism. A number of community-initiated projects are discussed, and the dynamics of the formulation and implementation of the projects are evaluated in the context of the capabilities of individuals and institutions.

Community‐based development, non‐governmental organizations and social capital in post‐apartheid South Africa

Community‐based development strategies are gaining in credibility and acceptance in development circles internationally and notably in post‐apartheid South Africa. In parallel, the concept of social capital and the role of supportive nongovernmental organizations are receiving attention as key catalytic elements in encouraging and assisting community‐based initiatives. In this paper, a well‐documented initiative, the Hertzog Agricultural Co‐operative in Eastern Cape province, is re‐examined after the passage of several years to assess the impact of social capital and the involvement of a particular non‐governmental organization in ensuring the sustainability and economic survival of the project. While both elements have proved critical to the projects life‐cycle, particularly in recent years, concerns over possible dependency and project sustainability exist.

Empowerment for development: taking participatory appraisal further in rural South Africa

This paper examines the potential for Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques to contribute to community development and empowerment in a deprived rural community in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A series of participatory workshops was undertaken in which various new techniques were used to identify people-environment relationships and, in particular, the community perception of the value and problems relating to the river and riparian zone. The workshops led to the community taking positive action to address the problems identified. The study indicates the value and role of participatory research among disempowered communities in rural Africa. This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.