Local community members play a critical role in the success of conservation projects, which in turn have the potential to influence the perceptions of local people. Relationships matter when it comes to sustainable long-term conservation and community well-being. The study aims to establish the relationship between local communities and wildlife conservation organizations in the context of Phinda Private Game Reserve and the Mnqobokazi community, located in South Africa. Data was collected using the qualitative methods of interviews and focus group discussions. The findings show that a symbiotic relationship between conservation organizations and local community members is critical in conserving the environment. The research indicates that both participation and benefits result in improved perceptions towards the protected area and a strong positive relationship. The accrual of benefits also appears to result in pro-environmental consciousness amongst community members. Several existing studies examine participation or benefit-sharing in community-based tourism in developing nations. However, less is known about the relationships between local communities and conservation organizations and the effect of participation and beneficiation on these relationships. This research narrows this gap in the body of knowledge by qualitatively examining a single case study. The findings add value to global collaborative efforts aimed at achieving positive relationships between communities and conservation management.

The success of a city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) depends on a combination of interconnected factors that foster innovation, collaboration and growth. Urban planning, infrastructure management and an entrepreneurial culture are essential factors for the success of cities’ Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EEs). Land use and infrastructure management create opportunities for growth and industry expansion. EEs are local, social, business, institutional and cultural stakeholders that encourage and enhance the formation and growth of new businesses, which are supported by enabling infrastructure. The objective of this study was to investigate how urban planning affects EEs in the metropolitan region, Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB), South Africa. NMB is known for poor land use management, which hinders the management of diverse spatial needs, as well as bureaucratic processes for land rezoning for commercial activity. In order to better understand the fundamental issues, a qualitative case study was conducted. The data were collected from fifteen economic development role players from NMB using semi-structured interviews combined with secondary data from the NMB Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The data analysis included thematic analysis using Atlas.ti and Claude 2.0. In order to validate the findings, qualitative data were cross-referenced with secondary sources from the NMB IDP. The key themes that emerged effect the NMB metropole’s management of infrastructure to support the EE. These include, Land use issues, Poor oversight by metropolitan leadership, Lack of infrastructure maintenance and pushing out potential investment and economic growth. The results highlight that the NMB metropole fails to prioritise land use and infrastructure challenges, impacting the NMB metropolitan area’s economic development and worsening inequality among different groups. The findings from this study add to the current research on cities’ EEs and The Right to the City Theory, which supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals 8, 9 and 11.

The maize commodity is of strategic significance to the South African economy as it is a stable commodity and therefore a key factor for food security. In recent times climate change has impacted on the productivity of this commodity and this has impacted trade negatively. This paper explores the intricate relationship between climatic factors and trade performance for the South African maize. Secondary annual time series data spanning 2001 to 2023, was sourced from an abstract from Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration technique was used as an empirical model to assess the long-term and short-term relationships between explanatory variables and the dependent variable. Results of the ARDL model show that, average annual rainfall (β = 2.184, p = 0.056), fertilizer consumption (β = 1.919, p = 0.036), gross value of production (β = 1.279 , p = 0.006) and average annual surface temperature (β = −0.650, p = 0.991) and change in temperature for previous years, (β = −0.650, p = 0.991) and the effects towards coefficient change for export volumes, (β = 0.669, p = 0.0007). In overall, as a recommendation, South African policymakers should consider these findings when developing strategies to mitigate the impacts of some of these climatic factors and implementing adaptive strategies for maize producers.

This study investigates the role of agricultural exports as a potential engine of economic growth in South Africa, employing a cointegration and error correction model (ECM) framework on time series data from 1980 to 2023. The results confirm a long-run equilibrium relationship between agricultural exports and economic growth, with lagged total exports and employment significantly influencing GDP growth in the short run. However, other factors like foreign direct investment, gross capital formation, and population growth did not exhibit a statistically significant impact. These findings underscore the importance of agricultural exports in driving South Africa’s economic growth. To further enhance this potential, the study recommends establishing a consistent and transparent policy environment to foster investor confidence and long-term planning in the agricultural sector, expanding the range of agricultural exports to reduce vulnerability to external shocks and enhance overall economic resilience and streamlining customs procedures, reducing trade barriers, and improving logistics to enhance the competitiveness of South African agricultural exports in the global market. These policy recommendations, grounded in empirical evidence, offer a roadmap for harnessing the full potential of agricultural exports to drive sustainable economic growth in South Africa.

Homelessness is a global social issue that has affected various nations around the world, including South Africa. The instances of homelessness began during the apartheid era in South Africa and have since risen to alarming levels in provinces such as Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, as reported in the 2022 census. Despite the lack of comprehensive research on homelessness in South Africa, this study conducted a scoping review to evaluate research completed on homelessness from independence to 2020 in the country. The scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and involved a systematic search of the Development Southern Africa and Urban Forum databases. A total of 72 research articles were identified, with 10 meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review, which were then analyzed using thematic analysis. The study identified several key themes, including homelessness as a reflection of patriarchal systems, gender-based conflicts leading to homelessness, proactive and reactive interventions by non-state actors for homeless individuals, and the quantitative focus of research on homelessness in South Africa from independence to the present day. The study presents the applicability of these findings to tackle homelessness in Papua New Guinea and recommends the use of mixed methods approaches to research homelessness in South Africa to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the various dimensions of homelessness in the country.