Lucia Wetland Research Articles

Mapping wetland characteristics using temporally dense Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data: A case study in the St. Lucia wetlands, South Africa

Wetlands have been determined as one of the most valuable ecosystems on Earth and are currently being lost at alarming rates. Large-scale monitoring of wetlands is of high importance, but also challenging. The Sentinel-1 and -2 satellite missions for the first time provide radar and optical data at high spatial and temporal detail, and with this a unique opportunity for more accurate wetland mapping from space arises. Recent studies already used Sentinel-1 and -2 data to map specific wetland types or characteristics, but for comprehensive wetland characterisations the potential of the data has not been researched yet. The aim of our research was to study the use of the high-resolution and temporally dense Sentinel-1 and -2 data for wetland mapping in multiple levels of characterisation. The use of the data was assessed by applying Random Forests for multiple classification levels including general wetland delineation, wetland vegetation types and surface water dynamics. The results for the St. Lucia wetlands in South Africa showed that combining Sentinel-1 and -2 led to significantly higher classification accuracies than for using the systems separately. Accuracies were relatively poor for classifications in high-vegetated wetlands, as subcanopy flooding could not be detected with Sentinel-1’s C-band sensors operating in VV/VH mode. When excluding high-vegetated areas, overall accuracies were reached of 88.5% for general wetland delineation, 90.7% for mapping wetland vegetation types and 87.1% for mapping surface water dynamics. Sentinel-2 was particularly of value for general wetland delineation, while Sentinel-1 showed more value for mapping wetland vegetation types. Overlaid maps of all classification levels obtained overall accuracies of 69.1% and 76.4% for classifying ten and seven wetland classes respectively.

Beach ridge sets reflect the late Holocene evolution of the St Lucia estuarine lake system, South Africa

Sets of sandy beach ridges and intervening swales define shoreline sections of the shallow St Lucia wetland system within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, World Heritage Site in northern KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. The sets comprise 3–10 beach ridges, the most prominent being 80–150 m wide and rising 0.5–2 m above the adjacent swales. The highest beach ridge crests elevated 3.2–4.6 m above mean sea level are furthest from the present shoreline and the lowest ridges, rising about 0.5 m above the swales, occur closest to the present mean lake level shoreline. This investigation assesses the genesis of the sandy beach ridges on five strand plain remnants within the estuarine lake. The ridges were topographically surveyed and their ages estimated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. OSL dating reveals that the oldest beach ridge formed around 6240 years ago, with a sequence of beach ridges having accumulated during the period ~4000 to 1500 years ago reflecting coeval accretion around the lake. The present mean lake level shoreline was only reached within the past ~600 years. Sedimentation changed from marine-dominated to lacustrine deposition in the estuary during the period of beach ridge accretion. The dated beach ridges, supported by new radiocarbon dates of fixed biological indicators from Holocene intertidal zone settings on the coast, are used with published sea-level curves to set the context of periodic beach ridge accretion in the marine-linked estuarine lake. The dated ridges suggest that episodic regression of the estuarine lake shoreline occurred after a mid-Holocene sea-level highstand. The record of sea-level change is also reflected by the long-term natural shrinking and shallowing of the proto-St Lucia lagoon/estuarine lake in the context of reduced marine influences due to closure of former marine channels by progressive barrier dune accretion. The sequence of coeval beach ridges reflects a pulsed lowering of relative sea-level in the shallowing estuarine lake. Height differences between the coeval ridges at sites around the lake reflect local environmental controls including the range of wind fetch distances across shallow lake compartments, wave height and wind-induced seiche effects.

Predaceous water beetles (Coleoptera, Hydradephaga) of the Lake St Lucia system, South Africa: biodiversity, community ecology and conservation implications.

Water beetles are one of the dominant macroinvertebrate groups in inland waters and are excellent ecological indicators, reflecting both the diversity and composition of the wider aquatic community. The predaceous water beetles (Hydradephaga) make up around one-third of known aquatic Coleoptera and, as predators, are a key group in the functioning of many aquatic habitats. Despite being relatively well-known taxonomically, ecological studies of these insects in tropical and subtropical systems remain rare. A dedicated survey of the hydradephagan beetles of the Lake St Lucia wetlands (South Africa) was undertaken between 2013 and 2015, providing the first biodiversity census for this important aquatic group in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the Maputaland biodiversity hotspot. A total of 32 sites covering the entire spectrum of waterbody types were sampled over the course of three collecting trips. The Lake St Lucia wetlands support at least 68 species of Hydradephaga, a very high level of diversity comparing favourably with other hotspots on the African continent and elsewhere in the world and a number of taxa are reported for South Africa for the first time. This beetle assemblage is dominated by relatively widespread Afrotropical taxa, with few locally endemic species, supporting earlier observations that hotspots of species richness and centres of endemism are not always coincident. Although there was no significant difference in the number of species supported by the various waterbody types sampled, sites with the highest species richness were mostly temporary depression wetlands. This contrasts markedly with the distribution of other taxa in the same system, such as molluscs and dragonflies, which are most diverse in permanent waters. Our study is the first to highlight the importance of temporary depression wetlands and emphasises the need to maintain a variety of wetland habitats for aquatic conservation in this biodiverse region.

Rebranding of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park in South Africa: Reflections on Benefits and Challenges for the Former of St Lucia

Post-apartheid South Africa has witnessed an explosion of both national and international ecotourism given its many years of restrictions on the movement of people in the past. Much of its biodiversity has been commodified through branding and re-branding in order to capture a fair share of the international ecotourism market. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, located in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, was the centre of land claim contestations by the local inhabitants who have been removed from the park due to colonial occupation and later apartheid segregation policies. Locals who have been victims of forced removals from the Park staked a claim to be co-consumers of development and financial benefits accruing from this natural asset. Despite many unfinished challenges facing the politics of the Park, in 2007 the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was re-branded as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (iSWP) to market it as an indigenous and local product. One of the rationales for re- branding was the assumption that its previous name competed against another international tourist destination located in the Caribbean. Given the multi-faceted nature of the Wetland Park as a place product, the paper tests out the extent to which this re-branding from a globalised to a localised ecotourism name destination has reproduced itself in terms of benefits, both tangibles and intangibles in the all White town of St Lucia.

Prevalence of mixed Trypanosoma congolense infections in livestock and tsetse in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Trypanosoma congolense causes the most economically important animal trypanosomosis in Africa. In South Africa, a rinderpest pandemic of the 1890s removed many host animals, resulting in the near-eradication of most tsetse species. Further suppression was achieved through spraying with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT); however, residual populations of Glossina austeni and G. brevipalpis remained in isolated pockets. A total of 506 of these tsetse flies were captured in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the St Lucia Wetland Park and Boomerang commercial farm. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine the infection rate and frequency of mixed infections of these flies. Additionally, 473 blood samples were collected from cattle at communal diptanks and a commercial farm in the area and each one examined by the haematocrit centrifugation technique (HCT). Furthermore, buffy coats from these blood samples were spotted onto FTA Elute cards and the DNA extracted from each one tested using 3 separate PCRs. The HCT revealed the presence of trypanosomes in only 6.6% of the blood samples; by contrast, species-specific PCR detected trypanosome DNA in 50% of the samples. The species-specific PCR detected trypanosome DNA in 17% of the tsetse flies, compared with the nested PCR targeting rDNA which detected trypanosome DNA in only 14% of the samples. Over time, the transmission of Savannah-type T. congolense and Kilifi-type T. congolense as mixed infections could have an impact on disease manifestation in different hosts in the area.

Spectral discrimination of papyrus vegetation ( Cyperus papyrus L.) in swamp wetlands using field spectrometry

Techniques for mapping and monitoring wetland species are critical for their sustainable management. Papyrus ( Cyperus papyrus L.) is one of the most important species-rich habitats that characterize the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park (GSWP) in South Africa. This paper investigates whether papyrus could be discriminated from its co-existing species using ASD field spectrometer data ranging from 300 nm to 2500 nm, yielding a total of 2151 bands. Canopy spectral measurements from papyrus and three other species were collected in situ in the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park, South Africa. A new hierarchical method based on three integrated analysis levels was proposed and implemented to spectrally discriminate papyrus from other species as well as to reduce and subsequently select optimal bands for the potential discrimination of papyrus. In the first level of the analysis using ANOVA, we found that there were statistically significant differences in spectral reflectance between papyrus and other species on 412 wavelengths located in different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Using the selected 412 bands, we further investigated the use of classification and regression trees (CART) in the second level of analysis to identify the most sensitive bands for spectral discrimination. This analysis yielded eight bands which are considered to be practical for upscaling to airborne or space borne sensors for mapping papyrus vegetation. The final sensitivity analysis level involved the application of Jeffries-Matusita (JM) distance to assess the relative importance of the selected eight bands in discriminating papyrus from other species. The results indicate that the best discrimination of papyrus from its co-existing species is possible with six bands located in the red-edge and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Overall, the study concluded that spectral reflectance of papyrus and its co-existing species is statistically different, a promising result for the use of airborne and satellite sensors for mapping papyrus. The three-step hierarchical approach employed in this study could systematically reduce the dimensionality of bands to manageable levels, a move towards operational implementation with band specific sensors.

Fluctuations in numbers of great white pelicans at Lake St Lucia in response to changing water‐levels

AbstractIn January 2004, Lake St Lucia, a major part of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, was reduced to a fraction of its normal capacity as a result of a severe drought in this region of KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. After rains in the area, the lake level rose and then fluctuated considerably over the next 42 months. During the first 38 months the mouth of the estuary into the sea was closed. The area entered a second severe period of prolonged drought from mid 2005 through to the spring of 2006. Great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus, 1758) numbers and lake levels were monitored during these 42 months. Pelican numbers were highly variable ranging from 0 to 6000. When lake levels were very low or too high, no pelicans were present. Pelican numbers appeared more indicative of food availability. Implications of these trends to the management of the lake and the conservation of the avifauna are discussed. It is suggested that the great white pelican could be used as an indicator species for the fish dynamics of the lake at medium to low lake levels.

Breeding incidence of the Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and the Pink-backed Pelican P. rufescens in south-eastern Africa from 1933 to 2005

The Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and the Pink-backed Pelican P. rufescens are flagship species for the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The traditional breeding sites for the Great White Pelican and the Pink-backed Pelican are confined to Lake St Lucia and Nsumo Pan, respectively. Considerable amounts of data have been collected since 1933 relating to the breeding efforts of these populations, and these data have been collected in a variety of ways. This study represents an attempt to collate and summarise these data and to make some estimations of the breeding success of the two pelican species in south-eastern Africa. Breeding attempts of Great White Pelican have been erratic and have had varied success. Although less erratic, only small numbers of the Pink-backed Pelican have bred.

Long-term community changes on a high-latitude coral reef in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, South Africa

South African coral reefs are limited in size but, being marginal, provide a model for the study of many of the stresses to which these valuable systems are being subjected globally. Soft coral cover, comprising relatively few species, exceeds that of scleractinians over much of the reefs. The coral communities nevertheless attain a high biodiversity at this latitude on the East African coast. A long-term monitoring programme was initiated in 1993, entailing temperature logging and image analysis of high resolution photographs of fixed quadrats on representative reef. Sea temperatures rose by 0.15°C p.a. at the site up to 2000 but have subsequently been decreasing by 0.07°C p.a. Insignificant bleaching was encountered in the region during the 1998 El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event, unlike elsewhere in East Africa, but quantifiable bleaching occurred during an extended period of warming in 2000. Peak temperatures on the South African reefs thus appear to have attained the coral bleaching threshold. While this has resulted in relatively little bleaching thus far, the increased temperatures appear to have had a deleterious effect on coral recruitment success as other anthropogenic influences on the reefs are minimal. Recruitment success diminished remarkably up to 2004 but appears again to be improving. Throughout, the corals have also manifested changes in community structure, involving an increase in hard coral cover and reduction in that of soft corals, resulting in a 5.5% drop in overall coral cover. These “silent” effects of temperature increase do not appear to have been reported elsewhere in the literature.

The benthic macrofauna of the St. Lucia Estuary during the 2005 drought year

The St. Lucia Estuary is the largest estuarine system in Africa. The estuary is part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, which has been declared a World Heritage Site. This ecosystem has been subjected to severe drought conditions over the last four to five years, resulting in its mouth being closed off from the ocean in June 2002 for a period of over four years. The main aim of this study was to document the effects of the prevailing drought on the macrofauna of the system, since the last work on this benthic component had been undertaken over a decade ago, during a normal-to-wet phase. Macrofauna samples together with physico-chemical data were collected at representative sites in the Narrows, and the South and North lakes in February, April, August and October 2005. The drought exerted a strong influence on the system, leading to hypersaline conditions developing in its northern regions (maximum of 126 at Hell's Gate), and to the loss of aquatic habitat. Ordinations and clustering indicated that the macrofauna of the system could generally be separated into three clusters viz. (1) the Narrows and the southern portion of South Lake, (2) the northern half of South Lake, and (3) the North Lake–False Bay complex. Multivariate correlations indicated weak relationships between macrofaunal community structure and physico-chemical parameters. The distinction in macrofaunal assemblages between these clusters was probably caused by these habitats being physically separated at the peak of the drought, with no water flow between them, thereby preventing exchange of planktonic larvae and retarding colonisation of habitats. There was a northward decline in taxonomic richness and diversity of macrofauna in the system, which correlated positively with water depth and negatively with the biomass of microphytobenthos. It is evident that the drought structured macrofauna communities primarily through its effects on water depth and habitat fragmentation. The results of this investigation provide valuable information regarding the effects of droughts on estuarine–lake systems and the possible mechanisms by which they occur.

Declining catch per unit effort of an estuarine-dependent fish, Rhabdosargus sarba (Teleostei: Sparidae), in the marine environment following closure of the St Lucia Estuarine System, South Africa

Monitoring of catch per unit effort of the tropical stumpnose Rhabdosargus sarba in the St Lucia Marine Reserve between 2001 and 2005 revealed a significant decline. A similar decline was evident from shore patrol data collected by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife staff in the southern areas of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. As the distribution of fishing effort has decreased considerably since the promulgation of a beach vehicle ban in January 2002, this decline in the abundance of stumpnose has not been attributed to overfishing but rather to the closure of the mouth of the St Lucia estuary and lake system. The reason for this is because tropical stumpnose make extensive use of St Lucia as a nursery area and, since the mouth closure in June 2002, there has been no recruitment of juvenile fish into, or adult fish out of, the system. This emphasises the importance of estuarine nursery areas and highlights the need for ongoing catch and effort monitoring.

Multi‐stemmed trees in subtropical coastal dune forest: Survival strategy in response to chronic disturbance

AbstractQuestions: Is multi‐stemming a survival strategy in response to chronic disturbance? Is multi‐stemming under phylogenetic control? What environmental factors are associated with multi‐stemming? When do trees initiate growth of multiple stems? Do multi‐stemmed trees have limited stature?Location: Subtropical Indian Ocean coastal dune forest at Cape Vidal in the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, northeastern South Africa.Methods: Tree physiognomy and environmental conditions were sampled in 20 transects that were 300 m long and 5 m wide.Results: 38.9 % of trees were multi‐stemmed, with no correlation between multi‐stemming and taxonomic grouping. The multi‐stemming trait was most associated with stem decumb‐ency and substrate erosion and multi‐stemmed individuals were less common in protected dune slacks. Trees at Cape Vidal appear to facultatively produce multiple stems from an early stage. There was no trade‐off between tree height and stem number.Conclusions: Coastal winds and the unstable dune substrate are important environmental correlates of multi‐stemming. Both short stature and the high incidence of multi‐stemming are related to the tree‐disturbance interaction. The taxonomically widespread phenotypic plasticity in this trait indicates the importance of multi‐stemming to tree survival even under low levels of disturbance.

Multi-stemmed trees in subtropical coastal dune forest: Survival strategy in response to chronic disturbance

Abstract Questions: Is multi-stemming a survival strategy in response to chronic disturbance? Is multi-stemming under phylogenetic control? What environmental factors are associated with multi-stemming? When do trees initiate growth of multiple stems? Do multi-stemmed trees have limited stature? Location: Subtropical Indian Ocean coastal dune forest at Cape Vidal in the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, northeastern South Africa. Methods: Tree physiognomy and environmental conditions were sampled in 20 transects that were 300 m long and 5 m wide. Results: 38.9 % of trees were multi-stemmed, with no correlation between multi-stemming and taxonomic grouping. The multi-stemming trait was most associated with stem decumbency and substrate erosion and multi-stemmed individuals were less common in protected dune slacks. Trees at Cape Vidal appear to facultatively produce multiple stems from an early stage. There was no trade-off between tree height and stem number. Conclusions: Coastal winds and the unstable dune...

Coral recruitment patterns at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Recruitment is widely acknowledged as one of the most important processes in the maintenance of coral reef systems, particularly in their recovery and replenishment following disturbances. In this study variation in coral recruitment was monitored for 3 years at Sodwana Bay, South Africa, located in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP), a world heritage site. Due to the latitude (27–28°S) and physical conditions, this area is considered marginal for coral reef growth. Recruitment of corals to ceramic tiles peaked between March and May each year, with broadcast spawners dominating plates in March and brooders more abundant in May. Pocilloporid corals were the most abundant during all periods except March 2001, when acroporids comprised 72% of the total number of spat. Total recruitment was the highest during this period, with a mean of 13.2 ± 15.73 (mean ± SD) corals tile−1. Recruitment rates varied widely between and within different reefs monitored. Patterns of variation were inconsistent between seasons, but some reefs had persistently low rates of settlement.

Musical Constructions of Place: Linking music to environmental action in the St Lucia wetlands

This paper reflects on a documentation project in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority that explored the operational interface between music, cultural knowledge and environmental stewardship. Building upon the premise that music and associated ritual practices present rich discursive sites where local knowledge about the environment are negotiated and affirmed, the project aimed to engage high school students with broader environmental concerns through the documentation of their diverse cultural and environmental heritages. In so doing, it explored ways in which the active recovery of deep-rooted cultural wisdoms about land, natural resources and senses of place may contribute towards a more integrated paradigm for environmental conservation in the area.

Modelling reef zonation in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, South Africa

East Africa has a rich coral fauna that extends to Maputaland in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. At this latitude, considered high and marginal for coral distribution and development, they form a veneer on limited, late Pleistocene reefs rather than forming the accretive, aragonite structures known as coral reefs. It is thus more appropriate to refer to them in this region as coral communities, the environment being rendered marginal for their development by reduced temperatures, light and aragonite saturation state. Subsequent to their discovery, the reefs were afforded protection within two Marine Protected Areas (the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves). They are found primarily within three reef complexes, with only the central complex being readily accessible to the public for ecotourism at present. With the creation of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site, and the expectation of an accompanying increase in ecotourism, the status quo seems set to change. The reefs are thus the current focus of a modelling initiative to provide decision support in their management. This paper examines the unique nature of the South African communities, their vulnerability and importance in the regional and global context, and, using representative data from the model, how an anticipated increase in their use could affect their sustainability. The case for scientifically based zonation for their use is presented.

Land of dreams: land restitution on the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia

Land of dreams:land restitution on the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia Cherryl Walker (bio) From the 1950s to the early 1980s some 1,200 Zulu-speaking households were removed from what is now the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP), a World Heritage Site stretching along the northern reaches of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. Some lost their land in the name of nature conservation; others were dispossessed to make way for commercial forestry and the establishment of a South African Defence Force (SADF) missile base on the Ndlozi Peninsula in 1968 (Surplus People Project 1983). The claims of the dispossessed to this land first began to receive serious recognition from national policy-makers in the early 1990s, during the hard-fought battle between conservationists and mining interests over an application by Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), a subsidiary of a major multi-national company, to mine the valuable titanium deposits in the high dunes running along the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia. After a protracted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - the largest of its kind in South Africa to date - conservationists won a qualified victory in 1996, when the new, post-apartheid government decided in favour of conservation linked to eco-tourism as the development strategy for the region. Today the legacy of forced population removals remains one of the biggest challenges facing the GSLWP Authority. In coming to terms with the past and looking to the future the Park Authority and other conservation officials accept that they must respect local communities' claims to the area, thus distancing themselves from previous conservation policies that accorded little intrinsic value to black people's land rights and citizenship. Turning that acceptance into practice within the mandate of conservation with development remains difficult, however. It also raises complex questions about how 'community' is to be understood in relation to the Park. Not only are there tensions between those people whom the post-apartheid state has [End Page 1] recognised as legitimate land claimants and other, neighbouring groups who do not have direct ancestral ties to conservation land, yet still look to the Park and the uncertain promises of eco-tourism for improved livelihood opportunities. There have also been bitter struggles among restitution claimants themselves over whose claims are legitimate and why, as well as who should represent them and why. Furthermore, external interest groups - government officials, local politicians, mining company representatives, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs), development consultants, researchers - continue to advocate their own understandings of community, land ownership and the public interest, driven by competing visions of how the public interest is constituted, what the landscape represents, and where responsibility for decisions about its future should lie. This article explores these knotty issues as they weave themselves through one of the pivotal land claims in this region - that of the Bhangazi (Mbuyazi)1 people to the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia. This claim was formally settled in September 1999 in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994, thereby clearing the way for the declaration of the GSLWP as a World Heritage Site. The history of this claim reveals the limitations of easy, ahistorical notions of community identity that inform much of the popular and policy discourses around land restitution since 1994. It also brings to the fore the difficulty of reconciling the very different scales of public interest that are vested in the environment of Lake St Lucia, as well as the differentials of power that shaped the claim settlement yet were not hegemonic in determining the outcome. The claim is also interesting because the formal settlement - financial compensation and a stake in the future development of the area, without the restoration of underlying ownership of the land to the claimants - is out of step with the official policy that has since been approved by the post-apartheid government to guide the resolution of claims on conservation land. This policy aims to combine claimant ownership of protected areas with the continued conservation status of their land, by means of partnerships with national or provincial conservation agencies. The rationale is that this represents the optimal balance, a harmonious synthesis, between restitution and conservation - one that will both guarantee...

Walking memories and growing amnesia in the land claims process: Lake St Lucia, South Africa

Memory is often constructed around images drawn from landscape. But memory can also be constituted through the process of traversing landscape—as if memory is inscribed in and through people's feet. What happens then, when a landscape changes? What kinds of change inhibit the making of memory by walking the land? The article addresses the above issues and questions by examining how a representative group of land restitution claimants attempted to document the names of residents who were removed from what is now the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It describes and analyses the process of walking the land to identify sites and how changes to the landscape affected that process. It shows that changes that involved ‘reversion to bush’ had quite different effects on the memory-construction process from those that involved afforestation. And it uses those examples to comment again on the relationships between memory and landscape, and between the intellect and bodily practice.

Apartheid and the Removal of Black Spots from Lake Bhangazi in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Clearly, the forced removal of Africans from White-designated areas during apartheid in South Africa is not unique to world history. So, what can be learned from studying a group of rural Africans living in a communal arrangement for 1,000 years or more? By investigating the case of the removal of African people from the Lake Bhangazi area within Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park in South Africa from 1956 through 1974, light can be shed on one aspect of forced migration. This may lead to an understanding of other forced movements of people throughout world history. It may also provide a better understanding of the rural phase of forced removals during apartheid. Most South African studies have focused on urban removals. The following article is the story of the people from Lake Bhangazi in KwaZulu-Natal set within the broad context of South African apartheid and “black spot” removal.

Post-apartheid perceptions of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, South Africa

In the wake of apartheid, South African protected areas have come under increasing pressure to reconcile a wealth of natural resources with the acute social and economic needs of the black rural majority. Demands for land reform, poverty alleviation and job creation have all had profound implications for the conservation and management of the nation's protected areas. An attitudinal study was conducted within three diverse South African communities, and among employees of the Kwa Zulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service (KZN Wildlife) to assess how the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSWP) and the authorities charged with its management are perceived in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. Despite significant revisions to South Africa's conservation policies in the post-apartheid era, attitudinal research has continued to focus on rural black communities, leaving white residents, urban black populations and the conservation authorities themselves largely under-represented. As a result, the relationships between local communities, protected areas and conservation authorities remain largely unknown and outdated. Qualitative analysis of 90 semi-structured interviews indicated limited support (5%) for the abolition of the GSWP. The potential loss of the GSWP was associated with negative economic (88%) and environmental (66%) impacts by all respondents, regardless of race, gender, age or residency. Contrary to previous research conducted during the apartheid era, an overwhelming majority of Zulu respondents perceived a positive association between nature conservation, tourism and improved local economic welfare. Thus, local attitudes towards protected areas appeared to be improving. There remained however a discrepancy between support for the GSWP and the management authorities, particularly among respondents with limited contact with conservation staff. This is consistent with previous surveys where residents expressed support for the concept of conservation, but significant hostility towards local conservation authorities. The distinction is critical, as negative attitudes towards conservation authorities are often misinterpreted as a lack of support for conservation in general. Local residents (regardless of race or socioeconomic status) also expressed high expectations of KZN Wildlife to address issues of unemployment, poverty and tourism in the region. If these expectations are not met, support for the GSWP, as well as the conservation authorities, is likely to decline dramatically.