Conservancy Governance Models for Improved Environmental Management in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: Environmental governance is a collaborative approach involving diverse private, state and third sector actors, which contrasts with conventional government, which carries connotations of top-down control by the state over other actors. Conservancies represent a specific category of conservation stewardship in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and is therefore in effect a specific manifestation of environmental co-management, which itself is clearly a governance-based approach. Within this paradigm, a conservancy could ideally be conceived of as a collaborative environmental management institution for improved environmental management on private land. It may do so by facilitating various formal conservation stewardship and informal environmental stewardship mechanisms. In the Western Cape Province of South Africa, a conservancy can be defined as constituting cooperation between two or more landowners to manage the environment collectively across their properties. Although conservancies are landowner driven, they are supported by – and their establishment and activities encouraged by – the state and various private and third sector actors as they are widely believed to bring about improved environmental management on privately owned land. Since over 80% of conservation-worthy land falls under private ownership, conservancies can supplement and complement the state’s more conventional nature conservation estate. To function, a conservancy requires a fit-for-purpose internal governance structure and should interact appropriately with partner institutions through networking. The conservancy as an institution will be shaped internally by its general membership and externally by its network context; however, it can and should itself influence the actions of its general membership and its network partners in order to give effect to its purpose. Acceptance of that influence by its own membership internally and network partners externally – necessary for true improved…
abstract: Environmental governance is a collaborative approach involving diverse private, state and third sector actors, which contrasts with conventional government, which carries connotations of top-down control by the state over other actors. Conservancies represent a specific category of conservation stewardship in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and is therefore in effect a specific manifestation of environmental co-management, which itself is clearly a governance-based approach. Within this paradigm, a conservancy could ideally be conceived of as a collaborative environmental management institution for improved environmental management on private land. It may do so by facilitating various formal conservation stewardship and informal environmental stewardship mechanisms. In the Western Cape Province of South Africa, a conservancy can be defined as constituting cooperation between two or more landowners to manage the environment collectively across their properties. Although conservancies are landowner driven, they are supported by – and their establishment and activities encouraged by – the state and various private and third sector actors as they are widely believed to bring about improved environmental management on privately owned land. Since over 80% of conservation-worthy land falls under private ownership, conservancies can supplement and complement the state’s more conventional nature conservation estate. To function, a conservancy requires a fit-for-purpose internal governance structure and should interact appropriately with partner institutions through networking. The conservancy as an institution will be shaped internally by its general membership and externally by its network context; however, it can and should itself influence the actions of its general membership and its network partners in order to give effect to its purpose. Acceptance of that influence by its own membership internally and network partners externally – necessary for true improved…
author: Smit, Jacques Erens Frans
language: en
date published: 2026-03
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:40:06Z
provider: Stellenbosch University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University