The Dunes and their People: Reconciling Conservation and Wellbeing in Coastal Communities

Abstract

In “The Dunes and their People” project, the Sustainability Research Unit (SRU) of Nelson Mandela University (NMU), the Smutsville Informal Settlement Forum (SISF) and Knysna Municipality (KM) are weaving different forms of knowledge systems to explore meaningful ways to protect the sensitive coastal dunes while improving well-being in Smutsville Informal Settlement.  Overall, the project recognises that wellbeing depends on enabling every person to lead a life of dignity and opportunity, while safeguarding the integrity of Earth’s life-supporting systems and is seeking to explore the liveability and conservation of the highly threatened Groenvlei-Swartvlei mouth dunes, one of Knysna’s natural wonders.

 
This participatory action-research project was co-designed to foster agency and capacity building in conservation and sustainability transformation, with a particular focus on community stewards and leaders, women, and youth. The project combines seminar series facilitated by a diversity of experts, place-based anticipatory research on sense of place and environmental governance, as well as training in leadership, M&E and Futures literacy. In the final year, the project will sponsor at least one community-led conservation initiative co-designed through the engagement process and coordinated by SISF. Policy briefs and other support will be produced and distributed to share the outcomes of various forms of engagement. We expect this project to be a catalyst for sustainability transformation and conservation initiatives in similar - socially and ecologically sensitive - coastal environments.