Jaci van NiekerkUniversity of Cape Town | UCT · Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
Jaci van Niekerk
MPhil Environmental Management
About
17
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Introduction
My work and research interests broadly focus on biodiversity, peoples' knowledge and social justice. Specific projects relate to the commercial use of biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, rural livelihoods, the protection of small-scale farmers’ rights, and research ethics. I am currently undertaking Doctoral studies on the foodways of people local to the Cederberg mountains in South Africa, many of whom identify as descendants of the San and Khoi.
Publications
Publications (17)
Explores the ethical issues associated with agricultural research in resource-poor settings
The research and development of any “new” agricultural crop created using genetic modification technologies, even if undertaken with the best of intentions, is accompanied by novel human health, environmental, social, economic and other risks. To date, much of the research that has accompanied the release of genetically modified (GM) crops has focu...
New global code of research ethics. Also available in other languages from the Code website http://www.globalcodeofconduct.org/
This report from the EC-funded TRUST provides guidance on community engagement in research operating globally, from the perspective of the 4 TRUST values: fairness, respect, care and honesty. These values were identified by a global group including representatives from vulnerable research populations. They form the cornerstone of equitable research...
Millions of small-scale farmers on the African continent save and exchange the seed of their traditional crops, yet the social and cultural values of these systems remain under-researched. Through ethnographic research conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, this study set out to improve understanding about the mechanisms and signi...
Indigenous seed, knowledge and agricultural systems are vital for small-scale farmers in South Africa: they enhance food security, strengthen social cohesion, maintain cultural integrity, and build climate resilience. Increasingly, however, such systems are under threat from rural flight and urbanisation, changed lifestyles and eating habits, degra...
Concerns about ecological sustainability and inequality are driving increased formalization of the natural product trade, including both biotrade of bulk, raw materials (or nontimber forest products [NTFPs]) and bioprospecting for genetic resources. However, there has been little interrogation as to whether the policy tools used to achieve sustaina...
This paper aims to enhance understanding about the influence of governance arrangements in non-timber forest product value chains on ecological sustainability and equity outcomes. This is done through the lens of two plant species endemic to southern Africa: Hoodiagordonii, succulent plants developed as appetite suppressants based on traditional kn...
This chapter aims to enhance understanding about the influence of different governance arrangements in NTFP value chains on ecological sustain-ability and equity outcomes. We do this through the lens of two plant species endemic to southern Africa. In the first case, we explore the commercialization of Hoodia gordonii, a succulent plant developed a...
Historically, the trade benefits of medicinal plants have been skewed towards technologically advanced Northern countries, despite originating from the biologically rich South. Since the 1990s, attempts at rectifying this situation have been stepped up globally. In southern Africa, a substantial industry has developed around the use of the endemic...
