Prof Doreen Atkinson Archives - Arid Areas Research and Development

Big fish in small ponds: Changing stratification and inequalities in small towns in the Karoo region, South Africa

Chapter in a book. The chapter is available from the author at doreen@karoofoundation.co.za.

By their own bootstraps: municipal commonage farmers as an emerging agrarian class in the Karoo

Municipal commonage land in South Africa is currently utilised by resource-poor black and coloured farmers. This paper analyses information from two case studies – the Karoo towns of Carnarvon and Williston in the Northern Cape. By comparing data between 2009 and 2018, we show that a significant number of these commonage farmers have increased their…

Fracking in a fractured environment: Shale gas mining and institutional dynamics in South Africa’s young democracy

This paper situates the question of shale gas mining in South Africa within broader debates on policy co-ordination within governmental systems. The prospect of shale gas mining has posed severe challenges for the complex inter-governmental system in South Africa. Three key Departments are affected by possible shale gas mining: Mineral Resources, Environmental Affairs and Water…

When Stars Collide: Competing Development Paradigms in the Central Karoo

Since the early 2000s, the roll-out of the MeerKAT astronomy project and the subsequent Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project in the Carnarvon area of the northern Karoo has been remarkably rapid and well managed. This article argues that the project, and the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa, have taken on the characteristics…

Growing like a Magic Mushroom

AfrikaBurn is a South African version of the Burning Man festival, held annually at Black Rock, Nevada, USA. AfrikaBurn is a participatory explosion of creativity, art, and innovation, which arises for a week on a remote desert floor in the Tankwa Karoo.

Review of Municipal Commonage programme of the Department of Land Affairs

The term municipal commonage is traditionally applied to land owned by a municipality or local authority. The land was usually acquired through state grants or from the church. The land was granted to serve the needs and interests of the poorer residents of the specific town. Commonage lost its traditional character when previously disadvantaged residents…

Shale Gas Development in the Central Karoo – Impacts on Social Fabric

The term “social fabric” embraces numerous complex and interrelated phenomena, including demographic and economic factors, behavioural issues (e.g. investment choices, political dynamics), social institutions (e.g. families), social organisations (e.g. municipalities and churches), and social networks, or relationships amongst people. The social fabric is underpinned by people’s beliefs and sentiments, including a sense of belonging and…

Culinary mapping and tourism development in South Africa’s Karoo region

Culinary mapping and tourism development in South Africa’s Karoo region, GE du Rand, Ingrid Booysen, Doreen Atkinson,African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Vol. 5 (4) – (2016). Abstract Successful development of cuisine as a niche tourism product has been portrayed in various countries in the world. The paper argues that the Karoo provides evidence…

Is South Africa’s Great Karoo Region becoming a tourism destination?

Is South Africa’s Great Karoo Region becoming a tourism destination?, Doreen Atkinson, Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 127, April 2016. Abstract Desert tourism has grown steadily in several regions of the world, due to a post-modern fascination with remoteness, barrenness, silence and solitude. This paper evaluates the trend towards tourism development in South Africa’s arid Karoo…

Is There a Case for Support for Smallholder Agriculture?

Is There a Case for Support for Smallholder Agriculture? A Response to Palmer and Sender , Doreen Atkinson , Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Volume 24, Issue 3 pp. 377-383 | DOI: 10.1080/02589000600976703 Introduction The paper by Kim Palmer and John Sender makes the following argument: Claim (i): Rural households are currently not benefiting much from agriculture. Claim…