ABSTRACT Destructive agricultural practices are some of the leading causes of environmental degradation. The adoption of voluntary landscape scale conservation initiatives, such as the South African conservancy model, offers a possible solution. This article uses the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy as an example of how the gap between agricultural productivity and landscape conservation can be bridged. The objectives were to: investigate the conservancy’s historical context; discover the stakeholders’ motivations for joining the conservancy; identify the successes of the conservancy’s projects; and determine the effects of these on the landscape. Three methods were used: a literature study; semi-structured interviews with seven of the conservancy’s management staff who were identified using the snowball sampling technique; and a questionnaire survey distributed to the 21 members of the conservancy, of which 16 replied. The results showed the study area has a long history of environmental exploitation, which led to the establishment of the conservancy. The main reason why conservancy members joined was because of their conservation values. Their four successful landscape scale projects delivered several environmental, social and economic outcomes that positively affected the landscape. It is therefore recommended that farmers create conservancies using a similar model to reconcile the environmental demands of agriculture with the need to improve affected environmental assets and natural resources.

中文翻译：

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农业与保护：Grootvadersbosch Conservancy 如何找到共同点

摘要 破坏性的农业做法是环境退化的一些主要原因。采用自愿性景观规模保护举措，例如南非保护模式，提供了一种可能的解决方案。本文以 Grootvadersbosch 保护区为例，说明如何弥合农业生产力与景观保护之间的差距。目标是： 调查保护区的历史背景；发现利益相关者加入保护区的动机；确定保护区项目的成功之处；并确定这些对景观的影响。使用了三种方法：文献研究；对使用滚雪球抽样技术确定的七名保护区管理人员进行半结构化访谈；并向保护区的21名成员发放了问卷调查，其中16人作答。结果表明，该研究区环境开发历史悠久，因此建立了保护区。保护区成员加入的主要原因是因为他们的保护价值。他们的四个成功的景观规模项目带来了一些对景观产生积极影响的环境、社会和经济成果。因此，建议农民使用类似的模式建立保护区，以协调农业的环境需求与改善受影响的环境资产和自然资源的需求。这导致了保护区的建立。保护区成员加入的主要原因是因为他们的保护价值。他们的四个成功的景观规模项目带来了一些对景观产生积极影响的环境、社会和经济成果。因此，建议农民使用类似的模式建立保护区，以协调农业的环境需求与改善受影响的环境资产和自然资源的需求。这导致了保护区的建立。保护区成员加入的主要原因是因为他们的保护价值。他们的四个成功的景观规模项目带来了一些对景观产生积极影响的环境、社会和经济成果。因此，建议农民使用类似的模式建立保护区，以协调农业的环境需求与改善受影响的环境资产和自然资源的需求。