'Rich man poor man': inter-household and community factors influencing the use of wild plant resources amongst rural households in South Africa
- Cocks, Michelle L, Bangay, Lindsey, Shackleton, Charlie M, Wiersum, K Freerk
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Bangay, Lindsey , Shackleton, Charlie M , Wiersum, K Freerk
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141211 , vital:37953 , DOI: 10.3843/SusDev.15.3:3
- Description: Biodiversity is recognised as an integral part of people's daily livelihoods. This study therefore aims to understand the use of NTFPs at an intricate level by determining what role these resources fulfil in six rural villages and 1011 households' livelihoods. It examines how the use of NTFPs are influenced by intra-household variables, such as wealth and gender, and inter-community variables, such as accessibility to the natural resource. The results reveal that approximately 4453 kg of wild material is used annually per household, of which 1598 kg is used for cultural purposes. The influence of vegetation type and differences between villages are statistically more significant than inter-household variables. At an inter-household level, an increase in the financial status of households did not result in a decrease in the use of natural resources, nor in the quantity of material used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Bangay, Lindsey , Shackleton, Charlie M , Wiersum, K Freerk
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141211 , vital:37953 , DOI: 10.3843/SusDev.15.3:3
- Description: Biodiversity is recognised as an integral part of people's daily livelihoods. This study therefore aims to understand the use of NTFPs at an intricate level by determining what role these resources fulfil in six rural villages and 1011 households' livelihoods. It examines how the use of NTFPs are influenced by intra-household variables, such as wealth and gender, and inter-community variables, such as accessibility to the natural resource. The results reveal that approximately 4453 kg of wild material is used annually per household, of which 1598 kg is used for cultural purposes. The influence of vegetation type and differences between villages are statistically more significant than inter-household variables. At an inter-household level, an increase in the financial status of households did not result in a decrease in the use of natural resources, nor in the quantity of material used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Cultivation of medicinal plants as a tool for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation in the Amatola region, South Africa:
- Wiersum, K Freerk, Dold, Anthony P, Husselman, Madeleen, Cocks, Michelle L
- Authors: Wiersum, K Freerk , Dold, Anthony P , Husselman, Madeleen , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141489 , vital:37979 , ISBN 9781402054488 , https://library.wur.nl/ojs/index.php/frontis/issue/view/232
- Description: This paper describes the assumptions and results of a study to assess whether cultivation of medicinal plants can serve as a tool for combined biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. The study was carried out in the Amatola region of Eastern Cape, South Africa, where sustained beliefs in medicinal plant use, also under non-traditional conditions, has resulted in an increase in commercial demands. It was based on the assumption of poverty alleviation not only referring to an increase in income and labour, but also an increase in social capital and human dignity. The study assessed the local perceptions of the use and cultivation of medicinal plants and the need for conservation of these plants, as well as the features of already ongoing cultivation practices and options for increased cultivation. It consisted of participatory assessments in three villages involving around 250 persons and participatory trials with 14 rural women selling medicinal plants on urban markets. The study indicated that the growing demand for medicinal plants is related to the great cultural significance attached to medicinal plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Wiersum, K Freerk , Dold, Anthony P , Husselman, Madeleen , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141489 , vital:37979 , ISBN 9781402054488 , https://library.wur.nl/ojs/index.php/frontis/issue/view/232
- Description: This paper describes the assumptions and results of a study to assess whether cultivation of medicinal plants can serve as a tool for combined biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. The study was carried out in the Amatola region of Eastern Cape, South Africa, where sustained beliefs in medicinal plant use, also under non-traditional conditions, has resulted in an increase in commercial demands. It was based on the assumption of poverty alleviation not only referring to an increase in income and labour, but also an increase in social capital and human dignity. The study assessed the local perceptions of the use and cultivation of medicinal plants and the need for conservation of these plants, as well as the features of already ongoing cultivation practices and options for increased cultivation. It consisted of participatory assessments in three villages involving around 250 persons and participatory trials with 14 rural women selling medicinal plants on urban markets. The study indicated that the growing demand for medicinal plants is related to the great cultural significance attached to medicinal plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
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