- Title
- Livelihood benefits and costs from an invasive alien tree (Acacia dealbata) to rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Creator
- Ngorima, A
- Creator
- Shackleton, Charlie M
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179755
- Identifier
- vital:43168
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.077"
- Description
- The negative effects of invasive alien species (IAS) are increasingly invoked to justify widespread and usually top-down approaches for their management or eradication. However, very little of the research or discourse is based on investigating local perceptions, uses and struggles with IAS, and how their presence influences and changes local livelihoods. The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions and livelihood uses of Acacia dealbata by local communities at three localities in the montane grasslands of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, using a combination of random household interviews, focus group discussions and participatory tools. We calculated direct-use values for each product and household (based on quantity used and local prices) and disaggregated these by gender of the household head and wealth quartiles. The results revealed the dualistic role of A. dealbata in local livelihoods. On the one hand, A. dealbata was widely used for firewood (100% of households), tools (77%) and construction timber (73%), with limited use for traditional medicines and forage. The cumulative value of approximately ZAR 2870 (±US$224) per household per year (across all households) represents considerable cash saving to households, most of whom are quite poor by national and international measures. On the other hand, the increasing extent of A. dealbata (93% said it was increasing) exacerbates local household vulnerability though reported reductions in cultivated areas, crop yields and forage production, and allegedly higher risks of crime. This quandary is well encapsulated by the considerable majority of respondents (84%) not wanting higher extents and densities of A. dealbata, but an equally high majority not wanting its total removal from local landscapes. Most respondents disliked A. dealbata in fields, close to homesteads or along primary access routes, and were more tolerant of it away from such sites. Institutional and use dynamics have varied over several decades in response to the changing extent and densities of A. dealbata and the broader political and socio-economic contexts. These results indicate that greater efforts are required to understand perceptions and uses of IAS by the people who live with them, and to direct such understanding into more spatially and temporally contextualised response strategies where required.
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (8 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Journal of Environmental Management
- Relation
- Ngorima, A. and Shackleton, C.M., 2019. Livelihood benefits and costs from an invasive alien tree (Acacia dealbata) to rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Journal of environmental management, 229, pp.158-165
- Relation
- Journal of Environmental Management volume 229 number p. 158 2019 0301-4797
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms of Use Statement ( https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions )
- Rights
- Closed Access
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Collections
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods
RU Department of Environmental Science
Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12. Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 15. Life On Land
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Livelihood benefits and costs from an invasive alien tree (Acacia dealbata) to.pdf | 837 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |