Natural resource harvesting and disturbance in communal lands: assessing the roles of local ecological knowledge, dependency and market access

Steele, Melita Zoë

Title: Natural resource harvesting and disturbance in communal lands: assessing the roles of local ecological knowledge, dependency and market access
Creator: Steele, Melita Zoë
Subject: Non-timber forest products -- South Africa
Subject: Natural resources -- South Africa
Subject: Rural poor -- South Africa
Subject: Rural development -- South Africa
Subject: Forests and forestry -- South Africa
Subject: Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
Subject: Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa
Subject: Commons -- South Africa
Subject: Forest ecology -- South Africa
Subject: Harvesting
Date Issued: 2008
Date: 2008
Type: Thesis
Type: Masters
Type: MSc
Identifier: vital:4736
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004604
Identifier: Non-timber forest products -- South Africa
Identifier: Natural resources -- South Africa
Identifier: Rural poor -- South Africa
Identifier: Rural development -- South Africa
Identifier: Forests and forestry -- South Africa
Identifier: Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
Identifier: Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa
Identifier: Commons -- South Africa
Identifier: Forest ecology -- South Africa
Identifier: Harvesting
Description: A great deal of research has demonstrated that Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in the livelihoods of the rural poor, and are particularly important to the most marginalised people throughout the developing world. However, these livelihood benefits are not without cost to the natural resource base that rural communities depend so heavily upon. The continued dependence on NTFPs as a major livelihood source must be contingent upon the minimisation of the level of disturbance created through this dependency. This study assesses the level of disturbance created through natural resource harvesting in eight study sites around South Africa, and applies a predictive conceptual model created by Shankaar et al. (2004b) to try and ascertain under what conditions the level of disturbance created through natural resource harvesting will be high. It assesses the three key factors that Shankaar et al. (2004b) identified (level of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), level of dependency and access to markets) in relation to the level of disturbance found at each of the study sites. It was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the level of dependency and the level of disturbance, but there was no statistically significant relationship between either access to markets or the level of LEK and disturbance. Regulation of land use is a key issue, with weak local institutions in communal areas making effective resource management difficult. The significance of these findings is discussed, and priorities for future research are identified. This study adds to the body of knowledge related to NTFP harvesting and critically analyses the conflicts between the livelihood gains and the level of disturbance created through NTFP harvesting in an attempt to ascertain how livelihoods can be safeguarded. And in the longer-term, so that management strategies can be identified where resource extraction is not at the cost of undermining the very livelihoods that depend upon the natural resource base.
Format: 109 pages
Format: pdf
Publisher: Rhodes University
Publisher: Faculty of Science, Environmental Science
Language: English
Rights: Steele, Melita Zoë

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