Use patterns and value of Savanna resources in three Rural villages in South Africa

Rural communities in South Africa harvest a diversity of wild resources from communal woodlands for home consumption and sale. The contribution these resources make to the rural economy has been little recognized, and few studies have attempted to place a monetary value on this use. This paper describes three case studies which aimed to determine the value of savanna resources for the livelihoods of rural households. Use patterns and values of resources in three villages of differing socioeconomic status were determined using household interviews, PRA techniques and key informant interviews. Questions were designed to establish the types of products used, frequency of use, quantities used, seasonality of use, longevity of durable resources, local prices, and the extent of trade. All households were procuring at least some woodland resources, with the most frequently used being fuel wood, wood for implements, edible herbs and fruits, grass for brushes, and insects. Patterns of resource use varied across villages. The most “rural” village used the greatest diversity of resources and had the highest number of users for most resources. Gross value of resources consumed per household per year ranged from R28I9 to R7238. Total value was highest in the less obviously resource dependent village, primarily the result of higher local prices due to greater extraction costs and a larger market for traded goods. Values are comparable to those contributed by other land-based livelihood activities such as subsistence cultivation and livestock production.     

湖南浏阳市大围山区高等植物类野菜资源特征及其开发利用

大围山区高等植物类野菜共有 63科 1 5 7属 2 1 8种 ,野菜的种类占全国总种数的 1 1 .96% ,所占的比例与其他地区相比 ,比豫南大别山、四湖地区、三峡库区、包头地区、商丘市的高 ,充分显示出大围山区野菜资源的丰富性 ;从大围山区野菜的科属组成来看 ,菊科、百合科、豆科、禾本科、蔷薇科、伞形科等 1 4个大科的种数占总种数的 63 .3 0 % ,悬钩子属、锥属、胡颓子属等 1 7个大属占总种数的 2 8.90 % ;从植物学类型看 ,草本类野菜最多 ,占 5 7.3 4% ,其次是灌木、乔木 ,分别占 1 6.97%、1 3 .76% ;从食用部位来看 ,大围山的野菜以叶菜类较多 ,占 61 .47% ,其次是根茎类、果实类 ,分别占 1 7.43 %、1 6.5 1 % ;从野菜植物的生境来看 ,以山坡、林地为生境的种类较多 ,分别占 5 4.5 9%、3 1 .65 % ,表明森林是野菜植物的资源库。根据以上特征和大围山区野菜的蕴藏量、开发利用价值、利用现状 ,提出了一些开发利用对策     

Ethnopharmacological uses of Erythrina senegalensis: a comparison of three areas in Mali, and a link between traditional knowledge and modern biological science

Consumption of greens is a major source of vitamins and micro-nutrients for people using only vegetarian diets rich in carbohydrates. In remote rural settlements where vegetable cultivation is not practiced and market supplies are not organized, local inhabitants depend on indigenous vegetables, both cultivated in kitchen gardens and wild, for enriching the diversity of food. Knowledge of such foods is part of traditional knowledge which is largely transmitted through participation of individuals of households. A total of 123 households in six villages of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve buffer zone was surveyed using a schedule to assess the knowledge, availability and consumption pattern of wild leafy vegetables. Quantity estimations were done using regular visits with informants from 30 sample households of the six study villages during the collections. Monetization was used to see the value of wild leafy vegetables harvested during a year. The diversity of wild leafy vegetables being use by the local inhabitants is 21 species belonging to 14 genera and 11 families. This is far less than that being reported to be used by the communities from Western Ghats in India and some parts of Africa. Irrespective of social or economic status all households in the study villages had the knowledge and used wild leafy vegetables. The number of households reported to consume these wild leafy vegetables is greater than the number of households reporting to harvest them for all species except for Diplazium esculentum and Phytolacca acinosa. The availability and use period varied for the species are listed by the users. The study indicated that the knowledge is eroding due to changing social values and non participation of younger generation in collection and processing of such wild leafy vegetables.     

内蒙古呼伦贝尔鄂温克族民间野菜资源调查

内蒙古呼伦贝尔市鄂温克族民间作蔬菜利用的野生植物共有23种.记录了植物的学名、汉名、食用部位、食用方法,分析讨论了鄂温克族民间利用野菜的特色和意义.     

山西历山国家级自然保护区菊科野生食用植物资源

经过调查研究,历山国家自然保护区有菊科野生食用植物22属、30种,分别占该保护区菊科野生植物总属数的50．00％、总种数的38．46％。该保护区菊科野生食用植物均为一、二年生或多年生草本植物,且都兼有药用功效,食用部位以嫩茎叶为主。并对该保护区菊科野生食用植物资源的开发利用提出了建议。     

Cocoa farms in the Mount Cameroon region: biological and cultural diversity in local livelihoods

A study was undertaken around Mt Cameroon to examine the role of biological and cultural diversity in the livelihood strategies of indigenous villagers and migrants to the region. Surveys of resources consumed and sold by 118 households were undertaken in five villages over the course of 1 year, the perspectives and practices of cocoa farmers documented, and useful tree species retained or planted on six cocoa farms mapped. Cocoa farms in this region generate more significant benefits for biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods than commercial plantations, but also place pressure on forest reserves and require chemical inputs. Roughly 50 tree species are commonly retained or planted on cocoa farms, primarily for timber or food, with many of these having high conservation value. Average tree density of non-cocoa trees was 15 trees per hectare, with tree densities higher, and a larger percentage of species used, on indigenous Bomboko farms than migrant farms. Both migrant and indigenous households rely on forest as a complement to farm income, but indigenous households do this to a far greater extent, while also making extensive use of fallow and home gardens. Indigenous households also derive roughly four times the income from wild and native species compared to migrants. While diversified cocoa farms contribute to conservation and livelihoods in the region, indigenous livelihoods grow from and require the conservation of a broader range of species and habitats, including natural forest.     

Children and Wild Foods in the Context of Deforestation in Rural Malawi

There is growing recognition of the contribution of wild foods to local diets, nutrition, and culture. Yet disaggregation of understanding of wild food use by gender and age is limited. We used a mixed methods approach to determine the types, frequencies, and perceptions of wild foods used and sold by children in four villages in southern Malawi that have different levels of deforestation. Household and individual dietary diversity scores are low at all sites. All households consume one or more wild foods. Across the four sites, children listed 119 wild foods, with a wider variety at the least deforested sites than the most deforested ones. Older children can name more wild foods than younger ones. More children from poor households sell wild foods than from well-off households. Several reasons were provided for the consumption or avoidance of wild foods (most commonly taste, contribution to health, limited alternatives, hunger, availability, local taboos).     

Uses and Conservation of Plant Species in a National Park—A Case Study of Ben En, Vietnam

Uses and Conservation of Plant Species in a National Park—A Case Study of Ben En, Vietnam. This paper surveys the use of wild and cultivated plants by local people in Ben En National Park, Vietnam, and analyzes its impact on the conservation status of some of the utilized species. A total of 208 species used for a range of nonmedicinal purposes are listed. See Hoang et al. (2008a) for 230 medicinal plants used in the park. Most species are used for food. The use of plants contributes very significantly to the livelihood of local people in the park, but the current use patterns are not sustainable and would lead to local extinction of rare and endangered species if no additional conservation measures are introduced. Men collect nonmedicinal plants more often than women. A total of 38 useful plant species are commercialized, and contribute 12% of the average income of individual households. Bamboo shoots of Schizostachyum funghomii (Poaceae) are the most important for income generation. The monetary equivalent of noncommercialized useful plants probably far exceeds the value of the traded plant products. Plant use is independent of the ethnicity of the different populations living in the park. Larger households make use of a greater variety of useful plant species than small families. Abundant species in the forest have a higher use index (UI) than less common species. Out of the 208 useful species, as many as 27 were found to be endangered locally, many more than the 11 or 8 endangered species included in national or global red lists. Currently, useful plants, especially important timber trees, are more abundant in the less disturbed parts of the park, far away from the villages, indicating the pressures of illegal logging and harvesting near villages on the ecosystems.     

Community-based natural resource use and management of Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary,Uganda, for livelihood benefits

Conservation and sustainable management of wetlands requires participation of local stakeholders, including communities. The Bigodi Wetland is unusual because it is situated in a common property landscape but the local community has been running a successful community-based natural resource management programme (CBNRM) for the wetland for over a decade. Whilst external visitors to the wetland provide ecotourism revenues we sought to quantify community benefits through the use of wetland goods such as firewood, plant fibres, and the like, and costs associated with wild animals damaging farming activities. We interviewed 68 households living close to the wetland and valued their cash and non-cash incomes from farming and collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and water. The majority of households collected a wide variety of plant and fish resources and water from the wetland for household use and livestock. Overall, 53% of total household cash and non-cash income was from collected products, mostly the wetland, 28% from arable agriculture, 12% from livestock and 7% from employment and cash transfers. Female-headed households had lower incomes than male-headed ones, and with a greater reliance on NTFPs. Annual losses due to wildlife damage were estimated at 4.2% of total gross income. Most respondents felt that the wetland was important for their livelihoods, with more than 80% identifying health, education, craft materials and firewood as key benefits. Ninety-five percent felt that the wetland was in a good condition and that most residents observed the agreed CBNRM rules regarding use of the wetland. This study confirms the success of the locally run CBNRM processes underlying the significant role that the wetland plays in local livelihoods.     

Traditional knowledge of wild and semi-wild edible plants used in Bali (Indonesia) to maintain biological and cultural diversity

We report the first ethnobotanical study of wild and semi-wild food plants used by the inhabitants of the villages of Bali. Considering the urgent need to avoid the loss of this traditional knowledge, 50 informants from 13 “Bali Aga” villages across four districts were selected for our field investigation. Ethnobotanical data were collected through different interview methods (direct observation, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, individual discussions, focus-group discussions, and questionnaires). The 86 recorded species belonging to 41 families and 68 genera, including angiosperms (82) and pteridophytes (4), are categorized as wild (33) and semi-wild (53), of which 63.64% are native to Malesian, Indian, and Indochinese. Wild and semi-wild edible plants play an important role in providing the Balinese with various essential nutrients. Fourteen species (16.28%) are also used medicinally. In recent years, with the growth of the tourist industry, the wild habitats of edible plants have been severely impacted. Traditional knowledge related to wild and semi-wild edible plants is also endangered. Therefore, the management of these resources and the preservation of biodiversity along with indigenous knowledge are of primary importance.     

Food, feed or medicine: The multiple functions of edible wild plants in Vietnam

Many of the edible wild plants that are included in local food baskets have both therapeutic and dietary functions. Such medicinal foods have been part of Eastern medicinal theories since ancient times and have recently received attention in the USA and Europe within the fields of functional foods, neutraceuticals and phyto-nutrients. This paper provides an example from Vietnam of the continued use of a multitude of edible wild vegetables. Vietnamese traditional medicine also holds an important position within the health care system and many of the plants that are used have both dietary and medicinal functions. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques (Rapid Rural Appraisal and Food Frequency Questionnaires), information on over 90 species of edible wild plants was obtained from 4 villages in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands. About a third of the plants also had therapeutic roles, forty percent were used also as livestock feeds and one fifth were used as food/livestock feed/ medicine. From a nutrition viewpoint it is important to pay attention to this group of traditional foods for several reasons. Their direct nutritional contribution is often significant but neglected. Very little is known about the health benefits of regular consumption of small quantities of medicinal foods and an important “medicinal role” of traditional plant medicines may be the contribution of small quantities of trace minerals and vitamins. The parallel functions as livestock feeds make animal products more accessible to poor households and help improve the quality of their diets.     

Household Expenditure for Dental Care in Low and Middle Income Countries

This study assessed the extent of household catastrophic expenditure in dental health care and its possible determinants in 41 low and middle income countries. Data from 182,007 respondents aged 18 years and over (69,315 in 18 low income countries, 59,645 in 15 lower middle income countries and 53,047 in 8 upper middle income countries) who participated in the WHO World Health Survey (WHS) were analyzed. Expenditure in dental health care was defined as catastrophic if it was equal to or higher than 40% of the household capacity to pay. A number of individual and country-level factors were assessed as potential determinants of catastrophic dental health expenditure (CDHE) in multilevel logistic regression with individuals nested within countries. Up to 7% of households in low and middle income countries faced CDHE in the last 4 weeks. This proportion rose up to 35% among households that incurred some dental health expenditure within the same period. The multilevel model showed that wealthier, urban and larger households and more economically developed countries had higher odds of facing CDHE. The results of this study show that payments for dental health care can be a considerable burden on households, to the extent of preventing expenditure on basic necessities. They also help characterize households more likely to incur catastrophic expenditure on dental health care. Alternative health care financing strategies and policies targeted to improve fairness in financial contribution are urgently required in low and middle income countries.     

Adoption of Modern Agricultural Technologies by Lowland Indigenous Groups in Bolivia: The Role of Households, Villages, Ethnicity, and Markets

A survey of 102 Mojeno and 62 Yuracare Amerindian households in the department of Beni in the Bolivian rain forest was done to measure the effects of household and village attributes, ethnicity, and markets on the adoption of chemical herbicides and insecticides for farming. We hypothesized: i) that village attributes would matter more among households with weak links to the market, ii) that education and income would matter more in households integrated to the market, and iii) that ethnic membership would not matter because, as a null hypothesis, we assume all cultures are equally adept at processing information about technological innovations. The results of a probit model with Huber robust standard errors did not confirm any of the hypotheses. Village variables were statistically significant at all levels of integration to the market. Contrary to human capital theory, income and education played a more prominent role in relatively autarkic villages. Ethnicity was statistically significant in the pooled sample and at different levels of integration. Results suggest that conventional determinants of adoption of new farm technologies may need reappraisal in more autarkic settings.     

Impact of Indian Total Sanitation Campaign on Latrine Coverage and Use: A Cross-Sectional Study in Orissa Three Years following Programme Implementation

Background

Faced with a massive shortfall in meeting sanitation targets, some governments have implemented campaigns that use subsidies focused on latrine construction to overcome income constraints and rapidly expand coverage. In settings like rural India where open defecation is common, this may result in sub-optimal compliance (use), thereby continuing to leave the population exposed to human excreta.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate latrine coverage and use among 20 villages (447 households, 1933 individuals) in Orissa, India where the Government of India’s Total Sanitation Campaign had been implemented at least three years previously. We defined coverage as the proportion of households that had a latrine; for use we identified the proportion of households with at least one reported user and among those, the extent of reported use by each member of the household.

Results

Mean latrine coverage among the villages was 72% (compared to <10% in comparable villages in the same district where the Total Sanitation Campaign had not yet been implemented), though three of the villages had less than 50% coverage. Among these households with latrines, more than a third (39%) were not being used by any member of the household. Well over a third (37%) of the members of households with latrines reported never defecating in their latrines. Less than half (47%) of the members of such households reported using their latrines at all times for defecation. Combined with the 28% of households that did not have latrines, it appears that most defecation events in these communities are still practiced in the open.

Conclusion

A large-scale campaign to implement sanitation has achieved substantial gains in latrine coverage in this population. Nevertheless, gaps in coverage and widespread continuation of open defecation will result in continued exposure to human excreta, reducing the potential for health gains.     

宁夏野生食用植物资源的调查与信息数据库的建立

通过野外调查与室内工作相结合,对宁夏野生食用植物资源进行调查与统计,建立宁夏野生食用植物资源数据库,并提出了宁夏野生食用植物资源开发和利用存在的问题。结果初步调查到宁夏野生食用资源植物共计74科186属348种10类,其中饮料及野果类植物与野菜植物具有一定的开发潜力,应该在这些野生食用资源植物中进行进一步的筛选,最终主要集中于人工驯化与栽培上。此外针对宁夏野生食用植物资源开发和利用面临的问题,需加强对宁夏野生食用植物资源状况的调查,并进行深入的研究,在前面所做的基础研究上,筛选特色的野生食用资源植物进行合理的开发和利用,之后对筛选出的野生食用资源植物进行人工栽培等工作,在土地可持续利用的前提下,研究野生食用资源植物与其他栽培作物间作的模式,同时在发展过程中通过收集珍贵濒危野生植物资源植物的种质资源,而对其加以保护。     

Household factors influencing participation in bird feeding activity: a national scale analysis

Ameliorating pressures on the ecological condition of the wider landscape outside of protected areas is a key focus of conservation initiatives in the developed world. In highly urbanized nations, domestic gardens can play a significant role in maintaining biodiversity and facilitating human-wildlife interactions, which benefit personal and societal health and well-being. The extent to which sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with engagement in wildlife gardening activities remain largely unresolved. Using two household-level survey datasets gathered from across Britain, we determine whether and how the socioeconomic background of a household influences participation in food provision for wild birds, the most popular and widespread form of human-wildlife interaction. A majority of households feed birds (64% across rural and urban areas in England, and 53% within five British study cities). House type, household size and the age of the head of the household were all important predictors of bird feeding, whereas gross annual household income, the occupation of the head of the household, and whether the house is owned or rented were not. In both surveys, the prevalence of bird feeding rose as house type became more detached and as the age of the head of the household increased. A clear, consistent pattern between households of varying size was less evident. When regularity of food provision was examined in the study cities, just 29% of households provided food at least once a week. The proportion of households regularly feeding birds was positively related to the age of the head of the household, but declined with gross annual income. As concerns grow about the lack of engagement between people and the natural environment, such findings are important if conservation organizations are successfully to promote public participation in wildlife gardening specifically and environmentally beneficial behaviour in society more generally.     

Diversity of coevolved weeds in smallholder maize fields of Mexico and Zimbabwe

Theory and empirical data suggest the areas of origin of a crop to be the general area of origin of its coevolved weeds. These longer evolved weeds would have an advantage over species with a shorter evolutionary time and migrate more successfully. We seek to identify patterns by comparing two regions with a shared crop, similar physiographic traits, but little direct contact, one of which is the area of origin of the crop. We compared the diversity of the maize weed flora and its edible components between two rural villages each of Oaxaca, Mexico, and Honde Valley, Zimbabwe, using vegetation sampling, interviews and participatory observation. The Mexican fields had higher species richness and diversity than the Zimbabwean ones. Species richness and densities were higher in the villages that receive more rainfall. Mexican fields had a mainly native weed flora with almost 80% American species and very few of African origin, whereas Zimbabwe had 32% of American and 50% of African origin. The regions shared seven American species and one of African origin. American/Mesoamerican agrestal weeds appear to be more successful in maize. Subsistence farmers in both study areas consumed about 19 edible weed species of which four were common to all villages. Our results also suggest that the presence of 3–4 species of edible weeds per field may be a general pattern in the maize-based systems, and that people not necessarily want or need more, so usefulness—at least as an edible plant—would have a limited influence on migration success.     

Agricultural diversification as an important strategy for achieving food security in Africa

Farmers in Africa have long adapted to climatic and other risks by diversifying their farming activities. Using a multi‐scale approach, we explore the relationship between farming diversity and food security and the diversification potential of African agriculture and its limits on the household and continental scale. On the household scale, we use agricultural surveys from more than 28,000 households located in 18 African countries. In a next step, we use the relationship between rainfall, rainfall variability, and farming diversity to determine the available diversification options for farmers on the continental scale. On the household scale, we show that households with greater farming diversity are more successful in meeting their consumption needs, but only up to a certain level of diversity per ha cropland and more often if food can be purchased from off‐farm income or income from farm sales. More diverse farming systems can contribute to household food security; however, the relationship is influenced by other factors, for example, the market orientation of a household, livestock ownership, nonagricultural employment opportunities, and available land resources. On the continental scale, the greatest opportunities for diversification of food crops, cash crops, and livestock are located in areas with 500–1,000 mm annual rainfall and 17%–22% rainfall variability. Forty‐three percent of the African cropland lacks these opportunities at present which may hamper the ability of agricultural systems to respond to climate change. While sustainable intensification practices that increase yields have received most attention to date, our study suggests that a shift in the research and policy paradigm toward agricultural diversification options may be necessary.     

Wild Foods: Safety Net or Poverty Trap? A South African Case Study

Wild foods contribute towards the food security of an estimated one billion people. In light of expectations of the contribution of wild foods to sustainable and climate-resilient livelihoods and widespread evidence of their consumption, their contribution to households’ diets requires a more nuanced understanding, specifically with respect to their safety net function during food shortages. Data were collected from two villages in Venda, South Africa, selected due to differences in mean annual precipitation. Semi-structured interviews were administered to 170 households and a Participatory Rural Appraisal was conducted to assess the influence of multiple variables, including household characteristics and site, on wild food use. Household archetypes were defined based on the frequency of consumption in response to increasing food scarcity. Our findings suggest limitations to the safety net function of wild foods including seasonal fluctuations in availability and decreased availability during extreme events, with dependent households decreasing their consumption frequency in response to food scarcity. Given this potential poverty trap, further research is required, particularly in terms of when the safety net function of wild foods may be weak or detrimental to the livelihoods of the vulnerable.     

Interrelations between mangrove ecosystem,local economy and social sustainability in Caeté Estuary,North Brazil

Various types of subsistence and commercialextraction of mangrove products areidentified on the North Braziliancoast. Of 2500 households in 21 ruralcommunities (about 13.000 people) near theCaeté estuary, 83% derive subsistenceincome, and 68% cash income through use ofmangrove resources. The mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus) is collected and sold by42% of households, and constitutes a mainincome source for 38%. Includingprocessing and trading occupations, overhalf of the investigated population dependon the mangrove crab for financialincome. Mangrove fishery occupies the lowerrural income groups in the fisheriessector. About 30% of householdsengage in commercial fishing in or near themangrove. Illegal commercial andsubsistence use of mangrove wood and barkmaintains a considerable number of ruralhouseholds. In the context ofwidespread rural poverty in coastal NorthBrazil, it is important for mangrovemanagement to take into account subsistenceproduction, which has a centralsocio-economic function for the rural poorwho live close to the mangroves.Socio-economic priorities in mangrovevillages were, in order of importance,educational quality, occupational options,medical care, the low level of mangroveproduct prices, access to electricity andlocal leadership quality.