Original Research

Direct use values of selected vegetation resources in the Okavango delta wetland

G Mmopelwa, James Blignaut, Rashid Hassan
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 12, No 2 | a279 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v12i2.279 | © 2011 G Mmopelwa, James Blignaut, Rashid Hassan | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 22 August 2011 | Published: 22 August 2011

About the author(s)

G Mmopelwa, University of Pretoria, South Africa
James Blignaut, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Rashid Hassan, University of Pretoria

Full Text:

PDF (529KB)

Abstract

The economic benefits generated by wetlands and the costs associated with their degradation or loss are frequently overlooked. This often leads to decisions that stimulate wetland conversion and degradation.  An important step towards correcting this situation and countering this neglect is to establish the true values of a wetland’s ecosystem goods and services.  This study attempts to estimate the direct use values of native plants, such as palm leaves for basketry, grass for thatching, fuelwood, edible fruits and plant parts used by three villages adjacent to the Okavango Delta during the 2003 calendar year.  Other sources of ecosystem goods and services, such as fishing, floodplain farming and tourism, were not considered in this study.  The average annual value per household of these harvested resources is generally higher than that of similar resources found in other southern African wetlands, owing to higher consumption rates. The overall total direct use value of plant resources, including household income contributions “in kind”, was estimated at US$1 434 per household for 2003 (or US$43.41/ha). This value is almost equal to the average household financial income of US$1 416/year. The net present value of the overall benefit from the direct use of the vegetative resources is estimated at US$101.9 million. This clearly indicates the value of the use of natural resources and their contribution to livelihoods and quality of life.  This value is so significant that economic development planners ought to incorporate it into development planning. They should not conceive infrastructure development that would jeopardise the communities’ access to these natural resources without any well-developed mitigation strategy.


Keywords

No related keywords in the metadata.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 3826
Total article views: 3113

 

Crossref Citations

1. Natural resource use, income and dependence among San and Mier communities bordering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, southern Kalahari, South Africa
Gladman Thondhlana, Pål Vedeld, Sheona Shackleton
International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology  vol: 19  issue: 5  first page: 460  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1080/13504509.2012.708908