Livelihoods and natural resource use along the rural-urban continuum
- Authors: Ward, Catherine Dale
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Natural resources -- South Africa , Human ecology -- South Africa , Cities and towns -- Growth -- South Africa , Natural resources -- Management -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Urban poor -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4727 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001669 , Natural resources -- South Africa , Human ecology -- South Africa , Cities and towns -- Growth -- South Africa , Natural resources -- Management -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Urban poor -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Description: Over the last century, developing countries have undergone rapid urbanisation resulting in marked social, economic and environmental changes. Africa is the least urbanised continent in the world but trends indicate that it is also the most rapidly urbanising region, accompanied by rising urban poverty. Urbanisation processes are often most pronounced in smaller urban centres since they experience the most severe pressures of population growth. Little is known about the role natural resources play along the rural-urban continuum and even less is known about the contribution of these resources within an urban context, particularly in small urban centres. In many sub-Saharan African cities, urban agriculture (the informal production of food in urban areas) has been used as a strategy to cope with increasing poverty levels but its role remains widely debated and uncertain. This thesis seeks to analyse the impacts of urbanisation on livelihoods and natural resource use, including home gardening and the collection of wild resources, in two South African towns and data was collected along the rural-urban continuum in Queenstown (Eastern Cape province) and Phalaborwa (Limpopo Province). Practices and contributions associated with agriculture and wild resource use were found to be significantly higher in Phalaborwa and this could be attributed to favourable environmental conditions and accessibility to wild resources due to the surrounding Mopani Bushveld. Rural households in Queenstown and Phalaborwa were more reliant on natural resources than their urban counterparts, but still diverse and incorporated a number of land-based and cash income generating strategies. Urban households tended to rely on one primary cash income strategy such as wage employment or state grants. However, natural resources did appear to play a subtle role in urban settings and particularly in the townships, where exclusion of natural resource contributions saw poverty levels increase up to 5%. Home gardening was practised by a wide range of people and not restricted to any one income group and, not surprisingly, wealthy cultivators who had access to resources such as land, water and fertilizer enjoyed increased benefits such as high produce yields. The results obtained suggest that rural-urban dynamics are complex and natural resource use in local livelihoods is contextualised within environmental settings, social preferences and historical contexts. Increasing pressures from the influx of people into small urban centres calls for a better understanding to how these processes are affecting livelihoods and natural resources to ensure sustainable management in the future.
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Natural resource harvesting and disturbance in communal lands: assessing the roles of local ecological knowledge, dependency and market access
- Authors: Steele, Melita Zoë
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Non-timber forest products -- South Africa , Natural resources -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Rural development -- South Africa , Forests and forestry -- South Africa , Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa , Commons -- South Africa , Forest ecology -- South Africa , Harvesting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4736 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004604 , Non-timber forest products -- South Africa , Natural resources -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , Rural development -- South Africa , Forests and forestry -- South Africa , Households -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa , Commons -- South Africa , Forest ecology -- South Africa , 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.
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Socio-economic processes in the rural areas of Region E
- Authors: May, Julian
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa , Income distribution -- South Africa , Household surveys -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa , South Africa -- Rural conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/75421 , vital:30416
- Description: The social conditions in the rural areas of South Africa are by now widely known and numerous researchers have documented the poverty stricken quality of life which generally prevails amongst black families in these areas (Wilson and Ramphele, 1989). The vast majority of rural households have incomes which are below subsistence levels and in the Homelands, agricultural productive ability has become so eroded that rural household income is now chiefly derived from remittances from migrants in the towns or from the wages of farm labourers (Nattrass and May, 1986). As such, at present the majority of black rural households living in Region E make up consumer communities which must purchase the majority of their subsistence needs, rather than producer communities in which subsistence needs can be met from the utilisation of local resources (Derman and Poultney, 1983). Despite this unpromising situation, the diminishing importance of agricultural production to the South African national economy (Bethlehem, 1989), and the dominance of urbanisation as a social force, it can be argued that the rural areas of Region E will be directly and substantially affected by efforts to restructure the South African economy as a whole. Consequently, revitalising the rural economy in a restructured social and economic system would be a concern in itself, even though the effect of this for a future growth path for South Africa may be uncertain (Kaplinsky, 1991:54). The report will first examine the broad demographic changes in Region E noting the impact of these changes on the rural areas. Thereafter, the economic processes which characterise the rural areas will be discussed, in particular, employment, income levels and income distribution. This will feed into a discussion of the social processes which will include changing dynamics of migration, and a socio-economic profile of rural households. The paper concludes by briefly examining access and usage of basic services and facilities in the rural parts of Region E.
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