OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Wynberg, Rachel"

Browsing by Author "Wynberg, Rachel"

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Open Access
Analysing the relationship between seed security and food security: the case of Chimanimani district, Zimbabwe
(2021) Ncube, Bulisani Lloyd; Wynberg, Rachel; McGuire, Shawn
Many smallholder farmers in southern Africa rely on crop production as their main livelihood source. However, they often suffer from a lack of appropriate seed as well as high levels of food insecurity. Interventions such as community seed production, seed aid, and input subsidies are used to address these concerns. However, the relationship between seed security and food security has been understudied. This study thus aimed to explore the factors that have an impact on the relationship between seed security and food security. This was done to enhance understanding about the conceptual linkages between the dimensions of seed security, which include availability, access, and utilisation, and those of household-level food security, which include dietary diversity and food consumption. The case study was conducted across two sites in Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe. Methods included both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Quantitative data were subjected to statistical analyses while qualitative data were analysed for themes and trends. Results showed the dominant role of informal seed systems in ensuring improved access to affordable and timely seed to smallholder farmers. Informal seed sources were more reliable than formal sources in ensuring that seed was available on time and in closer proximity to households. Seeds sourced informally also showed comparable quality to that from formal sources. The relationship between seed security and food security was shown to be complex and contextual rather than direct or one-directional. Seed security does not necessarily equate to food security, nor does seed insecurity necessarily lead to food insecurity. Although timeliness and proximity of seed affect its availability, these did not directly relate to access to food. Similarly, household assets and income correlated with better food security status, but did not always ensure access to seed. This is because farmers' seed sources were predicated on non-financial factors such as social relations. The quality of farmers' seed was essential in ensuring that adequate food was produced. The thesis argues that the combined factors of seed availability, access and utilisation are essential in ensuring better crop productivity and improved food access. Findings underscore the manner in which household determinants such as assets, farming practices and geographical characteristics, as well as broader contextual factors, affect and influence the relationship between seed and food security. These results imply that interventions such as community seed production, seed aid, and input subsidies do not automatically result in improved seed security and therefore food security. Efforts to enhance seed and food security should be informed by specific household characteristics that take account of wider contextual factors such as climate, as well as socioeconomic and political processes that have a historical influence as well as a continuously evolving effect on farmers' seed and food security.
Open Access
Benefit sharing and environmental sustainability in policy and practice: the commercialisation of the resurrection bush (Myrothamnus flabellifolius) in Southern Africa
(2019) Nott, Michelle; Wynberg, Rachel
The trade of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), also known as biotrade, has existed for hundreds of years - as has the traditional knowledge associated with such products. More recently, this form of trade has advanced to include genetic resource components found within natural resources (bioprospecting). International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol came into force in 1993 and 2010 respectively, to ensure that biological diversity is conserved, sustainably utilised, and that the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge are shared in an equitable manner. In practice, however, there is a lack of evidence to suggest whether the provisions of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol are being adequately implemented and achieved. This research focuses on the commercialisation of the resurrection bush (Myrothamnus flabellifolius) in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa and critically evaluates how the requirements of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol are applied. The resurrection bush spans a number of countries and has been used traditionally by a variety of ethnic communities residing in Africa. Traditional medicinal uses for the resurrection bush include using the plant to treat colds and flu, scurvy, coughs, abdominal pain, epilepsy, and asthma. This study aims to uncover and understand the way in which benefit sharing and environmental sustainability are interpreted and implemented in various resurrection bush commercialisation approaches. Six objectives are articulated to achieve this aim: (1) to review the historical use and traditional knowledge associated with the resurrection bush; (2) to describe the different ways the resurrection bush is commercialised and the different processes each commercialisation strategy follows; (3) to describe the actors involved in the different resurrection bush commercialisation strategies and their roles in the commercialisation process; (4) to explore, within each commercialisation strategy, how commercial actors gain access to resources; (5) to describe and analyse the range of benefits derived from each commercialisation approach; and (6) to assess the policy implications and practical applications of current resurrection bush commercialisation approaches. This research adopted a qualitative case study methodological approach, in which 26 key informant interviews and 137 semi-structured harvester interviews were conducted in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The key informants consisted of private companies, NGOs, and government officials across all three countries. Interviews with these informants were carried out to determine the diversity of commercialisation approaches associated with the resurrection bush, the actors involved, the ways in which commercial entities gain access to resources, how benefits are shared, and what measures are put in place for environmental sustainability. Further interviews were conducted with resurrection bush collectors in Namibia and Zimbabwe to review the historical and traditional uses associated with the resurrection bush. Understanding these uses provides insight into the types of agreements developed for its commercialisation and associated environmental, social and economic benefits. It was found that there are three commercialisation approaches associated with the resurrection bush across Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are: (1) Informal trade, where harvesters sell raw material directly to consumers based on informal, verbal agreements; (2) Biotrade, where the value chain is longer and consists of more formal agreements; and (3) Bioprospecting, where research and development of the resurrection bush is a strong component, involving negotiations with harvesters and formal written agreements. Several key findings emerged to inform current and future commercialisation approaches. The inadequate implementation of regulatory frameworks within each commercialisation approach has negatively impacted harvesters and overall economic growth. Harvesters are not receiving maximum benefits from commercialisation due to elite capture of benefits from resurrection bush cultivation sites and significant profit margins on end products. Traditional knowledge holders are not adequately compensated and acknowledged for their innovations and practices due to the absence of sufficient historical records of traditional knowledge, and cooperation between countries and communities who share resources which are commonly used. Long-term conservation efforts associated with the resurrection bush are lacking in all commercialisation approaches due the belief that because there is an abundance of the resource in the wild, additional conservation measures are not needed.
Open Access
The contribution of the trade in Pelargonium sidoides to rural livelihoods in South Africa and Lesotho
(2009) van Niekerk, MJ; Wynberg, Rachel
Open Access
Crossing over : interactive video as a tool to enable the increased participation of illiterate and semi-literate communities in environmental management
(1995) Spitz, Andrea; Wynberg, Rachel
This dissertation has four main aims: 1. To assess whether multi-media (particularly interactive video) can be used in illiterate and semi-literate communities as a tool for both increased environmental awareness and increased participation in various stages of the development process. 2. To assess whether interactive video as an approach in itself facilitates empowerment of target communities. 3. To create a visual communication experience which combines the rigours of academic research with the practical application of academic theories in the field. 4. To foster a sensitivity in the "reader" towards access to information.
Open Access
Digging deeper for benefits: rural local governance and the livelihood and sustainability outcomes of devils claw (Harpagophytum spp.) harvesting in the Zambezi Region, Namibia
(2019) Lavelle, Jessica-Jane; Wynberg, Rachel
Natural resource governance in Africa is characterised by increased commercialisation of natural resources, the promotion of community-based natural resource management, and a re-appropriation of traditional authorities and customary law as evidenced by their inclusion in statutory frameworks. Yet, knowledge of the interaction and effect of these multiple governance arrangements on local communities is limited. Using the lens of devil’s claw (Harpagophytum spp.), a commercial non-timber forest product, this research examines the interface between statutory, traditional and comanagement governance systems; the broader historical and political-economic contexts that shape governance systems; livelihood and sustainability outcomes at the local level; and the role of power in determining environmental, social and economic outcomes. The research adopted a case study method with three study sites selected in the Zambezi Region, Namibia – Balyerwa Conservancy, Lubuta Community Forest and Sachinga. All rural communal areas, selection was based on their distinct governance arrangements, including a range of traditional and co-management institutions, development interventions and statutory regulation. Qualitative methods were used and included questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, participant observation and documentary evidence. An institutional mode of analysis and a political ecology approach were applied. Theoretical perspectives to inform the research were drawn from discourses on governance, institutions, political ecology, power and access. The novelty in using a political ecology approach to develop adaptive governance theory was to move beyond understandings of the conscious mechanisms of institutions embodied in their structure, to a more nuanced understanding of socially-embedded institutions and the unconscious mechanisms that also determine social and environmental outcomes. The empirical knowledge gained from this research shows that both structural and socially-embedded institutional constraints are hindering the objectives of non-timber forest product governance. The results of this research affirm that governance is hybridising and that dichotomised descriptions of governance as customary or statutory, self-organising or hierarchical, do not capture the complexity of these evolving fusions of governance at the local level. Where a multiplicity of institutions existed at the local level, the role of the State was diminished and where co-management was in place, communities benefited from non-governmental organisation support which enabled greater benefits for harvesters and more sustainable practices. However, power was not restructured under such arrangements and differentials in access, knowledge, decision-making and benefits remained. Where co-management was not in place, harvesters were not supported in their harvesting activities and were most vulnerable to exploitation by traditional leaders and buyers. This exacerbated competition over the resource and unsustainable harvesting was more prevalent. Devil’s claw was used as a traditional medicine by some members of these communities but did not hold significant socio-cultural value. Customary systems of management for devil’s claw were therefore weak or absent and oversight of the resource was perceived to be the jurisdiction of the State. Statutory regulation of devil’s claw was however found to be ineffective; when in place, the State perceived the co-management institutions to be responsible for monitoring and evaluation. The implementation of quotas, traceability and better pricing from exporters exerted a greater influence than regulation in promoting sustainability. In the absence of non-governmental support and exporters adhering to quotas, unsustainable harvesting prevailed. A central finding is that alteration, the bending or breaking of rules by local communities, is a strategy to cope with economic precariousness that is inflicted by broader political-economic conditions. This affirms the need for an alternative economic logic to be examined that incorporates non-timber forest products into diverse agroforestry production systems that stimulate markets within rather than external to localities and draws on existing cultural practices and preferences to shape landscapes and economies in more holistic, equitable ways. The research concludes that benefits for harvesters and the sustainability of devil’s claw are currently hindered by institutional complexity, overlapping mandates, insufficient value of the resource at the local level and a failure to instil harvester autonomy. To address these structural and sociallyembedded institutional constraints severalrecommendations are made. First, to shift co-management from decentralisation to bottom-up democratisation by devolving authority, not just responsibility, to the resource users themselves. By enabling the freedom to experiment, socially-embedded institutional constraints such as dominant narratives of ‘traditional’ and ‘uneducated’ that perpetuate unproductivity and disincentivise learning can be reframed. Second, to remove unnecessary and inefficient bureaucratic layers through re-evaluating the social scale at which natural resource management would work best and scale-up in responsibility as required to match ecological and functional scale. This would diffuse the decision-making power of the traditional authorities and the ineffectiveness of the State in communal areas whilst maintaining a role for these institutions. Lastly, to enhance market transparency to promote the mutually beneficial and regulating role between harvesters and exporters, and to emphasise the commercialisation of non-timber forest products with socio-cultural value, robust customary systems of management and local markets. The objective is not to eliminate statutory governance in favour of customary governance, nor to denounce traditional authorities in favour of co-management institutions, but to democratise power in brokering new invited spaces of modern rural governance. This study contributes to governance theory by conceptualising a framework that addresses the structural and socially-embedded institutional constraints hindering adaptive governance of NTFPs and which offers an operational solution to balance power in a bottom-up process of democratisation where legal pluralism is prevalent.
Open Access
Do smallholder farmer-led seed systems have the capacity to supply good-quality, fungal-free sorghum seed?
(BioMed Central, 2017-12-01) Kusena, Kudzai; Wynberg, Rachel; Mujaju, Claid
Local seed systems that are developed, managed and maintained by farmers are a fundamental practice in smallholder crop production, supporting more than 80% of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and feeding more than 70% of its population. The resilience of such systems is under threat from poverty, climate change, drought, increased pests and diseases, over-promotion of modern crop varieties, change of lifestyles and restrictive seed policies. The system continues to be maligned as having inferior quality, yet few studies support this assertion. This study aims to fll this research gap by evaluating 60 sorghum seed samples collected from smallholder farmers in Uzumba-MarambaPfungwe and Chimanimani districts of Zimbabwe. We investigated the efect of farmer-led seed management practices (e.g. seed acquisition and seed storage practices) on farm-derived sorghum seed quality (moisture, germination and fungal incidences). We found farmers using diverse seed sources and seed storage practices. Seeds were typically of good quality in that their storage moisture content was low, their germination was high, and fungal incidences were low. Seed sourced from local markets, non-governmental organizations and other farmers had germination and moisture standards that met the sorghum certifcation standards in Zimbabwe. However, few samples obtained from the relatives and government failed to meet the germination and/or moisture certifcation standards. We detected low incidences of fungi (Aspergillus favus, Aspergillus niger, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium sp. and Penicillium sp.) in sorghum seed samples tested and in particular Fusarium sp., which is the most economic important fungus in sorghum production. We conclude that farmer-led seed systems have the capacity to supply seeds of good quality and recommend that such systems should be recognized and promoted to meet the ever-evolving needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Open Access
The ecological effects of collecting Callianassa kraussi Stebbing and Upogebia africana (Ortmann) for bait : impacts on the biota of an intertidal sandflat
(1991) Wynberg, Rachel
The ecological effects of collecting the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi and the mudprawn Upogebia africana for bait were assessed at Langebaan Lagoon, South Africa, through surveys, observations and long-term experimental analyses. While only a small proportion of the prawns is removed from the lagoon annually, amounting to no more than 0.01 for the total lagoon, the physical disturbance inflicted by collecting is likely to be more detrimental and longer-lived than the actual removal of the prawns. Bait-collecting activities are concentrated on the centre sandbanks where some 400 000 prawns are removed annually - less than 5 of the total prawn population on these sandbanks. In terms of numbers removed, bait-collecting is thus no threat to the prawn populations at Langebaan Lagoon although there are signs that sandprawn densities and modal body sizes have been reduced in areas of intense bait-collecting activities. Massive quantities of sediment are disturbed through bait-collecting activities and this, inadvertently, results in the disturbance of other components of the biota. It is estimated that approximately 543 g of macrofauna are disturbed with each bag limit of prawns (50) removed, amounting to approximately 10 000 kg of macrofauna being disturbed annually. While the fate of this macrofauna is not completely determined, approximately 80 is subsequently preyed upon by scavenging gulls. The long-term effects of high-intensity disturbance on the biota of a sandflat were assessed through simulated bait-collecting activities, viz "digging" and "sucking" for C. kraussi and U. africana. The recovery of both C. kraussi and U. africana was far more protracted than predicted - probably being completed only 18 months after the initial disturbance. Meiofaunal and macrofaunal numbers decreased immediately following the initial disturbance.
Open Access
The effectiveness of access and benefit-sharing legislation in South Africa: practical considerations for national regimes
(2012) Lowman, Michael; Wynberg, Rachel
The Convention on Biological Diversity provides an international regulatory framework for countries to develop their own access and benefit-sharing (ABS) legislation. This international convention governs the utilization of a country's genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. Due to increased capabilities and demand from industry for these resources, a market is created over which ABS legislation is to govern. This is based on the realization of the objectives of the convention that provide for state sovereignty over a country's indigenous biological resources. This dissertation presents the results from an evaluation of ABS legislation and its implementation within South Africa. Key objectives are to analyze the implementation of regulations and procedures governing access to indigenous biological resources and traditional knowledge, and associated institutional arrangements.
Open Access
The effects of urbanisation on non-timber forest product dependencies : a case study of three settlements in the Chobe district of northern Botswana
(2015) Joos-Vandewalle, Stephanie; Wynberg, Rachel
The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of urbanisation on the use of, and access to, NTFPs in three settlements in the Chobe District of northern Botswana. Specific objectives were to determine the extent of NTFP use occurring in these areas; the purposes of use; the factors that influence use and access in the rural/urban context, particularly government rules and regulations; and implications for future NTFP use in this region. Research was conducted in three settlements: Kasane, Kazungula and Lesoma. Kasane is an urban town, Kazungula is less urbanised and Lesoma is a rural village. All areas are surrounded by state-owned Forest Reserves and the Chobe National Park. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods including household interviews (30 in Kasane, 30 in Kazungula and 25 in Lesoma), four key informant interviews, two focus groups with youth and the collection of other grey literature relating to government harvest permits and market data. Households in all three areas used NTFPs despite the different rural and urban contexts in which they exist. Kasane and Kazungula showed a less diverse range of resource use, with fuelwood and wild foods the most commonly used resources in all three areas. These resources were used mainly for subsistence purposes. Harvest locations varied but were most commonly in and around the settlements themselves. Households in Kasane and Kazungula expressed the desire to use fewer resources in the future, mainly for conservation reasons, while those in Lesoma wished to use more. The government rules and regulations, particularly the DFRR permit system, were found to restrict resource access. Despite this, households in the more urban areas felt that the laws were necessary while those households in Lesoma thought that the laws conflicted with community livelihood needs. The majority of respondents believed conservation management to be a barrier to resource access as the presence of wild animals and anti- poaching units in the harvesting areas compromised safety. The general absence of resource commercialisation and market opportunities in the settlements, especially the urban towns of Kasane and Kazungula, were other commonly cited barriers to resource access. The perceived degradation of traditional practices due to modernity and urbanisation was evident for most households in all three areas but the actual loss of indigenous knowledge was most apparent in the urban areas. Wider implications for this case study are the application of the findings to further research into the impacts of urbanisation. This study can add to the literature around the implementation of improved urban development strategies, including the reliance on NTFPs and declines in cultural and environmental degradation. Recommendations provided in this study include further investigations into resource use; the application of resource co-management; improved market infrastructure and the implementation of ecotourism and local craft-making projects.
Open Access
Environmental and social dimensions of fuel ethanol production in Cradock, South Africa, in the context of the wider biofuels debate
(2013) Nasterlack, Tobias; Wynberg, Rachel; Von Blottnitz, Harro
Liquid biofuels are fossil fuel replacements in the form of fuel ethanol and biodiesel. Advocates of biofuels highlight their potential to mitigate climate change from reduced greenhouse gas emissions and socio-economic benefits for countries that achieve a higher degree of self-reliant energy supply. Critics emphasise social drawbacks from biofuel production and suggest that crop-based biofuels could jeopardise food security. The cultivation of biofuel feedstock has furthermore been reported to promote agricultural expansion and thus pose threats to biodiversity. Intense agricultural practices, coupled with land transformation, have also led to question as to whether or not biofuels reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuels. The South African government established a biofuels strategy in 2007. Besides having declared self-imposed renewable fuel targets, the policy paper encourages the participation of black people in this emerging industry. The proposed fuel ethanol plant in Cradock, Eastern Cape, is likely to be the first operational bioethanol project in the country. As one of the first biofuels-related Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programmes, 25 Cradock farms have already been purchased and allocated to black emerging farmers. The intention of this initiative is to enable part of the ethanol plant feedstock to be produced by these emerging farmers. The present dissertation aims to determine the magnitude and relevance of concerns highlighted in the global biofuels debate for fuel ethanol production at the proposed Cradock plant. This incorporates environmental impacts from agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions during the biofuel production chain, food security impacts, and the performance of socially equitable development. A total of 44 face-to-face interviews were held, comprising 22 commercial farmers, 12 emerging farmers, and representatives from the governmental, commercial and research sectors. The interviewees were questioned on the various socioeconomic, environmental and agricultural aspects of the Cradock fuel ethanol project. The inputs of the interviewees were complemented with descriptive statistics on food production, fertiliser and water use, biome maps and a life-cycle assessment of the carbon footprint of the biofuel that will be produced in Cradock.
Open Access
Exploring the Earth Summit : findings of the Rio United Nations Conference on Environment and Development : implications for South Africa
(1993) Wynberg, Rachel; Fuggle, Richard
In a collective bid to safeguard the Earth, almost 50 000 people gathered in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 for what has been described as the inception of the "Environmental Revolution. " Among them were 103 heads of state, 9 000 journalists, a range of governmental delegations and non-governmental organisations, indigenous peoples, women's groups, youth and children, trade unions, business and industry, academics, religious groups and concerned individuals.
Open Access
"Golden forests" of the sea: assessing values and perceptions of kelp in the Western Cape region of South Africa
(2022) Mehta, Akshata; Wynberg, Rachel; Smith, Aj
Kelp are large seaweeds that provide a variety of contributions to humans and the environment. In South Africa, kelps forests are expanding as a consequence of climate change. In light of this expansion, assessing perceptions and values around kelp may contribute to the implementation of successful marine resource management initiatives. The lack of consideration of non-market values is a gap in kelp valuation studies with kelp ecosystems and their use rarely valued outside of classical economic valuation frameworks. This study aims to fill this research gap, with the intention to elicit perceptions about other value dimensions related to kelp. The study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of value of three groups of actors' (Recreational Users and/or Coastal Community Members, Environmental Managers and Conservationists, and Kelp and/or Abalone Industry Actors) towards kelp in the Western Cape region of South Africa. This is done using the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services' (IPBES) conceptual framework, that considers: (i) kelp as a facet of nature, and (ii) kelp's contributions to people as foci of value that contribute to quality of life. The results of the study indicate that the perceived value of kelp extends far beyond its economic value as a harvested resource. Rather, actors highly value kelp's ecological and social contributions, and have strong relational values towards kelp, recognizing its role in enhancing their quality of life and well-being. Areas of dissonances in valuing kelp's contributions — such as differences in perceptions around kelp's ability to increase one's safety from extreme natural events, or its importance as a source of food and feed for domestic animals — are attributed to individuals' held values as well as their socio-demographic characteristics and situational contexts. While actors did not display significant negative perceptions around kelp, Kelp and/or Abalone Industry Actors indicated frustrations with kelp management strategies and kelp concession permit allocation processes. In turn, 27% of Kelp and/or Abalone Industry Actors perceived inequality in the kelp sector, contributing to a reduction in their appreciation of kelp. The dissertation makes a case for integrated marine resource management solutions aimed towards just and sustainable futures through the recognition of the plurality and complexity of values around kelp. A critique of the IPBES conceptual framework as a methodology is also included, suggesting that its utility is dependent on the objectives of its application. It is recommended that NCP should be considered within the context of governance and access dimensions to elicit a holistic view on assigned values and perceptions towards nature.
Open Access
Governance, informality and agency in the making of cross-border mopane worm livelihoods in Southern Africa
(2022) Sekonya, James George; Wynberg, Rachel; Matose, Frank
The utilisation of wild products is a mainstay of household livelihoods for millions of forest and rural dwellers worldwide. While many are used for subsistence purposes, some wild products are also exploited commercially. Commercialisation has often coincided with state-led conservation strategies that have brought previously unregulated resources under state regulation. Mopane worms are a caterpillar phase of the Imbrasia belina moth, used as a household food source and, increasingly, part of a lucrative cross-border trade in southern Africa. Across Botswana and South Africa, the statutory regulation of these resources is overlaid upon customary forms of governance that continue to regulate resource access and use. The effectiveness of such interactions is important for the success or failure of different governance arrangements and resource-based livelihoods. Using the cross-border trade of mopane worms as a lens, this research examines the ways in which actors navigate different governance systems, including the complexities of informal trade. In doing so, the research aims to improve understanding of the implications of the interplay between different governance arrangements and informality and their influence in configuring access to resources and cross-border markets. A key finding is that the inadvertent consequence of integrating multiple forms of governance and resultant interactions has led to the emergence of constraints that impact resource users across the cross-border trade chain. Interactions between statutory and customary governance systems have, in turn, led to the emergence of informality as an adaptive strategy across the trade. The study demonstrates that the informal and cross-border nature of mopane worm trade compels actors to use their agency to adopt multiple strategies to navigate complex governance arrangements. This in turn results in an uneven distribution of constraints and opportunities across the trade chain. Power imbalances shape diverse and complex forms of social relations, affect access to resources and markets, and marginalise destitute actors. Fragmented governance arrangements benefit actors with privileged access to market information, knowledge, capital, and resources, enabling them to navigate the constraints and incompatibilities that characterise informal cross-border trade. The study underscores the need to streamline statutory, customary, and informal governance approaches particularly as the three systems are not separate but dynamic, and to pursue an unambiguous, pro-poor agenda, focused on safeguarding informal, resource-based livelihoods and the sustainable use of mopane worms.
Open Access
Impacts of commercialising Commiphora wildii in two conservancies in North Western Namibia
(2014) Galloway, Fiona Bonnie; Wynberg, Rachel; Nott, Karen
The role that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play in the lives of rural people is increasingly acknowledged. Commercialising these products is seen as a strategy to alleviate poverty in developing countries. In this study one such product is explored, namely an essential oil derived from the Namibian plant Commiphora wildii (C. wildii). This NTFP is valued for its scent and is used in the manufacturing of perfumes. The resin is harvested by the Himba indigenous group in north western Namibia. The harvesters who took part in this study reside in the Puros and Orupembe registered conservancies and community forests, which are part of the Namibian government’s community based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme. Commiphora wildii is used traditionally by the Himba as a perfume in a daily beauty ritual. The aim of this research is to determine the impacts of commercialising C. wildii on the communities in the two conservancies. This study 1) examines the process of commercialisation 2) analyses the impacts on the harvesters in terms of changes in culture, economic impacts, social benefits and problems that have arisen and 3) To provide recommendations to the options that could be considered to mitigate negative impacts.
Open Access
Implementing conservation in the Cederberg: the role of the buchu (Agathosma betulina) sector
(2023) Baard, Cynthia; Wynberg, Rachel
Through the early 2000s, the expanded popularity of the fynbos buchu shrubs (Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata) for its use in medicinal products and as an essential oil drove demand to a point where wild stocks of the species became threatened by poor management practices and over-harvesting. In response, cultivation was encouraged to augment species supplies. The impact the continued expansion of commercialisation has had on the species and its wider landscape, however, remains unknown. As a member of the fynbos family of plants, buchu is an aromatic shrub endemic to the biodiversity-rich Cape Floristic Region (CFR) found predominantly in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the role actors within the buchu sector economy play in either mitigating or exacerbating threats to buchu and surrounding vegetation. Further, the study looked to determine if the activities associated with wild buchu harvesting and the expansion of monoculture buchu plantations threaten biodiversity and the interconnectedness of species within the greater fynbos habitat. To meet this aim, the study utilised a qualitative methods approach and involved semi-structured interviews with buchu producers, users, and processors across the Cederberg Municipality and with regulators operating across the Western Cape Province. The research found that the regulations and laws applying to the South African context are well positioned to effectively protect indigenous plants such as buchu, while monitoring and implementation remains challenging due to landscape and resource constraints. All buchu value chain participants provided a general understanding and accurate interpretation of the concepts of biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, participants acknowledged that the protection of biodiversity was essential to sustaining the operations and functioning of the industry itself. All domestic participants expressed a personal connection to buchu as a species and a protectionist attitude towards its existence across both the wild and cultivated environments. Value chain participants involved in farming, wild harvesting, and processing saw themselves as contributors to conservation efforts aimed at protecting the species and mitigating threats, while those further afield believed conservation should be prioritised and implemented by national or provincial management authorities. The study concludes that due to many steps of the value chain occurring within the immediate environment where the plant grows, those involved in commercialisation of the species are well positioned to become active participants in a cross-disciplinary approach to conservation implementation and biodiversity management efforts at local and regional levels and could be recommended to advise on management priorities affecting buchu and the associated landscapes as key informants, as well as to assist authorities with the implementation of associated activities.
Open Access
Integrating conservation and development : community participation in ecotourism projects : an investigation into community participation in ecotourism development projects in order to ensure the integration of protected area conservation and rural development, with particular reference to a case study at Cathedral Peak in the Natal Drakensberg Park
(1995) Theron, Izak Petrus; Hill, Richard; Wynberg, Rachel
This study arises out of a proposal of the Natal Parks Board (NPB) to develop a 200 bed hutted camp at Cathedral Peak in the Natal Drakensberg. In line with the NPB's stated commitment to the principles of Integrated Environmental Management (IEM), a multidisciplinary group, comprising five students from the Masters programme of the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences of the University of Cape Town, was commissioned to conduct a Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA) on the proposed development. The author was one of the members of this study team, hereafter referred to as the Masters Group, which conducted the PEIA at Cathedral Peak under the supervision of the Environmental Evaluation Unit of the University of Cape Town.
Open Access
The landscape pattern surrounding the Venda sacred site of Thathe Forest
(2012) Israel, Adina; Wynberg, Rachel
Natural sacred sites are areas protected by traditional groups as a point of connection to the land. They are also acknowledged for their disproportionate biodiversity contribution. These natural remnant patches have, however, recently come under threat from surrounding anthropogenic land-uses. This study aims to establish the spatial landscape pattern and associated land-uses surrounding the Venda sacred site of Thathe Forest in north-eastern Limpopo, South Africa, while investigating links to landscape governance. A terrain analysis of the study area is conducted using the thematic layers of geology and soils, gradient, aspect, and hydrology. This analysis is contrasted with a land-cover classification of the study area, further linking results to land-use decision-making.
Open Access
On farms and in laboratories: maize seed technologies and the unravelling of relational agroecological knowledge in South Africa
(2021) Marshak, Maya; Wynberg, Rachel; Wickson, Fern
When Europeans settled in South Africa in the 17th century, maize was already being grown as part of diverse and traditional cropping systems. Over centuries maize has become embedded in a web of social, ecological, economic and political relations. Since the 1900s the development of maize seed has increasingly shifted location as scientific maize breeding has come to dominate its production. In this time maize seed has changed form, from open pollinated varieties (OPVs) to hybrid seed, and most recently to genetically modified (GM) seed. While the progression of seed developments alongside their co-technologies such as pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides has greatly boosted yields, the development of maize has become increasingly generic and disconnected from the specificities of local agroecosystems. Like all technologies, maize seed technologies are not neutral but are rather deeply entangled in the history and politics of knowledge production. Commercial technologies such as hybrid and GM seeds are products of a particular lineage of thought rooted in the post-enlightenment age of modernist, dualist science. This has resulted in a conceptual dualism in which humans are seen as separate from nature. Studies on the impacts of new seed technologies have tended to replicate this dualism, focusing either on social or ecological aspects. Few investigate the effects on relationships between humans and agro-ecosystems. This thesis aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring the effects of the technification of maize seed on knowledge and practices within two sites of agricultural knowledge generation and practice in South Africa: smallholder maize agriculture and maize research and development. These offer two unique sites of knowledge creation and practice, and historically have had a turbulent relationship, rooted in colonialism and apartheid histories. Through exploring human-agroecosystem interactions, the research hopes to contribute to a broadened understanding about the impacts of maize seed technification and implications for agricultural knowledge generation and sustainability. Drawing conceptually and methodologically on posthumanist theory, this thesis investigates the changing nature of social-ecological relationships of and between smallholder farmers and scientists and the agro-ecological systems in which they work. Building on the concept of agricultural deskilling, it argues that modern seed technologies have contributed to ecological deskilling both on smallholder farms and within research and development, as seed technologies become increasingly disconnected from the environments in which they are used. 2 Increasingly, however, there is renewed interest by both farmers and scientists in ecological-reskilling as new ‘silver bullet' seed technologies reveal many setbacks. The thesis concludes that in order to rebuild displaced ecological knowledge an ontological shift is needed to move beyond dualist science-based approaches to farming and research, towards those that learn from relational ways of knowing. Approaches should be embraced that acknowledge the relational knowledge of smallholder farmers that has been displaced and devalued for centuries and that builds this relationality into research. This c could contribute to restoring cognitive justice and fostering more resilient agricultural futures.
Open Access
Rastas on the road to healing: plant-human mobilities in Cape Town, South Africa
(2014) Reid, Andrew M; Fuh, Divine; Wynberg, Rachel
Drawing on two months of deep ethnographic fieldwork consisting of informal conversations, recorded life history interviews, and participant observation, this dissertation employs a central theme of mobility to trace the processes through which individuals first come to engage with Rastafari and medicinal plants in Cape Town, South Africa, along with the movements through which they develop their knowledge and skill in relation to plant-medicines and healing. In doing so, the work develops an understanding of ganja (Cannabis sativa) as a catalytic link or connector between people, other medicinal plants, and transformation. Furthermore, plant-human assemblages are followed as they move across local and regional boundaries, with an examination of the implications these movements have for the health of people and ecosystems. On their transformational journeys, herbalists increase their plant knowledge, expand their secondary language capacity, learn to navigate multiple modes of transport, gain physical stamina and knowledge of the body, establish trade networks and build customer bases;; all of which contribute to the authority and healing abilities of an herbalist.
Open Access
The role of buchu cultivation (Agathosma betulina & Agathosma crenulata) cultivation in livelihoods and conservation
(2015) Muller, Claudette; Wynberg, Rachel
Increased management through domestication is the predicted, and often necessary, commercialisation outcome of a wild resource which is subject to a demanding market that promotes competition amongst producers and the depletion of wild stocks. This has been the case for commercial buchu (Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata), a historically wild collected plant which has been cultivated on a large-scale in selected areas of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Buchu is an endemic, aromatic shrub around which a lucrative industry spanning diverse and distant markets has developed. Alongside its medicinal properties, buchu is primarily valued for its essential oil which is exported for use in international flavour and fragrant industries. The aim of this study was to conduct an overview of the local buchu industry with a focus on how cultivation has impacted on the general trade, the different actors involved and the conservation of the plant. A shift in buchu production to large-scale, agricultural enterprises raises certain questions for the involvement of rural harvesters in the trade, especially with regard to their inclusion and the sharing of benefits arising from commercialisation. Accordingly, this research sought to identify the social and economic impacts of buchu cultivation while also exploring the environmental impacts associated with large-scale farming of the plant. The methods employed in this research were primarily qualitative, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors involved in the buchu trade, including harvesters, farmers, industry representatives and environmental authorities. The study revealed that while the harvesting of buchu is an important economic activity for harvester communities, the cultivation of buchu has played a limited role in local livelihoods with cultivation mainly being confined to large-scale, commercial operations in the hands of wealthy farmers and private processing companies. The findings of this research also shed light on the shortcomings of national access and benefit-sharing legislation which has failed to secure commercial benefits for the rural poor involved in the trade. From an environmental perspective, the cultivation of buchu has contributed to the conservation of the plant in the wild through offsetting harvesting pressures experienced by wild populations, but has also contributed to the destruction of naturally occurring vegetation.

Browsing by Author "Wynberg, Rachel"

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