Direct use values of secondary resources harvested from communal savannas in the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa

Abstract

This study reports on the direct use value of secondary resources harvested by rural communities in savanna region of South Africa. Data pertaining to the use, amount and direct use value of 11 secondary resources were presented individually, along with a final composite value. Only five resources (fuelwood, construction wood, edible fruits, edible herb, medicinal plants), individually accounted for more than 10 percent of the total value per hectare (USD 141), and together they represented over 94 percent of the total value per hectare. On a per household basis, only 3 of the 11 resources contributed 10 percent or more to the total direct use value (USD 386 used at home and USD 767 traded), and together contributed greater than 71 percent of the total direct use value per household. Two-thirds of the value per household was traded locally with other households or regionally, rather than consumed at home. The total value per hectare compared favourably with other land uses within the region, except for capital intensive enterprises. The returns to collecting and selling secondary resources were higher than those paid for local agricultural wage labour. The extraction rates of several of the secondary resources are probably sustainable but not for the more important ones such as fuelwood, construction wood and medicinal plants.