IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/enviro/v8y2020i3p1-11n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The socio-economic impacts of bush encroachment in Manthestad, Taung, South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Sebitloane Tshegofatso K.J.

    (Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa)

  • Coetzee Hendri

    (Office for Sustainability and Community Impact and Community Psychosocial Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa)

  • Kellner Klaus

    (Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa)

  • Malan Pieter

    (Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2745, South Africa)

Abstract

Bush encroachment involves a widespread increase in, and abundance of, woody vegetation in grassland and savanna biomes. This phenomenon has a direct impact on the socio-economic well-being of rural communities and affects livestock owners and those who utilise the land for various other purposes. This study set out to evaluate and gain an understanding of how livestock owners and land users in a typical rural village in South Africa’s North West Province perceive bush encroachment and the impact it has on the community’s ecosystem services. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used to document the perceptions of the participants regarding bush encroachment and bush control in an attempt to describe characteristics and to find answers to questions related to how local communities are affected by bush encroachment and the control thereof. The results show that encroachment has a significant impact on the socio-economic status of participants. Furthermore, it was found that the vast untapped knowledge of local livestock owners is vital to control bush encroachment, preserve the land for various types of usage and to conserve natural resources. Evaluating participants’ responses and perceptions also contributed significantly to gaining an understanding of how bush encroachment and the control thereof impact rural communities socio-economically. This led the contributors to conclude that raising awareness, actively engaging with the community, imparting skills and offering educational opportunities, creating jobs, merging biophysical activities and promoting active participation are key to the success of programmes aimed at bush control and the resultant improvement of ecosystem services.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebitloane Tshegofatso K.J. & Coetzee Hendri & Kellner Klaus & Malan Pieter, 2020. "The socio-economic impacts of bush encroachment in Manthestad, Taung, South Africa," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:1-11:n:1
    DOI: 10.2478/environ-2020-0013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/environ-2020-0013
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/environ-2020-0013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Turpie, J.K. & Forsythe, K.J. & Knowles, A. & Blignaut, J. & Letley, G., 2017. "Mapping and valuation of South Africa's ecosystem services: A local perspective," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(PB), pages 179-192.
    2. Guido Erreygers, 2013. "A Dual Atkinson Measure Of Socioeconomic Inequality Of Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 466-479, April.
    3. Alary, Véronique & Corniaux, Christian & Gautier, Denis, 2011. "Livestock's Contribution to Poverty Alleviation: How to Measure It?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1638-1648, September.
    4. Sheona Shackleton & David Kirby & James Gambiza, 2011. "Invasive plants - friends or foes? Contribution of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) to livelihoods in Makana Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 177-193.
    5. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 461.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. José Antonio Rodríguez Martín & Juan Dios Jiménez Aguilera & José Antonio Salinas Fernández & José María Martín Martín, 2016. "Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: Progress in the Least Developed Countries of Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 489-504, November.
    2. Craig Garthwaite & Tal Gross & Matthew J. Notowidigdo, 2014. "Public Health Insurance, Labor Supply, and Employment Lock," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 653-696.
    3. Tarek Roshdy Gebba & Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged, 2016. "Corporate Governance of UAE Financial Institutions: A Comparative Study between Conventional and Islamic Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(5), pages 1-7.
    4. Nelson, Ewan & Warren, Peter, 2020. "UK transport decoupling: On track for clean growth in transport?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 39-51.
    5. Antonio Bassanetti & Matteo Bugamelli & Sandro Momigliano & Roberto Sabbatini & Francesco Zollino, 2014. "The policy response to macroeconomic and fiscal imbalances in Italy in the last fifteen years," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 67(268), pages 55-103.
    6. Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo-Obasi & Simplice A. Asongu, 2019. "Responsible use of crop protection products and Nigeria's growth enhancement support scheme," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 448-463, May.
    7. Peter J. Rimmer, 2014. "Asian-Pacific Rim Logistics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12949.
    8. Clarete, Ramon L. & Villamil, Isabela Rosario G., 2015. "Readiness of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Sectors for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community: A Rapid Appraisal," Research Paper Series DP 2015-43, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    9. Li, Xi & Yu, Biying, 2019. "Peaking CO2 emissions for China's urban passenger transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Alleyne, Dillon & Emanuel, Elizabeth & Phillips, Willard, 2013. "An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Saint Lucia," Sede Subregional de la CEPAL para el Caribe (Estudios e Investigaciones) 38502, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. Gang Chen, 2015. "From mercantile strategy to domestic demand stimulation: changes in China's solar PV subsidies," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 96-112, January.
    12. Cristian Pana, 2013. "The National Central Bank’S Management Of Reserve Requirements," Working papers 16, Ecological University of Bucharest, Department of Economics.
    13. Guido Erreygers & Roselinde Kessels, 2017. "Socioeconomic Status and Health: A New Approach to the Measurement of Bivariate Inequality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, June.
    14. Junlakarn, Siripha & Kittner, Noah & Tongsopit, Sopitsuda & Saelim, Supawan, 2021. "A cross-country comparison of compensation mechanisms for distributed photovoltaics in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. McMahon, Rob, 2020. "Co-developing digital inclusion policy and programming with indigenous partners: Interventions from Canada," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 9(2), pages 1-26.
    16. Wang, Jianjun & Ortiz, Theresa & Navarro, Diana & Maier, Roland & Wang, Summer & Wang, Lisa & Wang, Libing, 2016. "An empirical study of early childhood support through partnership building," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 74-80.
    17. Berta Morata & Chiara Cavalieri & Agatino Rizzo & Andrea Luciani, 2020. "Territories of Extraction: Mapping Palimpsests of Appropriation," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(2), pages 132-151.
    18. Adoracion M. NAVARRO & Gilberto M. LLANTO, . "Philippines Country Report," Chapters, in: Fauziah ZEN & Michael REGAN (ed.), Financing ASEAN Connectivity, chapter 7, pages 269-330, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    19. John V. Duca, 2013. "Regionally, Housing Rebound Depends on Jobs, Local Supply Tightness," Annual Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    20. Fong Kean Yan & Yap Lya Keng & Kwek Kien Teng, 2016. "Empirical Analysis of House Price Bubble: A Case Study on Malaysia," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(12), pages 127-127, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:1-11:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.