The economic and livelihood value of provisioning services of the Ga-Mampa wetland, South Africa

The size of the Ga-Mampa wetland (1 km2), in the Olifants River catchment in South Africa, was halved between 1996 and 2004. This jeopardizes the ecological integrity and influences the benefits people obtain from the wetland. This study therefore analysed the economic values of the provisioning services derived from the Ga-Mampa wetland and evaluated their contribution to the livelihoods of local stakeholders. Using a direct market valuation technique and based on a mix of data collection approaches that include questionnaire survey, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field observation and measurements and collection of market prices, we estimated the economic value of the main provisioning services provided by the wetland (collection of edible plants, crop production, livestock grazing, fishing, hunting, fuel-wood, reeds and sedge collection). The results show that the contribution of the wetland to the livelihoods of local community, estimated at an annual net financial value of $211 per household, far exceeds its annual cash income of $35 per household and is about half of the average monthly cash income from all income sources. Crop production contributes the highest gross and net financial value, whereas sedge collection yields the highest cash income. Most of the materials harvested from the wetland are used for household subsistence and are rarely sold. In addition to their economic and livelihood value, the wetland services are also essential to sustain the social and cultural responsibilities in gift giving to neighbours and relatives. The study concludes that the local people are highly dependent on the wetland ecosystem services in many ways but that current use exceeds sustainability levels, which jeopardizes their future livelihoods. We therefore recommend that the local stakeholders be supported in identifying alternative sources of livelihoods while simultaneously developing sustainable management strategies for small wetlands such as Ga-Mampa. In addition, other ecosystem services (regulating, supporting and cultural, including recreational benefits) provided by the wetland to local and downstream stakeholders need to be further studied and economically assessed.