Socio-Economic Benefits Stemming from Bush Clearing and Restoration Projects Conducted in the D’Nyala Nature Reserve and Shongoane Village, Lephalale, South Africa

Tshepiso Mangani, Hendri Coetzee, Klaus Kellner and George Chirima
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Tshepiso Mangani: School of Biological Sciences and Unit for Environmental Sciences & Management, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Hendri Coetzee: Office for Sustainability and Community Impact, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Klaus Kellner: School of Biological Sciences and Unit for Environmental Sciences & Management, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
George Chirima: Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria 0083, South Africa

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the socio-economic benefits stemming from bush clearing and restoration projects conducted in the Lephalale municipality, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study was conducted at two sites: the D’Nyala Nature Reserve and a nearby local village, Shongoane. A qualitative thematic content analysis approach and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from 14 purposively selected participants between the ages of 22 and 55 (male = 9 and female = 5). The results indicated that the nature reserve benefited from the project via the improved visibility of the landscape features and game viewing, which made the reserve more attractive for tourists and resulted in increased revenue. The costs of buying feed for game could also be curbed since the grazing capacity increased. Since the nature reserve sourced temporary labour from the local village to execute the project, the community benefited in terms of members being able to earn a wage, which led to an improvement in their livelihoods. Another indirect benefit was the morale and behavioural changes observed amongst community members. It was obvious that the socio-economic benefits derived from projects such as these far outweigh the negatives and that there is every reason to institute projects of a similar nature elsewhere.

Keywords: bush clearing; local community; nature reserve; restoration project; socio-economic benefit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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