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Abstract
The economic benefits generated by wetlands and the costs associated with their degradation or loss are frequently overlooked. This often leads to decisions that stimulate wetland conversion and degradation. An important step towards correcting this situation and countering this neglect is to establish the true values of a wetland’s ecosystem goods and services. This study attempts to estimate the direct use values of native plants, such as palm leaves for basketry, grass for thatching, fuelwood, edible fruits and plant parts used by three villages adjacent to the Okavango Delta during the 2003 calendar year. Other sources of ecosystem goods and services, such as fishing, floodplain farming and tourism, were not considered in this study. The average annual value per household of these harvested resources is generally higher than that of similar resources found in other southern African wetlands, owing to higher consumption rates. The overall total direct use value of plant resources, including household income contributions “in kind”, was estimated at US$1 434 per household for 2003 (or US$43.41/ha). This value is almost equal to the average household financial income of US$1 416/year. The net present value of the overall benefit from the direct use of the vegetative resources is estimated at US$101.9 million. This clearly indicates the value of the use of natural resources and their contribution to livelihoods and quality of life. This value is so significant that economic development planners ought to incorporate it into development planning. They should not conceive infrastructure development that would jeopardise the communities’ access to these natural resources without any well-developed mitigation strategy.
Highlights
The Okavango Delta is one of the largest remaining inland wetland ecosystems in the world (Neme, 1997; Rothert, 1997; Silvius et al, 2000; Ashton et al, 2003; Gumbricht et al, 2004)
The respondents ranged in age from 17–86, which showed clearly that some elderly people still depend on natural resources for their livelihood
More than 90 percent of the households harvest fuelwood. This emphasises the importance of wood as a source of energy, especially for the many households who cannot afford to pay for electricity or electrical appliances
Summary
The Okavango Delta ( referred to here as the Delta) is one of the largest remaining inland wetland ecosystems in the world (Neme, 1997; Rothert, 1997; Silvius et al, 2000; Ashton et al, 2003; Gumbricht et al, 2004). The water source for the Delta is in the Angolan highlands, from whence the water flows in a south-easterly direction into the Okavango River. It passes through the Caprivi Strip of Namibia before reaching the Delta in northern Botswana (Schudder et al, 1993; Gumbricht et al, 2004). A unique characteristic of the Delta is that it does not flow to the sea It starts and ends inland and is a unique and independent system (Ashton et al, 2003). The Delta supports an estimated 150 000 inhabitants by supplying water for people and livestock, and, most important, supporting edible and medicinal plants, fishing, and conditions for floodplain farming (Rothert, 1997; Jansen, 2002; Ashton et al, 2003). Households whose main livelihood activity is dry-land farming can resort to fishing and harvesting resources from the wild during prolonged periods of drought (Kgathi et al, 2004)
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