Feedbacks and Trade-Offs in the Use of Wetland Ecosystem Services by Local Communities in Rural Zimbabwe

Emmah Mandishona,Jasper Knight

doi:10.3390/su14031789

Abstract

Rural wetlands, especially in developing countries, have been exploited for different ecosystem services because they are considered safety nets for food production and are important for livelihood strategies and human wellbeing. However, there are gaps in knowledge of the ecosystem services provided by small, valley bottom wetlands, especially in dryland areas and how these services are used and managed by local communities. This study focuses on the ecosystem services of valley bottom wetlands in Zindi, the Honde Valley, in rural eastern Zimbabwe. Ethnographic observations of wetland users’ activities and individual interviews with local residents and village heads were undertaken in this study, focusing on how people make use of the different ecosystem services that are derived from these wetlands. Results show that the wetlands are mainly utilised for provisioning services, but that these are related to the availability and properties of supporting and regulatory services in the wetland environment. All of these services are also strongly mediated by the traditional cultural contexts and values held by local communities. The results show that the exploitation of some ecosystem services leads to negative impacts on the availability or properties of others, and this means that there are trade-offs in the uses and management by individuals and communities as a whole. These feedbacks and trade-offs are not well explored in most studies but are critical in considering community responses to changing wetland resources, in particular under climate change. This study recommends that policymakers should include small and often hitherto overlooked wetlands in their management plans, since they are critical for supporting rural livelihoods. It is also important that wetland management plans aim to improve the range and sustainability of ecosystem services available and avoid the need for unnecessary trade-offs in their use by local communities.

Highlights

Rural wetlands, especially in developing countries, have been exploited for different ecosystem services because they are considered safety nets for food production and are important for livelihood strategies and human wellbeing
Introduction with regard to jurisdictional claims in Globally, wetlands have been exploited for the different ecosystem services they provide, both direct and indirect, that contribute to human wellbeing [1,2,3,4,5]
Previous research has emphasised the ecosystem services provided by large wetlands, but this tends to overlook small or remote wetlands despite these being pivotal in providing ecosystem services to sustain rural livelihoods, especially published maps and institutional affiliations

Summary

Introduction

Especially in developing countries, have been exploited for different ecosystem services because they are considered safety nets for food production and are important for livelihood strategies and human wellbeing. The results show that the exploitation of some ecosystem services leads to negative impacts on the availability or properties of others, and this means that there are trade-offs in the uses and management by individuals and communities as a whole These feedbacks and trade-offs are not well explored in most studies but are critical in considering community responses to changing wetland resources, in particular under climate change. Ecosystem Assessment [11], the ecosystem services provided by wetlands are provisioning (food, fresh water, fibre, and fuel), regulatory (water purification, water regulation, and climate regulation), cultural (spiritual, recreational, aesthetic, and educational), and supporting services (soil formation and nutrient cycling) In practice, these service types are closely interconnected [12,13], and there is a need to explore these relationships in more detail in order to understand how any one service or resource may influence other services. As a result of different anthropogenic activities, ecosystem services in wetlands do not remain static and are not either available or depleted [31]

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Discussion

Conclusion