Firewood Collection in South Africa: Adaptive Behavior in Social-Ecological Models

Ulfia A Lenfers,Julius Weyl,Thomas Clemen

doi:10.3390/land7030097

Abstract

Due to the fact that the South Africa’s savanna landscapes are under changing conditions, the previously sustainable firewood collection system in rural areas has become a social-ecological factor in questions about landscape management. While the resilience of savannas in national parks such as Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa has been widely acknowledged in ecosystem management, the resilience of woody vegetation outside protected areas has been underappreciated. Collecting wood is the dominant source of energy for rural households, and there is an urgent need for land management to find sustainable solutions for this complex social-ecological system. However, the firewood collection scenario is only one example, and stands for all “human-ecosystem service” interactions under the topic of over-utilization, e.g., fishery, grazing, harvesting. Agent-based modeling combined with goal-oriented action planning (GOAP) can provide fresh insights into the relationship between individual needs of humans and changes in land use. At the same time, this modeling approach includes adaptive behavior under changing conditions. A firewood collection scenario was selected for a proof-of-concept comprising households, collectors, ecosystem services and firewood sites. Our results have shown that, even when it is predictable what a single human agent will do, massive up-scaling is needed in order to understand the whole complexity of social-ecological systems. Under changing conditions, such as climate and an increasing population, fair distribution of natural goods become an important issue.

Highlights

Agent-based modeling combined with goal-oriented action planning (GOAP) can provide fresh insights into the relationship between individual needs of humans and changes in land use
A firewood collection scenario was selected for a proof-of-concept comprising households, collectors, ecosystem services and firewood sites
The Bushbuckridge district is in north-eastern South Africa next to the Kruger National Park (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

As environments with the coexistence of grass, trees, and shrubs, are natural systems with strong resilience to natural disturbances such as fire, elephants, and other herbivores [1,2,3].These bi-stable systems are important in regard to socio-economic and ecological questions [4,5] in a wide range of tropical and temperate regions.South African savannas, with their unique and diverse flora, are characteristic in rural areas and millions of people benefit both directly and indirectly from these natural resources [6,7].One of the most frequented ecosystem services is the provisioning of wood, e.g., for fuelwood, construction materials, medical issues, and livestock forage [6]. As environments with the coexistence of grass, trees, and shrubs, are natural systems with strong resilience to natural disturbances such as fire, elephants, and other herbivores [1,2,3]. These bi-stable systems are important in regard to socio-economic and ecological questions [4,5] in a wide range of tropical and temperate regions. One of the most frequented ecosystem services is the provisioning of wood, e.g., for fuelwood, construction materials, medical issues, and livestock forage [6] Fuelwood, such as firewood or charcoal, is the most rural energy source in sub-Sahara Africa [8]. For savanna trees and shrubs, firewood collection is sustainable when the collected material is already dead or the collection rates are below the regeneration rates [6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion