Socio-Economic Benefits of Colophospermum mopane in a Changing Climate in Northern Namibia

Abstract

Millions of local communities in southern Africa depend on forest ecosystems and the goods and services they provide for their livelihoods. This paper aims to assess the socio-economic benefits of forest goods and services in a changing climate by focusing on the forest products of Colophospermum mopane (C. mopane) in the Kunene and Omusati regions in northern Namibia. We used C. mopane product data from 2011 to 2021. Our analyses showed that local communities harvested five main products from C. mopane, namely firewood, poles, droppers, rafters, and roots. Firewood and poles were the primary C. mopane products harvested by local communities, mainly for subsistence use. Our results suggest that C. mopane potentially continues to the provision of goods and services for the livelihood of local communities, despite the changing climate in northern Namibia. We propose future studies in predictive analysis focus on extreme weather events, such as forest fires, droughts, floods, and other climate-related hazards that affect goods and services provided by forest ecosystems in the northern regions and the entire country.