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

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.

Retrospective analysis of laboratory diagnostic data to assess the prevalence and seasonal variation of Ehrlichia ruminantium in commercial farms of Lephalale Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa

“…Lephalale Municipality is a semi-arid area with average daily temperatures varying between 17 °C and 32 °C in summer and between 4 °C and 20 °C in winter. Furthermore, most of the precipitation falls between October and May, while little rain occurs between April and September ( Mangani et al, 2020 ). These climate conditions support the development and maintenance of A. hebraeum in the area.…”