Ways of Belonging: Meanings of “Nature” AMong Xhosa-Speaking Township Residents In South Africa

Abstract:Although hardly noticed or formally recognised, urban foraging by humans probably occurs in all urban settings around the world. We draw from research in India, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States to demonstrate the ubiquity and varied nature of urban foraging in different contexts. Across these different contexts, we distil seven themes that characterise and thereby advance thinking about research and the understanding of urban foraging. We show that it is widespread and occurs across a variety of urban spaces and places. The species used and the local practices vary between contexts, and are in constant flux as urban ecological and social settings change. This requires that urban foragers are knowledgeable about diverse species, harvest locations, and rights of access, and that their practices are adaptable to changing contexts. Despite its ubiquity, most cities have some forms of regulations that prohibit or discourage urban foraging. We highlight a few important exceptions that can provide prototypes and lessons for other cities regarding supportive policy frameworks and initiatives. The formulation of dynamic policy, design, and management strategies in support of urban foraging will benefit from understanding the common characteristics of foraging in cities worldwide, but also will require comprehension of the specific and dynamic contexts in which they would be implemented.

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“…Creates and sustains connections to nature and place [11,62,66], and (6). Supports identities and cultures [13,39,42,46,56,82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Foraging: A Ubiquitous Human Practice Overlooked by Urban Planners, Policy, and Research

et al. 2017

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“…Although Nuñez and Simberloff (2005) note that cultures and memories can change quite rapidly and that some cultural keystone species may no longer be regarded as such within a particular society, some beliefs are very resilient, including within urban areas (Grabbatin et al 2011, Cocks et al 2016, Short Gianotti and Hurley 2016. That persisting beliefs in ritual potency generate a thriving trade in animal species is one example of this (Alves andLucena Rosa 2013, Williams et al 2014).…”

Section: Cultural Symbolismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nontimber forest products as ecological and biocultural keystone species

Shackleton¹,

Ticktin²,

Cunningham³

2018

E&S

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Nontimber forests products (NTFPs) are the mainstay of rural livelihoods and local economies the world over. As such they are of interest to a wide disciplinary range of researchers and development and government agencies seeking to promote livelihoods, incomes, and ecologically sustainable practices. With the attention on the various human uses of NTFPs, their role and networks in the broader biological communities in which they are located are frequently overlooked. Harvesting of many NTFPs has effects not only at the organism and population scales, but also on co-occurring species, some of which may also be NTFPs. Thus, reduction or loss of one NTFP population or species in a specific area may have cascade effects on other NTFP species, including those used for cultural purposes. We illustrate the little appreciated importance of NTFPs in broader ecological and social systems by assessing and illustrating the importance of NTFP species as ecological or biocultural keystones in providing regulating and supporting ecological services to other species and cultural services to people. We present a number of examples where NTFP species act as keystones in ecological and cultural systems, including food, pollination and dispersal, animal health, nutrients, shelter and protection, and cultural symbolism, most of which have not been considered by NTFP researchers and practitioners. From these examples we distill six propositions regarding NTFPs and discuss the value of recognizing some NTFPs as biocultural keystones to acknowledge and highlight their roles at broader scales.

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“…First, there has been a strong focus on direct and tangible impact benefits of ecosystems for well-being, and neglect of nonmaterial benefits such as cultural ecosystem services that are difficult to measure (Daniel et al 2012, Cruz-Garcia et al 2017. There is a need to engage with a range of understandings and culturally embedded perspectives of what constitutes wellbeing (Berbés-Blázquez 2012, Cocks et al 2016). Second, there is a lack of understanding of how ecosystems impact different types and groups of people (Daw et al 2011, Cruz-Garcia et al 2017 and the importance of considering equity issues in managing ecosystems (Pascual et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoice for mobilizing insights on human well-being in complex social-ecological systems: case studies from Kenya and South Africa

Masterson¹,

Mahajan²,

Tengö³

2018

E&S

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The value of diverse perspectives in social-ecological systems research and transdisciplinarity is well recognized. Human well-being and how it is derived from dynamic ecosystems is one area where local knowledge and perspectives are critical for designing interventions for sustainable pathways out of poverty. However, to realize the potential to enrich the understanding of complex dynamics for sustainability, there is a need for methods that engage holistic ways of perceiving human-nature interactions from multiple worldviews that also acknowledge inequalities between scientific and other forms of knowledge. To date, photovoice has been used to elicit local knowledge and perspectives about ecosystem changes and ecosystem services. We expand this to explore the utility of the method for facilitating the mobilization of plural insights on human well-being, which is subject to complex social-ecological dynamics, and its role in processes for coproduction of knowledge that acknowledges the need for equity and usefulness for all actors. Drawing on two cases, one in community-based marine protected areas in Kenya and one dealing with agricultural decline and rural-urban migration in South Africa, we demonstrate two modes of application of photovoice: as a scoping exercise and as a deep learning tool. The studies descriptively illustrate how photovoice can depict the hidden and often neglected intangible connections to ecosystems, plural and disaggregated perceptions of complex social-ecological dynamics, and issues of access and distribution of ecosystem benefits. The studies also show how photovoice can encourage equitable participation of nonacademic actors in research processes and in particular contribute to mobilization of knowledge and translation of knowledge across knowledge systems. We discuss how local perspectives may be further recognized and incorporated in transdisciplinary research and reflect on the practical and ethical challenges posed by using photographs in participatory research on social-ecological systems.

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Ways of Belonging: Meanings of “Nature” AMong Xhosa-Speaking Township Residents In South Africa

Cited by 45 publications

References 47 publications

Urban Foraging: A Ubiquitous Human Practice Overlooked by Urban Planners, Policy, and Research

Urban Foraging: A Ubiquitous Human Practice Overlooked by Urban Planners, Policy, and Research

Nontimber forest products as ecological and biocultural keystone species

Photovoice for mobilizing insights on human well-being in complex social-ecological systems: case studies from Kenya and South Africa

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