The Significance of Plant Diversity to Rural Households in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Increased attention has been given recently to the role of NTFP's in maintaining rural livelihoods and to the spiritual roles of forests and trees for local communities. Few studies have investigated the utilitarian and cultural roles of forests and trees in an integrated manner. Most studies have been focused on indigenous communities with little attention given to the role of biodiversity in local communities living under non-traditional conditions. Furthermore most research has focussed on the extraction of resources in tropical rain forests and only recently have attempts been made to determine the contribution of temperate-zone vegetation types. The aim of this paper was to highlight the significance of plant diversity in the livelihoods of rural communities within the Valley Bushveld in South Africa. It documents the various uses of NTFP's, the species used, the amounts harvested and their value of nine different use categories. In total 103 plant species were used, but only 17 were recorded by over 10% of the households on a regular basis. The mean gross direct use value for the utilisation of wild plant resources amounts to $1591 per annum per household. The use of NTFP's is not purely utilitarian. Approximately one-third of the species and just over half of the total use value were for cultural purposes. This illustrates that plant diversity is important in serving the cultural needs of non-traditional local communities. Programmes for biodiversity conservation should heed its role in traditional cultures.