Nyathi N A, Musakwa W, Azilagbetor D M, Kuhn N J
Physical Geography and Environmental Change Research Group, Department of Geography and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy and Natural Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, 4056, Switzerland.
Department of Geography and Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2093, South Africa.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 25;11(1):e41448. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41448. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Nature plays a crucial role in providing ecosystem services (ESs) essential for human wellbeing and biodiversity conservation in rural areas. However, existing paradigms often lack an integrative approach towards rural livelihoods and wellbeing, highlighting the need for a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between human wellbeing (HWB) and ESs. The area around the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) offers such ESs to indigenous people who rely heavily on these natural resources. Thus, this study aimed to quantify indigenous people's perceptions of cultural and provisioning ESs and their link to human wellbeing in villages adjacent to the GLTFCA. Key informant interviews were initially conducted to identify ESs as perceived by the participants. Subsequently, face-to-face surveys were carried out in 9 wards across South Africa and Zimbabwe, involving 350 participants. Respondents were asked about the availability of ESs, their levels of degradation, drivers of change, and the impact on their wellbeing. Responses were captured using Likert scales, and multiple regression models analysed the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics and ESs. Results indicated that indigenous people perceived both cultural and provisioning ESs to be available but degrading, with provisioning services degrading more rapidly. Climate change, legislation/policies, and poverty were identified as key drivers of this change. Socio-demographic factors such as gender, nativeness, and employment level influenced perceptions of both ESs. Overall, participants reported that both ESs contribute to their human wellbeing and livelihoods through life satisfaction, happiness, living standards, safety, security, and good health. Finally, this study's findings uniquely offer a baseline for these ESs accounting, demonstrating their direct and indirect benefits to indigenous communities' livelihoods and well-being.
自然在提供生态系统服务（ESs）方面发挥着关键作用，这些服务对于农村地区的人类福祉和生物多样性保护至关重要。然而，现有的范式往往缺乏对农村生计和福祉的综合方法，这凸显了全面理解人类福祉（HWB）与生态系统服务之间关系的必要性。大林波波跨界保护区（GLTFCA）周边地区为严重依赖这些自然资源的原住民提供了此类生态系统服务。因此，本研究旨在量化原住民对文化和供给型生态系统服务的认知，以及它们与GLTFCA相邻村庄人类福祉的联系。最初进行了关键信息人访谈，以确定参与者所感知的生态系统服务。随后，在南非和津巴布韦的9个选区进行了面对面调查，涉及350名参与者。受访者被问及生态系统服务的可用性、退化程度、变化驱动因素以及对其福祉的影响。使用李克特量表收集回答，并通过多元回归模型分析社会人口特征与生态系统服务之间的关系。结果表明，原住民认为文化和供给型生态系统服务都存在但正在退化，其中供给型服务退化更快。气候变化、立法/政策和贫困被确定为这种变化的关键驱动因素。性别、出生地和就业水平等社会人口因素影响了对这两种生态系统服务的认知。总体而言，参与者报告称，这两种生态系统服务都通过生活满意度、幸福感、生活水平、安全保障和健康状况对他们的人类福祉和生计做出了贡献。最后，本研究的结果独特地为这些生态系统服务核算提供了一个基线，证明了它们对原住民社区生计和福祉的直接和间接益处。
