Short Communication: Local perceptions about utilization of invasive alien species Opuntia ficus-indica in three Local Municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
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Abstract. Mdweshu L, Maroyi A. 2020. Short Communication: Local perceptions about utilization of invasive alien species Opuntia ficus-indica in three Local Municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Biodiversitas 21: 1653-1659. Opuntia ficus-indica is a succulent plant species categorized as invasive in South Africa but has both commercial and non-market uses. This study evaluated local people’s perceptions about utilization of O. ficus-indica in three local Municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Data on the local perceptions on O. ficus-indica in the study area were documented through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews via questionnaires with households between June 2018 and August 2019. A sample of 150 participants chosen using snowball-sampling method provided information on utilization of O. ficus-indica. The importance of O. ficus-indica as a useful plant species was ubiquitously perceived, with all participants reporting its contribution as an important component of their livelihood needs and more than three quarters (88.0%) were using the species on a regular basis. Close to half of the respondents (49.3%) regarded O. ficus-indica as an important source of cash income. The positive socio-economic contributions of O. ficus-indica need to be taken into account when evaluating the costs and benefits resulting from invasions caused by alien plant species.
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References
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Alencar NL, Santoro FR, de Albuquerque UP. 2014. What is the role of exotic medicinal plants in local medical systems? A study from the perspective of utilitarian redundancy. Revista Brasil Farmacogn 24: 506-515.
Alexander J, Cocks ML, Shackleton C. 2015. The landscape of childhood: play and place as tools to understanding children’s environmental use and perceptions. Hum Ecol 43: 467–480.
Annecke DP, Moran VC. 1978. Critical reviews of biological pest control in South Africa: The prickly pear, Opuntia ficus-indica (L.). J Entomolog Soc South Afr 41: 161-188.
Atmadja SS, Sills EO. 2016. What is a “community perception” of REDD+? A systematic review of how perceptions of REDD+ have been elicited and reported in the literature. PLoS ONE 11: e0155636.
Atyosi Z, Ramarumo LJ, Maroyi A. 2019. Alien plants in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa: Perceptions of their contributions to livelihoods of local communities. Sustainab 11: 5043.
Bennett BC, Prance GT. 2000. Introduced plants in the indigenous pharmacopoeia of Northern South America. Econ Bot 54: 90-102.
Bigirimana J, Bogaert J, De Canniere C, Bigendako M-J, Parmentier I. 2012. Domestic garden plant diversity in Bujumbura, Burundi: Role of the socio-economical status of the neighbourhood and alien species invasion risk. Landscape Urban Plan 107: 118-126.
Bigirimana J, Bogaert J, De Canniere C, Lejoly J, Parmentier I. 2011. Alien plant species dominate the vegetation in a city of sub-Saharan Africa. Landscape Urban Plan 100: 251-267.
Borokini TI, Babalola FD. 2012. Management of invasive plant species in Nigeria through economic exploitation: lessons from other countries. Manag Biol Invas 3: 45–55.
Brown KA, Flynn DF, Abram NK, Ingram JC, Johnson SE, Wright P. 2011. Assessing natural resource use by forest-reliant communities in Madagascar using functional diversity and functional redundancy metrics. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24107.
CARA (Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act). 1983. Act no. 43 of 1983, Department of Agriculture, Pretoria, South Africa.
Chambers R. 1994. The origins and practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal. World Develop 22: 953–969.
dos Santos LL, do Nascimento ALB, Vieira FJ, da Silva VA, Voeks R, de Albuquerque UP. 2014. The cultural value of invasive species: A case study from semi-arid north eastern Brazil. Econ Bot 68: 283-300.
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Heckathorn DD. 2011. Snowball versus respondent-driven sampling. Sociolog Method 41: 355-366.
Jari B, Fraser GCG. 2012. Influence of institutional and technical factors on market choices of smallholder farmers in the Kat River Valley. In: Van Schalkwyk HD, Groenewald JA, Fraser GCG, Obi A, Van Tilburg A (Eds.), Unlocking markets to smallholders: Lessons from South Africa. Wageningen Academic Press, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 59-89.
Lindemann-Matthies P. 2016. Beasts or beauties? Laypersons’ perception of invasive alien plant species in Switzerland and attitudes towards their management. NeoBiota 29: 15–33.
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Manyevere A, Muchaonyerwa P, Laker MC, Mnkeni PNS. 2014. Farmers’ perspectives with regard to crop production: An analysis of Nkonkobe Municipality, South Africa. J Agr Rural Develop Trop Subtrop 115: 41-53.
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Msuya CP, Wambura RM. 2016. Factors influencing extension service delivery in maize production by using agricultural innovation system in Morogoro and Dodoma regions, Tanzania. S Afr J Agr Ext 44: 248–255.
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Njoroge NG, Bussmann WR, Gemmill B, Newton LE, Ngumi VW. 2004. Utilisation of weed species as sources of traditional medicines in central Kenya. Lyonia 7: 71-87.
Palmer CT. 2004. The inclusion of recently introduced plants in the Hawaiian ethnopharmacopoeia. Econ Bot 58: S280-S293.
Paumgarten F, Shackleton CM, Cocks ML. 2005. Growing of trees in homegardens by rural households in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces, South Africa. Int J Sustain Develop World Ecol 12: 1-19.
Pejchar L, Money H. 2009. Invasive species, ecosystem services and human well-being. Trends Ecol Evol 24: 497–504.
Rai, R.J., Scarborough H, Subedi N, Lamichhmane B. 2012. Invasive plants: Do they devastate or diversify rural livelihoods? Rural farmer’s perception of three invasive plants in Nepal. J Nature Cons 20: 170–176.
Schermerhorn JR, Hunt J, Osborn RN, 2002. Organizational behaviour. Wiley and Sons, New York, USA.
Scoones I. 2009. Livelihoods perspectives and rural development. J Peasant Stud 36: 171-196.
Semenya SS, Potgieter MJ, Tshisikhawe MP. 2012a. Invasive alien plant species: A case study of their use in the Thulamela Local Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Scient Res Essays 7: 2363-2369.
Semenya SS, Potgieter MJ, Tshisikhawe MP, Shava S, Maroyi A. 2012b. Medicinal utilization of exotic plants by Bapedi traditional healers to treat human ailments in Limpopo Province, South Africa. J Ethnopharmacol 144: 646–655.
Semenya SS, Maroyi A. 2018. Exotics plants used therapeutically by Bapedi traditional healers for respiratory infections and related symptoms in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Indian J Trad Knowl 17: 663-671.
Sladonja B, Poljuha D, Uzelac M. 2018. Non-native invasive species as ecosystem service providers. In: Hufnagel L (Ed.), Ecosystem services and global ecology. Intechopen, London, UK, pp 39–59.
Shackleton S. 2012. Prickly pear: The social history of a plant in the Eastern Cape. Afr J Range For Sci 29: 157-158.
Shackleton SE, Shackleton RT. 2018. Local knowledge regarding ecosystem services and disservices from invasive alien plants in the arid Kalahari, South Africa. J Arid Environ 159: 22–33.
Shackleton RT, Richardson DM, Shackleton CM, Bennett B, Crowley SL, Dehnen-Schmutz K, Estévez RA, Fischer A, Kueffer C, Kull CA, Marchante E, Novoa A, Potgieter LJ, Vaas J, Vaz AS, Larson BMH. 2019. Explaining people's perceptions of invasive alien species: A conceptual framework. J Environ Manag 229: 10-26.
Statistics South Africa, 2016. Community survey: agricultural households. Available from: http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/03005/Presentation CS2016_Agricultural_Households.pdf, accessed on 20 August 2019.
Van Wilgen BW, Wannenburgh A. 2016. Co-facilitating invasive species control, water conservation and poverty relief: Achievements and challenges in South Africa's Working for Water programme. Current Opinion Environ Sustainab 19: 7-17.
Zimmermann HG, Neser S. 1999. Trends and prospects for biological control of weeds in South Africa. Afr Entomol Mem 1: 165-173.
Alencar NL, Santoro FR, de Albuquerque UP. 2014. What is the role of exotic medicinal plants in local medical systems? A study from the perspective of utilitarian redundancy. Revista Brasil Farmacogn 24: 506-515.
Alexander J, Cocks ML, Shackleton C. 2015. The landscape of childhood: play and place as tools to understanding children’s environmental use and perceptions. Hum Ecol 43: 467–480.
Annecke DP, Moran VC. 1978. Critical reviews of biological pest control in South Africa: The prickly pear, Opuntia ficus-indica (L.). J Entomolog Soc South Afr 41: 161-188.
Atmadja SS, Sills EO. 2016. What is a “community perception” of REDD+? A systematic review of how perceptions of REDD+ have been elicited and reported in the literature. PLoS ONE 11: e0155636.
Atyosi Z, Ramarumo LJ, Maroyi A. 2019. Alien plants in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa: Perceptions of their contributions to livelihoods of local communities. Sustainab 11: 5043.
Bennett BC, Prance GT. 2000. Introduced plants in the indigenous pharmacopoeia of Northern South America. Econ Bot 54: 90-102.
Bigirimana J, Bogaert J, De Canniere C, Bigendako M-J, Parmentier I. 2012. Domestic garden plant diversity in Bujumbura, Burundi: Role of the socio-economical status of the neighbourhood and alien species invasion risk. Landscape Urban Plan 107: 118-126.
Bigirimana J, Bogaert J, De Canniere C, Lejoly J, Parmentier I. 2011. Alien plant species dominate the vegetation in a city of sub-Saharan Africa. Landscape Urban Plan 100: 251-267.
Borokini TI, Babalola FD. 2012. Management of invasive plant species in Nigeria through economic exploitation: lessons from other countries. Manag Biol Invas 3: 45–55.
Brown KA, Flynn DF, Abram NK, Ingram JC, Johnson SE, Wright P. 2011. Assessing natural resource use by forest-reliant communities in Madagascar using functional diversity and functional redundancy metrics. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24107.
CARA (Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act). 1983. Act no. 43 of 1983, Department of Agriculture, Pretoria, South Africa.
Chambers R. 1994. The origins and practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal. World Develop 22: 953–969.
dos Santos LL, do Nascimento ALB, Vieira FJ, da Silva VA, Voeks R, de Albuquerque UP. 2014. The cultural value of invasive species: A case study from semi-arid north eastern Brazil. Econ Bot 68: 283-300.
Government Gazette, 2004. National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act No.10 of 2004. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), Pretoria, South Africa.
Hamann M, Tuinder V. 2012. Introducing the Eastern Cape: A quick guide to its history, diversity and future challenges. Stockholm University, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Heckathorn DD. 2011. Snowball versus respondent-driven sampling. Sociolog Method 41: 355-366.
Jari B, Fraser GCG. 2012. Influence of institutional and technical factors on market choices of smallholder farmers in the Kat River Valley. In: Van Schalkwyk HD, Groenewald JA, Fraser GCG, Obi A, Van Tilburg A (Eds.), Unlocking markets to smallholders: Lessons from South Africa. Wageningen Academic Press, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 59-89.
Lindemann-Matthies P. 2016. Beasts or beauties? Laypersons’ perception of invasive alien plant species in Switzerland and attitudes towards their management. NeoBiota 29: 15–33.
Makiwane MB, Chimere-Dan DOB. 2010. The people matter: The state of the population in the Eastern Cape. Research and Population Unit Eastern Cape Department of Social Development, East London, South Africa.
Manyevere A, Muchaonyerwa P, Laker MC, Mnkeni PNS. 2014. Farmers’ perspectives with regard to crop production: An analysis of Nkonkobe Municipality, South Africa. J Agr Rural Develop Trop Subtrop 115: 41-53.
Maroyi A. 2017a. Assessment of useful plants in the catchment area of the proposed Ntabelanga Dam in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Scient World J: art. 3763607.
Maroyi A. 2017b. Diversity of use and local knowledge of wild and cultivated plants in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 13: 10.
Maroyi A. 2018. Ethnomedicinal uses of exotic plant species in south-central Zimbabwe. Indian J Trad Knowl 17: 71-77.
Megbowon ET, Mushunje A. 2018. Assessment of food security among households in Eastern Cape province, South Africa: Evidence from general household survey, 2014. Int J Soc Econ 45: 2-17.
Mucina L, Rutherford MC. 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Msuya CP, Wambura RM. 2016. Factors influencing extension service delivery in maize production by using agricultural innovation system in Morogoro and Dodoma regions, Tanzania. S Afr J Agr Ext 44: 248–255.
Ndhleve S, Musemwa L, Zhou L. 2013. How severe hunger is amongst rural households of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. J Econ Sustain Develop 4: 220-227.
Njoroge NG, Bussmann WR, Gemmill B, Newton LE, Ngumi VW. 2004. Utilisation of weed species as sources of traditional medicines in central Kenya. Lyonia 7: 71-87.
Palmer CT. 2004. The inclusion of recently introduced plants in the Hawaiian ethnopharmacopoeia. Econ Bot 58: S280-S293.
Paumgarten F, Shackleton CM, Cocks ML. 2005. Growing of trees in homegardens by rural households in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces, South Africa. Int J Sustain Develop World Ecol 12: 1-19.
Pejchar L, Money H. 2009. Invasive species, ecosystem services and human well-being. Trends Ecol Evol 24: 497–504.
Rai, R.J., Scarborough H, Subedi N, Lamichhmane B. 2012. Invasive plants: Do they devastate or diversify rural livelihoods? Rural farmer’s perception of three invasive plants in Nepal. J Nature Cons 20: 170–176.
Schermerhorn JR, Hunt J, Osborn RN, 2002. Organizational behaviour. Wiley and Sons, New York, USA.
Scoones I. 2009. Livelihoods perspectives and rural development. J Peasant Stud 36: 171-196.
Semenya SS, Potgieter MJ, Tshisikhawe MP. 2012a. Invasive alien plant species: A case study of their use in the Thulamela Local Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Scient Res Essays 7: 2363-2369.
Semenya SS, Potgieter MJ, Tshisikhawe MP, Shava S, Maroyi A. 2012b. Medicinal utilization of exotic plants by Bapedi traditional healers to treat human ailments in Limpopo Province, South Africa. J Ethnopharmacol 144: 646–655.
Semenya SS, Maroyi A. 2018. Exotics plants used therapeutically by Bapedi traditional healers for respiratory infections and related symptoms in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Indian J Trad Knowl 17: 663-671.
Sladonja B, Poljuha D, Uzelac M. 2018. Non-native invasive species as ecosystem service providers. In: Hufnagel L (Ed.), Ecosystem services and global ecology. Intechopen, London, UK, pp 39–59.
Shackleton S. 2012. Prickly pear: The social history of a plant in the Eastern Cape. Afr J Range For Sci 29: 157-158.
Shackleton SE, Shackleton RT. 2018. Local knowledge regarding ecosystem services and disservices from invasive alien plants in the arid Kalahari, South Africa. J Arid Environ 159: 22–33.
Shackleton RT, Richardson DM, Shackleton CM, Bennett B, Crowley SL, Dehnen-Schmutz K, Estévez RA, Fischer A, Kueffer C, Kull CA, Marchante E, Novoa A, Potgieter LJ, Vaas J, Vaz AS, Larson BMH. 2019. Explaining people's perceptions of invasive alien species: A conceptual framework. J Environ Manag 229: 10-26.
Statistics South Africa, 2016. Community survey: agricultural households. Available from: http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/03005/Presentation CS2016_Agricultural_Households.pdf, accessed on 20 August 2019.
Van Wilgen BW, Wannenburgh A. 2016. Co-facilitating invasive species control, water conservation and poverty relief: Achievements and challenges in South Africa's Working for Water programme. Current Opinion Environ Sustainab 19: 7-17.
Zimmermann HG, Neser S. 1999. Trends and prospects for biological control of weeds in South Africa. Afr Entomol Mem 1: 165-173.