Comparison between a nature reserve and adjacent communal land in xeric succulent thicket: An indigenous plant user's perspective

Local people with knowledge of indigenous plants could contribute to the management of protected areas while simultaneously improving their options for employment. Members of a local Xhosa community who lived adjacent to the Great Fish River nature reserve in the former Ciskei, Eastern Cape, were employed to assist us with an inventory of locally useful plants. The survey was designed to quantify differences in plant diversity between the nature reserve and the adjacent communal area, from the point of view of indigenous plant users. Traditional healers and rural villagers who were experienced users of indigenous plants were recruited with the aid of a community organisation. Plants which were used for physical and spiritual healing, fuel, food and construction were identified along paired transects in the nature reserve and the communal area, respectively. Hierarchical richness indices (HRIs) and the number of recognisable plants as well as their abundance at each site were used to compare the nature reserve to the communal area. Altogether, 122 utilised plant types were recorded, of which 68% had medicinal or spiritual value, 12% were used for food, 13% for fuel and 7% for building purposes. These ratios were similar for both the nature reserve and the communal area. One hundred and eight (108) useful types of plants were recorded on the nature reserve and 97 in the communal area. The nature reserve contained 25 'unique' recognisable plants which were not recorded in the communal area, whereas the communal area contained 14. Useful plants were more abundant on the nature reserve than in the communal area, and the average HRI for the nature reserve was almost double that of the communal area. The advantages to the community were limited: temporary employment was created and local skills were developed which might have improved the people's prospects for future employment. The conservation benefits were more substantial: information became available which would otherwise have remained hidden, relations between the community and conservation agencies improved, and credible education programmes in sustainable resource use could be developed through a participatory approach. The next step from a management point of view is to provide opportunities for the community to interpret and apply the results, and with the local people, to explore small business opportunities based on the cultivation of useful plants. Participatory research and monitoring could be furt