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Restoring and managing natural capital towards fostering economic development: Evidence from the Drakensberg, South Africa

Author

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  • Blignaut, James
  • Mander, Myles
  • Schulze, Roland
  • Horan, Mark
  • Dickens, Chris
  • Pringle, Catherine
  • Mavundla, Khulile
  • Mahlangu, Isaiah
  • Wilson, Adrian
  • McKenzie, Margaret
  • McKean, Steve

Abstract

Can a payment for flows of ecosystem goods and services system, following appropriate management and restoration of natural capital produced in rural areas of a developing country, be developed in a way that benefits communities, the commercial sector and the environment? This fundamental question acts as rationale for conducting an in-depth assessment as to whether the development of markets for ecosystems is both appropriate and sufficient when dealing with the restoration of natural capital of two degraded study areas within the Maloti-Drakensberg mountain range in southern Africa, which is a fire-prone grasslands ecosystem. The mountain range is South Africa's most strategic source of fresh water. While occupying less than 5% of South Africa's surface area, it produces 25% of the country's runoff through rivers, major dams, and national and international inter-basin transfers. Addressing the question, the study develops an integrated hydrology-ecology-economic model based on the functional relationships between these three aspects in managing and restoring the natural capital of the two study areas. It was found that the benefits of introducing improved management practices exceeds cost in low to medium degraded quinaries, but not in heavily degraded quinaries. The economic return on the water (baseflow) produced by such a system of improved land use management, however, far exceeds that of conventional (construction-based) water development programmes and offers meaningful economic and market development opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Blignaut, James & Mander, Myles & Schulze, Roland & Horan, Mark & Dickens, Chris & Pringle, Catherine & Mavundla, Khulile & Mahlangu, Isaiah & Wilson, Adrian & McKenzie, Margaret & McKean, Steve, 2010. "Restoring and managing natural capital towards fostering economic development: Evidence from the Drakensberg, South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1313-1323, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:69:y:2010:i:6:p:1313-1323
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    Cited by:

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    2. Clark, V. Ralph & Vidal, João de Deus & Grundy, Isla M. & Fakarayi, Togarasei & Childes, Susan L. & Barker, Nigel P. & Linder, H. Peter, 2019. "Bridging the divide between intuitive social-ecological value and sustainability in the Manica Highlands of southern Africa (Zimbabwe-Mozambique)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    3. Mander, Myles & Jewitt, Graham & Dini, John & Glenday, Julia & Blignaut, James & Hughes, Catherine & Marais, Christo & Maze, Kristal & van der Waal, Benjamin & Mills, Anthony, 2017. "Modelling potential hydrological returns from investing in ecological infrastructure: Case studies from the Baviaanskloof-Tsitsikamma and uMngeni catchments, South Africa," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(PB), pages 261-271.
    4. Büscher, Bram, 2014. "Selling Success: Constructing Value in Conservation and Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 79-90.
    5. Boerema, Annelies & Schoelynck, Jonas & Bal, Kris & Vrebos, Dirk & Jacobs, Sander & Staes, Jan & Meire, Patrick, 2014. "Economic valuation of ecosystem services, a case study for aquatic vegetation removal in the Nete catchment (Belgium)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 46-56.
    6. De Vos, A. & Cumming, G.S. & Roux, D.J., 2017. "The relevance of cross-scale connections and spatial interactions for ecosystem service delivery by protected areas: Insights from southern Africa," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(PB), pages 133-139.
    7. Caroline King-Okumu, 2018. "Valuing Environmental Benefit Streams in the Dryland Ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-23, November.
    8. Nkambule, N.P. & Blignaut, J.N. & Vundla, T. & Morokong, T. & Mudavanhu, S., 2017. "The benefits and costs of clearing invasive alien plants in northern Zululand, South Africa," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(PB), pages 203-223.
    9. Ogunsanya, Ibukun & Wasiu Adamson, Temitope, 2024. "Exchange Rate Movement And Stock Returns In Most Capitalised Economies In Sub-Saharan Africa," Ilorin Journal of Economic Policy, Department of Economics, University of Ilorin, vol. 11(1), pages 18-37, June.
    10. Hao Wang & Sander Meijerink & Erwin van der Krabben, 2020. "Institutional Design and Performance of Markets for Watershed Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-26, August.
    11. Jess L. Delves & V. Ralph Clark & Stefan Schneiderbauer & Nigel P. Barker & Jörg Szarzynski & Stefano Tondini & João de Deus Vidal & Andrea Membretti, 2021. "Scrutinising Multidimensional Challenges in the Maloti-Drakensberg (Lesotho/South Africa)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, July.

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