The impact of urban expansion and population growth on productivity of forestlands : study area: Rustenburg Local Municipality.

Abstract

The survey has been carried out in North West Province within Rustenburg Local

Municipality. This is an Urban Forestry research in which six sites including peri-urban,

urban, suburban and semi-rural areas were selected for the study. The aim of the study

was to determine the relationship between households and their local trees and forests.

Forest in this context included community gardens, vegetation cover, open spaces, soil,

water, productive sites and animals that form part of forest. Data collection was mainly

based on questionnaires and covered sample of 272 households. Statistical Package of

Social Sciences (SPSS) 15.0 using 5% sampling intensity (confidence level) was used in

which the data has been represented by numbers. Analysis was based on determining

households’ relationship with their trees and local forest, and how they influence forest

productivity or development.

With SPSS two techniques, regression model and descriptive statistics were applied to

analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Regression model was significant in prediction

of the dependent variable (Y) using independent variables (X), and proved to be a good

model to analyze data for fuelwood, timber and forest food production. Descriptive

statistics was important in counting number of times each category or variable is used.

Participants had varying perceptions regarding the use of forest due to factors such as

availability of forest resource, type of residence, and their living standard. Generally,

households in suburban and urban areas value the forests for economic and

environmental benefit, while the peri-urban and semi-rural households utilized their trees

and forest to meet their energy demand. A large number of households consume forest

food as compared to timber and fuelwood due to the availability of the resources.

The Municipality as a whole is undergoing rapid development expected to continue

throughout years. These developments are stimulated by mining activities and influx of

people in the area. All these factors threaten the existing natural resources especially

forest areas and water. Areas of these resources are declining due to the current demand

for housing, new mining sites and continuous establishment of informal settlements. Trees and forest within peri-urban and semi-rural areas are in poor conditions as

compared to urban and suburban areas. Poor waste management and poverty are issues

aggravating the situation especially in poor developing sites that have been studied. Most

agricultural sites have been transformed into residential areas, and thus exacerbating

problems of food insecurity in the whole country. Household size has major influence in

fuelwood, timber and forest food production as an increase or decrease in the size will

determine the amount of consumption, production or development. Value for forest,

access to forest, level of interaction and restrictions regarding the use of forest are also

significant aspects contributing to forest productivity and development as they show the

relationship that exists between forest and households.