socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the...

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This article was downloaded by: [DUT Library] On: 05 October 2014, At: 04:01 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsdw20 Socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the Lowveld, South Africa: Implications for resource management initiatives Jenny Botha a , T. F. Witkowski a , Charlie M. Shackleton b & H. K. Fairbanks c a Restoration and Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg, South Africa b Environmental Science Programme, Rhodes University , Grahamstown c Department of Geography and Planning , California State University Chico , Chico, USA Published online: 02 Jun 2009. To cite this article: Jenny Botha , T. F. Witkowski , Charlie M. Shackleton & H. K. Fairbanks (2004) Socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the Lowveld, South Africa: Implications for resource management initiatives, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 11:3, 280-297, DOI: 10.1080/13504500409469832 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504500409469832 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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This article was downloaded by: [DUT Library]On: 05 October 2014, At: 04:01Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

International Journal of Sustainable Development &World EcologyPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsdw20

Socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlifespecies for traditional medicines in the Lowveld,South Africa: Implications for resource managementinitiativesJenny Botha a , T. F. Witkowski a , Charlie M. Shackleton b & H. K. Fairbanks ca Restoration and Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant andEnvironmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg, South Africab Environmental Science Programme, Rhodes University , Grahamstownc Department of Geography and Planning , California State University Chico , Chico, USAPublished online: 02 Jun 2009.

To cite this article: Jenny Botha , T. F. Witkowski , Charlie M. Shackleton & H. K. Fairbanks (2004) Socio-economicdifferentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the Lowveld, South Africa: Implications forresource management initiatives, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 11:3, 280-297, DOI:10.1080/13504500409469832

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504500409469832

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon andshould be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable forany losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use ofthe Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Int.J Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 11 (2004) 280-297

Socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the Lowveld, South Africa: Implications for resource management initiatives

Jenny Botha', Ed T R Witkowski', Charlie M. Shackleton2 and Dean H. K Fairbanks3

'Restoration and Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 2Environmental Science Programme, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 3Department of Geography and Planning, California State University Chico, Chico, USA

Key words: Community-Based Conservation programmes (CBC programmes), Kruger National Park, medicinal trade, sustainable livelihoods

SUMMARY Surveys of trade in wildlife products utilised in traditional medicine were conducted between 1997 and 1999 on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Although the extent of trade and numbers of people operating in this sector were lower than other regions of South Africa, this study again highlighted the value of indigenous wildlife products to subsistence economies. Apart from cultural diversity, socioeconomic differentiation occurred at a number of levels. (i) There were socio-economic differences between the traders and vendors. (ii) Gender differences were apparent, with women earning significantly less than men and having to undergo more social challenges in their operation in the market place. (iii) Operational differences were noted between the vendors and traders, as well as between the street and pension day vendors. (iv) Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) highlighted the socio-economic differentiation at the household level, emphasizing in particular one of the most vulnerable groups, the elderly. The potential influence of this socio-economic differentiation needs to be considered during the development of Community-Based Conservation programmes, if the dual aims of conserving biodiversity and improving the lives and livelihoods of those who traditionally rely on medicinal plants are to be met.

INTRODUCTION The importance of wildlife resources to subsis- tence economies is now widely recognised, not only in helping to meet household needs, but also by contributing to the generation of income through trade (Dzerefos et al. 1999; Grundy et al. 2000; Luoga et aZ. 2000; Shackleton and Shackleton

2000; Dovie et al. 2002; Gram et al. 2001). In rural areas, the marketing of indigenous plants tends to occur mainly in households falling in the lowest income brackets, with women and marginalized sectors of the community often relying on these earnings (Campbell et al. 199'7; Cavendish 2000).

Correspondence: E. T. F. Witkowski, Restoration &Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, PO Wits, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa. email: edQbiology.bio1.wits.ac.za

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Approximately 80% of the world’s population use traditional medicine (Akerele 1993), with 27 million people being estimated to rely on this mode of health care in South Africa (Mander 1998). Trade in wildlife products utilised for traditional medicine is growing throughout the developing world, resulting in numerous species becoming locally or regionally extinct in the wild (Marshall 1998; Olsen 1998). Because commer- cial demand for traditional medicines is corre- lated with increasing urbanisation, poverty and related social problems, addressing the under- lying cause of the over-exploitation of medicinal species involves tackling the socio-economic problems facing developing countries at national level through poverty relief, education and im- proved standards of living (Cunningham 1992). Unfortunately, this is not likely to be easily achieved within the near future in South Africa (Lewis 2002).

The conventional law enforcement approach has had limited success globally in effectively protecting biodiversity both within (Newmark and Hough 2000) and outside (Cunningham 1992) protected areas, resulting in a proliferation of projects aiming to channel benefits from protected areas to local communities, as well as reduce the negative impacts of conservation. Most South African conservation agencies have now started developing Community-Based Con- servation (CBC) programmes with traditional healers (e.g. Botha 1998) and, more recently, those involved in the medicinal plant trade. Although there has been limited success in achieving the twin goals of biodiversity conser- vation and improving local livelihoods in CBC programmes worldwide, most reviews concur that this is due to the complex local and global environments in which they operate, rather than the underlying premise being at fault (Alpert 1996; Newmark and Hough 2000). To effectively improve the management of medicinal species, an understanding of the ecological and the socio- economic conditions affecting their use is essential.

Trade of traditional medicines and the informal sector in South Africa In the past, traditional medicines were predomi- nantly administered by specialised herbalists and

diviners, with the majority of herbalists being men whilst diviners were usually women (Cun- ningham 1992). With increasing urbanisation and the need to generate a cash income, thou- sands of non-specialised gatherers operating in the informal economy collect plants to supply urban traders or sell directly to subsistence sector consumers (Cunningham 1992; Williams et al. 2000,2001).

The definition of the term ‘informal economy’ has generated considerable debate in the past. It is now recognised that this process of income generation is manifest differently even within the same country or city, and that the diverse spectrum of activities occurring within this sector need to be considered within the broader socio- economic and political context (ILO 1992). Informal sector business activities are generally unregulated and, usually, unregistered, unli- censed and untaxed (Dewar and Watson 1981; ILO 1992). While many operators are margin- alized and generate low incomes, some informal sector entrepreneurs derive relatively high earnings (Rogerson and Preston-Whyte 1991). Constraints facing many informal sector opera- tors include a lack of access to resources, markets, formal institutions and formal credit, as well as a lack of basic infrastructure (Sethuraman 1997). There is also often considerable flux between the ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ sectors (ILO 1992).

Official attitudes to the informal economy in South Africa were historically negative, and numerous policies and tactics were invoked to repress the mainly black operators working within this sector (Rogerson and Preston-Whyte 1991). These included apartheid legislation such as the Group Areas Act, licensing and strict zoning, campaigns to encourage the boycotting of black enterprises by white consumers and the use of specialist squads to police informal sector activities (Rogerson and Preston-Whyte 1991). Pressures against the medicinal trade included anti-hawking and conservation legislation, as well as opposition from pharmaceutical companies (Cunningham 1992). Despite these challenges, demand for traditional medicines has remained high. During the 1980s - a decade after change occurred in the rest of the developing world - the attitudes of South African officials towards the informal sector evolved from repression to tolerance, acceptance and eventually promotion

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as the sector became to be regarded as a potential catalyst for economic development and improved livelihood security (Rogerson and Preston-Whyte 1991). This sector has now been considerably de- regulated (Rogerson 1996), and street hawking was included in the planning and management of the larger South African cities at the time of the study (Kennedy 1992).

Development interventions aiming to reduce poverty levels by targeting the informal sector have had mixed results internationally, but have generally not met original expectations (Dewar and Watson 1990; Sethuraman 1997). Not only are these programmes usually time consuming and expensive to implement, but the sustain- ability of initiatives has also been questioned, particularly once funders have withdrawn (Sethuraman 199’7). Furthermore, the macroeco- nomic environment (including policy, regulatory and institutional levels) is often not supportive of micro-level projects and enterprises, and linkages between the informal sector and formal businesses and institutions are poor (Sethuraman 1997). An integrated approach has been found more effective when attempting to enhance livelihoods in this sector, including training and skills development; the establishment of better linkages with formal institutions; improved infrastructure and technologies; and access to markets, credit, resources and land (Sethuraman 1997).

Working within the highly diverse and con- stantly changing informal economy presents numerous challenges. The dynamics influencing peoples’ lives and livelihoods need to be under- stood (Francis 1999; Twyman 2000), and sectoral differences distinguished, as different ap- proaches may be required to deal with different sectors effectively (Rogerson 1996). Potential ramifications of development interventions need to be carefully evaluated, as efforts to assist individuals often entrench them in a dependency relationship or, worse, may negatively impact on their already strained livelihoods (Nattrass 1984; Francis 1999).

The private sector (including pharmaceutical companies and commercial farmers) is also showing interest in the commercial potential of the medicinal plant trade in South Africa, both in terms of marketing and the supply of products. While mass cultivation projects could greatly

alleviate the pressure on wild collected popula- tions, it is essential that this is not at the expense of those who have historically relied on the medicinal trade in the subsistence sector, for example, through the distortion of local market forces or prices (Leakey et al. 1996; Mander 1998; Botha 2001).

Within this context, a study was conducted between 1997 and 1999 as part of a broader CBC programme being developed with traditional healers on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park (KNP) (Botha 1998). The aims of the study were to determine the extent and impact of trade in medicinal plants in the region (Botha et al. 2001; 2002; 2003) in the region, and to identify socio-economic factors affecting the trade (Botha 2001). This paper examines how the socio-economic attributes of those operating in the medicinal plant sector in the Lowveld impact on the development of CBC programmes regionally, and how lessons learned could apply to similar initiatives internationally.

STUDYAREA The South African Lowveld consists of the low- lying plains lying to the east of the Drakensberg escarpment, occurring in Limpopo and Mpuma- langa Provinces. The altitude ranges from ap- proximately 350 m to 600 m asl.

A major proportion of land in the Lowveld is utilised for nature conservation purposes, with the Kruger National Park playing an important part in the regional economy. There are also numerous regional game reserves and private game farms. Additional regional land-use activi- ties include forestry, mining in the Phalaborwa region and commercial (particularly fruit farms) and subsistence agriculture. Subsistence agri- culture is limited by a lack of land, nutrient-poor soils and lack of perennial water or infrastructure (Development Bank of South Africa & KaNgwane Government 1985; Development Bank of South Africa & Gazankhulu Government 1986).

Four former homelands occur on the western boundary of the KNP: Venda, Gazankulu, Lebowa and KaNgwane. Established by the previous government through forced removals to tighten control over the black population, the home- lands resulted in overcrowding, landlessness,

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Table 1 Human population statistics for Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces (Statistics South Africa 1998)

Mpumalanga Province Limpopo Province South Africa

Population size Male (%) Female (%) Urban (%) Non-urban (%)

Age distribution (years) (%) < 5 6-19 20-64 > 65

Education (%) None/some primary Completed primary Some secondary Completed secondary Tertiary

Employment (%) Employed Unemployed

Income per annum (R) (%) < 500 5004500 > 4500

2 800 711 49 51 39 61

12 35 49 4

44 7

29 15 5

67 33

36 56 8

4 929 368 46 54 11 89

13 42 40 5

49 6

27 14 4

54 46

42 52 6

40 583 573 48 52 54 46

11 34 50 5

36 8

34 16 6

66 34

26 63 11

poverty and a further breakdown of social struc- tures. Population densities remain high despite the homeland system being abolished after the democratic transition in 1994. The local govern- ment system in the homelands is a mixture of democratic and traditional institutions (Tribal Authorities), although the powers of the latter have been considerably curtailed since 1994. Tribal authorities were often regarded as ille- gitimate, having been established by the previous government, with many traditional leaders being perceived to have been co-opted by the Apartheid regime (Hofmeyr 1991; Shackleton et al. 1998).

Overall, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces have lower Human Development Indices than the country as a whole, with lower urbanisa- tion, education and income levels (Table 1). As has occurred throughout sub-Saharan Africa (Bryceson 2002), non-agricultural income diver- sification is an important means of supple- menting subsistence agricultural activities to support households. Pensions, child support grants and other government subsidies are also crucial to many households.

An initial survey of the markets occurring in

the study area included the towns of Thohoyan- dou, Sibasa, Giyani, Malamulele, Louis Trichardt and Phalaborwa in Limpopo Province and the Nsikazi district, Hazyview and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga Province (Figure 1). Bushbuck- ridge was excluded, as this was in the process of being surveyed (Mander 1997). Subsequent inventories of stock and prices, as well as socio- economic surveys focussed on the closest trading outlets to traditional healers participating in the KNP programme viz. Giyani, Malamulele, Sibasa and Thohoyandou in Limpopo Province and the Nsikazi district, Hazyview and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga Province. The people of Giyani and Malamulele are predominantly Tsonga, those in Thohoyandou and Sibasa are Venda and those in the Mpumalanga Province study area are Swazi.

METHODS ‘Traders’ operating from fixed premises were considered to operate closer to the ‘formal’ end of the economic spectrum while ‘vendors) selling in the streets of urban areas or at pension markets

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Mpu malanga

180 kilometres 90 0 90

Figure 1 Locations of towns and districts included in the study

(which have evolved at the localities at which pensioners are paid social pensions each month) were regarded as part of the ‘informal or subsistence’ economy. Vendors trading on the streets of urban areas are referred to as ‘street vendors’, while those trading at pension markets are called ‘pension day vendors’.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 1997 and 1998 to obtain demographic infor- mation and data on the costs and earnings derived from the trade. In Limpopo Province, detailed surveys were conducted with three of the five traders then operating in Thohoyandou and Sibasa, and one in Malamulele. In Mpuma- langa Province, 73% of the vendors operating near the Nelspruit taxi ranks were interviewed, and approximately 70% of the vendors trading at the pension day markets in the Nsikazi district. A total of 29 surveys were conducted over 54visits.

More sensitive questions on income and education were left until a relationship had been developed with the vendors and traders. The latter topic was eventually omitted, as many people were embarrassed that they had not had the opportunity to go further with their educa- tion.

To obtain an estimate of net income, costs incurred in purchasing products were subtracted from gross income earned through the sales of medicinal products. Due to the variation likely to be experienced in earnings throughout the course of the year, people were first asked to estimate their gross monthly income in (a) a good month and (b) a poor month. A common response was that this was impossible due to high monthly variation. They were then asked to estimate earnings on good and poor days, which often proved easier. The vendors then listed the

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Table 2 Criteria and scores used to derive a wealth ranking. These were then summed

Botha et al.

Criterion Category Score

Earnings from traditional medicine (R per month)

Earnings derived from other sources, including pensions

Other breadwinners’ earnings

Appliances

Property

Total per vendor or trader

Shop

Farm

Vehicle

0-1000 1000-2000 2000-3000 3000-4000 4000-5000 5000-6000 6000+

as per Criterion 1.

as per Criterion 1

Large e.g. television, fridge Small e.g. radio

Homestead Rooms (n) per building (b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 1

4 n * b

4+(n * b)

5

5

3

most and the least profitable markets to derive an estimate of their monthly earnings.

The national minimum wage is sometimes used as a proxy for opportunity costs of labour. These were not included in this study as the regional unemployment rate is so high, limiting the probability of individuals obtaining alter- native employment (Shackleton and Shackleton 2000). The estimate of net income, together with income derived from other sources (including other breadwinners) and household assets, was used to compile a wealth ranking. Although a wealth ranking is subjective, often reflecting the values of the researcher rather than the people being interviewed, it proved a useful tool for developing a profile of the vendors and traders, as well as a comparative index for the multivariate analysis. Points were allocated according to the criteria listed in Table 2, and then summed to give the overall score. Some traders were reluctant to disclose earnings. In these cases, an estimate was obtained through an approximation of the number of clients treated per day. As the income categories were broad, this was adequate for the wealth ranking.

The number of livestock per household was originally omitted from the questionnaire, which was unfortunate as cattIe are an important index

of African wealth. To assess the impact of this omission on the overall wealth ranking, a Pearson Correlation ( p < 0.01) was performed on indi- vidual wealth rankings and the number of cattle owned by the vendors and traders who were asked about this point.

Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine significant differences, while Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlations (p < 0.05) were under- taken to explore relationships of the variables among trader types. As a comprehensive meas- urement of relationships between vendors and traders, a multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis was applied on the original data trans- formed into a dissimilarity matrix (Bray-Curtis) . This reduced the diversity of variables measured for each individual into a 2-dimensional pattern of principal themes underlying the data. The following attributes were included: age category; gender; wealth ranking; household attributes (number of adults, men, women, children, traditional healers and trainees) ; livelihood descriptions, trading points and residential areas.

Vendors and traders are referred to by number rather than name due to the illegal nature of trade in South Africa. For international monetary reference the Rand in December1997 was US$1 = R4.87.

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RESULTS

Personal attributes Men predominated in the medicinal sector in the Lowveld (Table 3). Although some women traded individually, the business was usually essentially a family one. Some women assisted their husbands, for instance, managing separate stands at different locations or markets. Other women were accompanied to market by co-wives (women married to the same man in a polyga- mous society), adult daughters or friends. The age of street and pension day vendors in Mpumalanga Province ranged from 38-70 (mean + S E = 4 8 + 3 ) years old, while the Limpopo Province traders ranged from 37-55 (45 k 2) years.

The majority of the vendors and traders had only one household (82%). Separate households were maintained for each co-wife by9%, and 9% also had households in Gauteng Province or

Mozambique. The number of adults living in each household ranged from two to six in Mpumalanga Province, and two to four in Limpopo Province, with 52% of the households having two adults (Table 4). All the Limpopo Province traders and 71% of the Mpumalanga Province vendors were married. The remainder were widows or widowers.

The number of children per household ranged from none (two elderly vendors) to 17 in Mpumalanga Province, and 2-12 in Limpopo Province. The number of children was correlated with the number of women, the number of traditional healers and the number of bread- winners (Table 5). This does not imply that the majority of children were working; the last two attributes were also correlated with the number of women. The majority of children in this region attended school, although some worked part- time (for example, trading vegetables or making and selling curios to tourists).

Table 3 Gender of the traders and street and pension day vendors

Own/Manage Employed/Assistant

Men Women Men Women

Limpopo 4 1 0 2 Mpumalanga trader 1 1 0 1 Mpumalanga vendors 10 6 0 2

Table 4 Household attributes of the traders and street and pension day vendors in the two project areas

Mpumalungu Province Limpopo Province mean _+ SE mean _+ SE

(Range) (Range)

No. adults 3.2 f 0.4 2.5 f 0.5

No. men 1.7 f 0.4 1.0 f 0.0

No. women 1.2 f 0.2 1.5 f 0.5

(2-6) (2-4)

(1-5) (1)

(1-3) (1-3)

(0-1 7) (2-12) No. children 5.9 f 1.2 6.3 f 2.3

No. breadwinners 1.9 f 0.2 2.8 f 0.5 ( 1-41 ( 2-4)

(0-2) (0-3) No. traditional healers 0.4 f 0.2 1.3 f 0.6

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Table 5 Values are correlation coefficients (d$ = 18; * p < 0.05; **p< 0.01; ***p< 0.001)

Pearson Correlation Matrix of household attributes of the traders and street and pension day vendors.

Age category No. adults No. men No. women No. children No. breadwinners No. trad. healers No. trainees

WeaZth rank

-0.04 -0.02 -0.01

0.54" 0.32 0.60"" 0.36 0.08

Age categcny

-0.06 0.07

-0.19 -0.30 -0.35 -0.07

0.40

No. NO. No. No. No. bread- No. traditional adults men women children winners h e a h

0.66** 0.36 0.22 0.34 0.08 0.74*** 0.09 -0.07 0.74""" 0.79""" 0.09 -0.05 0.61"" 0.51" 0.69""

-0.17 -0.05 -0.04 -0.12 0.004 0.56"

Only 10% of the Mpumalanga Province vendors were traditional healers themselves, or had one living in the household. In contrast, all the traders in both study areas were traditional healers, with three healers practising in the household of one trader.

The standard of formal education was low. Only 42% of the men had managed to acquire four or five years of formal education; the remaining respondents had received three years of formal schooling. People with fewer than seven years of formal education are considered func- tionally illiterate (South African Institute of Race Relations 2000).

The majority of the street and pension day vendors (64%) and a Limpopo Province trader had been or were being trained in the use of medicinal plants by family members: husbands, brothers, grandfathers or uncles. The traditional healers said that they were guided by their ancestors and/or God, sometimes through revelations during dreams in which they visual- ized their patient, the affliction and/or cure, and sometimes, the location of plants. Contrary to the Western perception that traditional medicine is highly secretive, the vendors and traditional healers were regularly observed exchanging in- formation on the treatment of diseases amongst themselves. The trader in Hazyview trained initiates from Gauteng Province and other areas, charging R5000 to do so. One pension day ven- dor trained novices, but relatively infrequently.

Business management The medicinal trade was the sole occupation of all the traders and street vendors, and 75% of

the pension day vendors. The latter traded medicinal products on each of the 19 days per month of the local pension circuit, with two also operating at local shopping centres. The re- maining pension day vendors attended only the first 8 days of the circuit due to prohibitive transport costs, or sold at 2-3 markets each month to supplement their pensions. The majority of pension day vendors attended two markets per day, following the mobile Social Welfare unit from one payout point to the next. The trading outlets in Limpopo Province were open 5l/2-6 days per week.

The street and pension day vendors worked alone or with family members or friends (the mean number of assistants per enterprise was 0.9 & 0.2), usually paying the latter a small remunera- tion. All but one of the traders employed assis- tants (the mean number of assistants per trader was 1.2 f 0.5). Three employed an assistant over and above family members, while one employed his wife to manage the outlet.

Stock was acquired through the purchasing of products (plant and animal) from occasional vendors who attended markets or visited traders' shops infrequently, and/or travelling to regional urban markets or by harvesting plants directly. Women stocked few, if any, animal products. In Mpumalanga Province, there was a negative correlation between income earned and the proportion of plants bought or harvested. The vendors who generated the highest incomes bought all their products while those who earned the least collected the bulk of their stock (T, = -0.68; d.& = 14; p < 0.005). Those pension day and street vendors who acquired most of their stock by harvesting themselves spent 1-4 days per

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month gathering, depending on stock and en- ergy levels. Three pension day vendors travelled to Maputo (Mozambique), Durban (KwaZulu- Natal) or the Witwatersrand Uohannesburg and surrounding towns in Gauteng Province) every 1-3 months, each trip lasting between 1 and 4 days. Most also traded medicinal products on these trips. The other pension day vendors and street vendors then bought stock from them. In common with the family groups, four street vendors had formed a loose co-operative, travelling to harvesting sites together to save transport costs, and swapping and selling material amongst themselves.

The traders also purchased varying pro- portions of their stock, both from gatherers who occasionally visited their shops, and from the markets of Maputo, Durban and the Wit- watersrand. Unlike the Hazyview and Malamulele traders, who bought all their stock, the Thohoyandou/Sibasa traders collected from sites in Limpopo Province 3-8 times per annum, depending on turnover, with 75% also harvesting from neighbouring countries and KwaZulu- Natal. The trader with the largest outlet spent 5- 6 weeks on harvesting trips each year: Botswana (annually), Zimbabwe (three times per annum) and Mozambique (twice a year).

Some pension day vendors (19%) and traders (25%) had diversified their business activities. For example, a Limpopo Province trader also owned a restaurant/bar and a farm; another owned three medicinal trading outlets. One pension day vendor was a musician, and performed at weddings and parties in Nsikazi.

costs

The street and pension day vendors' business running costs ranged from R50 to R20 100 (R2 666 f 1379) per annum. Transport was one of the highest costs incurred. Costs to sales sites ranged from approximately RlOO per annum (a part- time vendor who only traded in neighbouring villages) to >R5000 per annum for those who attended all the markets. Only two pension day vendors owned their own vehicles; the remainder used local taxis. Transport costs to sales sites dropped to approximately R2420 per annum for a pension day vendor who owned his own vehicle (petrol, oil and tyres). The Hazyview trader

Botha et al.

owned a car, as did the traders in Malamulele and Sibasa. Annual costs of transport to sales outlets for the traders operating in Thohoyandou and Sibasa ranged from R1500 to R4800 (R3100 f 954).

The street vendors paid the Nelspruit munici- pality R2 per day to be allowed to trade on the pavement. Stock was stored in Nelspruit, either in a lock-up storage unit secured to the sidewalk, or by renting space in the storeroom of a nearby shop for R80 per month. The majority of pension markets were free, although one Tribal Authority charged vendors R2 per day. The traders in Thohoyandou paid between R800 and R1130 per month for rent, the latter amount including electricity. One trader had built his own shop to save rental costs.

Gathering and buying costs included trans- port, food, accommodation, payment of assis- tants, stock, implements, permits or landowner fees and visas, as 33% of the plants on display in Mpumalanga Province were imported illicitly from mainly, Mozambique, and 10% of the plants traded in Limpopo Province were imported from Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Tools were not included in the costing, as the majority of households own implements such as axes, machetes and hoes. In addition, the cost of these implements could also be considered negligible over their lifespans (Campbell et al. 1997).

People usually had to pay harvesting fees to Tribal Authorities. In Mpumalanga Province (Komatipoort and Barberton) this varied from R50 to R200 per group, while R300 was paid to the Tribal Authority at Thengwe (Limpopo Province) to harvest Brackenn'dgea zangueban'ca, a protected plant with a limited range that has been seriously impacted through harvesting for the medicinal trade. A Tribal Authority in KwaZulu-Natal charged harvesters R300-500. Plants were also harvested illegally from state or private forestry areas, or private farms, often creating tension between the landowners and the vendors, particularly with the high crime rate being experienced in South Africa.

Income

Net income earned by vendors through sales of medicinal products varied from R22 (a pensioner who traded part time) to R3600 in a good month

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1-

(u c 0 .- E 0-

n .- E

-1 ~

CONFIGURATION

I

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SHEPARD DIAGRAM

B

-24 I -2 -1 0 1 2

Dimension 1

I I I

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

Data

Figure 2 Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) of Bray Curtis dissimilarity matrices to explore the socio-economic profiles of the traders and street and pension day vendors. Pension day vendors are represented by grey blocks, street vendors by black triangles and traders by black diamonds. The reference numbers of the vendors and traders are provided

(R1395 f 298; n = 14). Women earned signifi- cantly less than their male counterparts ( t= 3.838; d.$ = 8; p < 0.01). The annual income earned by women ranged from R264 to R6080 (R3923f 774). There was a wider variation in the men’s annual earnings, ranging from R5800 to R31 450 per annum (R18 523 f 3724). Net income ranged from R2800 to R5250 per month for the traders for whom data were available (R3883 k 721; n = 2).

The number of breadwinners in the street and pension day vendors’ households ranged from 1-4 (1.9 f 0.01); 43% were the sole breadwinners. Where there were multiple breadwinners, 90% were involved in the medicinal trade, either as vendors (74%) or traditional healers (16%). Only 10% were employed in the formal sector, one as a security guard and one as a community devel- opment officer. The number of breadwinners per household was higher amongst the traders, ranging from 2-4 (2.8 k 0.5). Each of the three co-wives of one trader worked: one was employed at the trader’s shop, another at the local brickworks and the third sold wood and coal. This was, however, not strictly one household as the three lived on different homesteads. All three breadwinners in the household of a second trader were traditional healers.

Wealth ranking There was a significant correlation between the number of cattle owned by vendors and traders, and their wealth ranking (c = 0.91; d.J: = 6; p < 0.01). Because these variables are highly correlated, omitting the cattle data (which was initially not collected from the first few traders/ vendors) will have little or no effect on the relative values of the wealth rankings with respect to the different vendors and traders for compara- tive purposes.

The main contributor to the vendors’ and traders’ wealth rankings was earnings derived through the sales of medicinal products (q = 0.72; d.J: = 17; p < 0.002). Earnings obtained through other sources or breadwinners were not corre- latedwith the wealth ranking. The wealth ranking of the traders in both provinces was significantly higher than that of the vendors (U test,,,,; p < 0.005) (41.2 f 8.3 and 16.7 f 1.0, respective- ly).

Socio-economic profiles A Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) exploring the socioeconomic profile of respondents shows the vendors and traders scattered evenly through the

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configuration, regardless of the province in which they live (Figure 2). The stress of the final configuration was 0.097. A number of socio- economic profiles emerged from this analysis. Group A consisted of three elderly vendors who fell in the lowest wealth ranking categories: one pension day and two street vendors (11-13) (Figure 2). Two supplemented their pensions with earnings derived from the medicinal trade, while the third was the Mozambiquan immigrant. Pension day vendor 58 was 70 years old, with two current wives and nine children whom he was supporting. Despite an intermediate wealth ranking of 19, he struggled to support his family. He and his wife sold at all the pension markets as well as at local shopping centres on weekends and non-pension days.

The two street vendors in Group B were a husband and wife team who traded in Nelspruit, with one household, two dependants and an intermediate wealth ranking (18). Group C respondents also had one household, with one (a widow) or two adults, and 2-4 dependants. Wealth rankings in this category were generally low to medium (8-21), although trader 202 was wealthier than the others in this group (wealth ranking of 34). Pension day vendor 15 related in most respects to this group, but he had two households, one in Nsikazi and one in Gauteng Province.

The two pension day vendors and a trader in Group D consisted of households with a number of co-wives. The former had intermediate wealth rankings (20). Trader 193, who had diversified his business activities, had the highest wealth ranking of all participants (73). Trader 192 only had one wife, but there were a number of women living in his household. His was one of the highest wealth rankings overall, having managed to open three medicinal outlets (34).

DISCUSSION Trade in traditional medicines was not as exten- sive in the Lowveld as in the larger urban mar- kets in South Africa. Approximately 160 traders and 100 vendors sold medicinal plants on the Witwatersrand in 1994 (Williams et al. 2000; 2001), with 7000-8000 gatherers supplying and 400-500 vendors selling in Durban (Mander 1998). Yet this enterprise makes a vital contri-

bution to the survival of the gatherers, vendors and traders and their families. At least 170 people were supported or partially supported through the medicinal trade in the Lowveld. The children of approximately 25% of the vendors and traders had obtained a tertiary education; 80% still had dependants at school. The majority of house- holds had no alternate source of income.

However, conservationists cannot afford to be complacent about the lower levels of trading in the Lowveld. Harvesters supplying urban areas in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Province now collect substantial quantities of plants that are no longer available in their areas of origin from neighbouring countries and provinces (Mander 1998; Williams et al. 2000). Harvesting levels in Mpumalanga Province have increased substan- tially in recent years, particularly to supply the Witwatersrand urban markets (pers comm. T. Steyn 2003).

This study has highlighted both a rich cultural diversity and socio-economic differentiation within the Lowveld, factors that strongly influ- ence resource management and the develop- ment of CBC programmes. Although there may be similarities in the role and usage of traditional medicines between different ethnic groups, there are also significant differences. For instance, there was little overlap between the plant species traded in the mainly Swazi markets of Mpumalanga Province, and the Venda and Tsonga markets of Limpopo Province (Botha 2001). Vernacular names also varied substantially within a relatively small geographical range (Botha et al. 2001). Beliefs about the potency and potential dangers of different plants, animals and cures also sometimes differ, as do the (cultural) pollutants that could negate these powers.

A comparison of the markets included in the Lowveld study not only encompasses geographi- cal differences between the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, but also differences between traders operating towards the more formal end of the economic continuum and vendors trading in the informal sector. Cun- ningham (1992) noted that traders rather than commercial gatherers earn the majority of profits derived from traditional medicine. The traders in this study illustrated a similar pattern, having significantly higher wealth rankings than the vendors, although gross earnings were lower

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than the average earnings of traders in KwaZulu- Natal previously estimated by Mander (1998) at 8169 191 per annum. The average number of customers seen per trader per day in Durban was 193 (Mander 1998), while the trader who owned the largest outlet in Limpopo Province estimated that he, his staff and family only saw 50-70 patients per day.

Although low, the income generated by some street and pension day vendors compared favourablywith informal sector earnings in other parts of South Africa. Medicinal plant gatherers in the Durban markets, for example, had gross earnings of between R300-440 per month (Mander 1998). In Bushbuckridge (Limpopo Province), curio artists generated R1’79-423 per month through the harvesting of woodroses (flower-like curios made from mistletoes) (Dzerefos et al. 1999). School-going woodcarvers near the KNP earned from R50 in a poor month to R650 in a good one, with adults earning a gross income of R100-1000 (Botha andventer 199’7).

Rogerson (1996) distinguishes between ‘survivalist’ and ‘growth’ business activities. In the former, small amounts are usually earned, which are used almost immediately to support the family. In growth strategies, money is reinvested into the business. The traders were generally able to invest in their businesses, with several em- ploying assistants and running more than one enterprise. One had diversified his business activities, while another had opened three medicinal outlets. All the vendors fell in the ‘survivalist’ category, operating on their own or with friends and family. Although 55% of the street and pension day vendors earned enough to purchase stock on a continual basis, the remainder of their income was used to support their families, and it is unlikely that they would be able to expand their business activities to a great extent in the future under current circumstances. Two pension day vendors owned (rundown) vehicles that, apart from lowering their transport costs, held additional business advantages. One stocked the highest quantity and diversity of products in the informal markets, and was able to travel to Mozambique and Gauteng Province without having to hire avehicle or make use of public transport. His gross earnings were amongst the highest of the pension day vendors (approximately R36 000 per annum) , although

his wealth ranking was not, as he was the sole breadwinner and maintained only one house- hold.

Four main socio-economic profiles emerged through the MDS: (i) elderly (Group A); (ii) a couple with one household, two children and an intermediate wealth ranking (Group B); (iii) a widow and couples with one household, 2-4 dependants, low to high wealth rankings (Group C) and (iv) households with co-wives or a number of additional women (Group D) . One of the most vulnerable groups, Group A (the elderly) and one of the men were also at the lowest end of the survival spectrum. This group often collected their own plants, having limited funds to pur- chase products. They frequently missed out on sales opportunities as they did not have enough money to provide their customers with change.

Unlike the KwaZulu-Natal markets and else- where in Africa, where the majority of those trad- ing medicinal plants in the informal economy today are women (Cunningham 1992; Mander 1998), men tended to dominate this sector in the Lowveld. The number of traditional healers per household, on the other hand, was correlated with the number of women, agreeing with cus- tomary practices (Cunningham 1992).

Women generally earn less than men in the informal sector, and with a few exceptions, the majority operate at the survival end of the spec- trum (Rogerson 1996). In Mpumalanga Prov- ince, women’s earnings were significantly lower than those of the men, including two traditional healers, even though medicine prescribed by traditional healers is usually more expensive as a consultation fee is included. Despite this, women made an important contribution to household incomes, with the number of breadwinners being significantly correlated with the number of women per household. The majority of women were not the only breadwinners in the household, resulting in higher overall wealth rankings.

Formal education levels were low, and custom- ary training remains an important means of acquiring knowledge and developing skills. Most people living in rural areas are familiar with herbs to treat common ailments. Vendors acquired a more in depth knowledge through training from a family member or friends. Traditional healers usually serve an apprenticeship with an estab- lished practitioner, building on this knowledge

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through their informal networks and/or tradi- tional healer organisations. The majority (67%) of women selling at the street and pension day markets learned the medicinal trade from their husbands; the remainder were traditional heal- ers.

Men often acquire business skills through experience gained through migration to urban areas (Preston-Whyte and Nene 1984). Rural women living in remote areas often have fewer opportunities to experience the outside world, which tends to limit their capacity and horizons, although in parts of South Africa this is changing (Preston-Whyte and Nene 1984). In this study, only one woman travelled to Mozambique to purchase plants, accompanying her husband.

Women may also be limited economically through restricted expectations of the female role (Preston Whyte and Nene 1984; Kanji 2002). In KwaZulu-Natal, young women trading in markets were sometimes said to be undermining their husband’s authority, neglecting their children and household chores, or being too available to men (Preston Whyte and Nene 1984). Older or recently widowed women who traded sometimes provoked community disapproval. Deserted or long widowed women were some- times less pressured as their need was greater than those who had husbands to support them, albeit often erratically. This type of marginaliza- tion is not unusual in patriarchal societies. In a study conducted in Tajikistan, women traders reported that they were stigmatised or gossiped about for selling on the streets (Kanji 2002). To avoid censure, women in KwaZulu-Natal attended markets in couples or small groups (Preston Whyte and Nene 1984). This constraint also affects women in the Lowveld. All the women who were interviewed either assisted their husbands, or were accompanied to market by co-wives, adult daughters or a friend. Several traded only at markets at a distance from their village to avoid community disapproval. Project implementers need to be sensitive to the roles and needs of women, and not unwittingly cause conflict or create problems by overly infringing on their household duties or drawing attention to activi- ties that women would prefer not to advertise.

Markets are sensitive to flows and concentra- tions of pedestrians and traffic (Dewar and Watson 1990; Karaan and Myburgh 1992). In the

Lowveld, medicinal sales sites were located in busy trading areas, usually near transport sys- tems. Despite the drawback of competition, the majority of vendors and traders were situated in close proximity to others selling medicinal products. Dewar and Watson (1990) suggest that the agglomeration of people selling similar produce holds a number of advantages, includ- ing: (i) increased drawing capacity of consumers; (ii) convenience for customers enabling com- parisons of potential purchases and (iii) potential for mutually advantageous co-operation between operators. Vendors and traders in the Lowveld regularly purchased stock from one another and, in Mpumalanga Province, referred customers to each other.

Despite these advantages, informal markets are also highly competitive (Dewar and Watson 1981), and competition and conflict was ob- served between certain pension day vendors during the study period. Competition has also been shown to exist between street vendors in the larger metropolitan area of Durban, as well as between street vendors and traders (Mander 1998). The latter was not identified as a problem in the Lowveld, probably due to the lower numbers of people trading medicinal plants in the region. Although not unexpected in situations where people are competing for the same resources and clientele, often working in arduous conditions, this factor needs to be noted during the planning of development initiatives. Most development initiatives focus on working with interest groups rather than individuals, for a variety of reasons, including (i) the facilita- tion of communication and administration (Sethuraman 1997) ; (ii) attempts to re-establish traditional rights and practices to communities (Twyman 2000) ; (iii) the encouragement of accountability and community sanction and (iv) to work with existing human resources or social capital (existing institutions, relations of trust, reciprocity, common rules, norms and sanctions) (Pretty and Ward 2001). In a highly competitive environment such as the medicinal trade, care needs to be taken not to exacerbate conflict. Although it may be advantageous for stake- holders to unite for lobbying and skills devel- opment purposes, different approaches need to be found, perhaps by working within a loose association of vendors or traders while finding

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ways to provide individuals with personal oppor- tunities and tangible benefits. If an organisation is initiated, the development of effective institutional capacity and conflict resolution skills and mechanisms is crucial.

The structural limitations of those involved in the informal economy also need to be considered when designing development interventions (Nattrass 1984). Although people working in this sector show remarkable resilience, the majority operate through a need to survive rather than by choice, courage or initiative (Nattrass 1984; Kennedy 1992; Kanji 2002). Given the lack of education, skills, experience and self confidence, few are able to expand their business substan- tially. The majority would prefer to be employed full time (pers comms, Nyongane curio artists 1994; Bhorat and Leibbrandt 1998, this study). Assistance to survivalist enterprises should thus be considered a form of poverty relief or welfare support (Rogerson 1996). Development funding agencies, implementing agencies and social workers need to have realistic expectations about potential achievements, as well as the time frame and resources required to make a tangible difference. Numerous CBC programmes have encountered difficulties in producing long-term interventions due to their relatively short project cycles of 3-5 years (Newmark and Hough 2000).

Nattrass (1984) warns against well-intentioned development interventions that result in the informal operator being trapped between two markets, and eventually losing both. Here the operational differences between the street and pension day vendors provide a cautionary example. To address problems being experi- enced through a lack of infrastructure, sugges- tions were made to construct fured facilities for them at a centralised market. Although there is little differentiation in the socio-economic attributes of the street and pension day vendors, their marketing strategies differ considerably. The street vendors operate from fixed sites close to a transport system in urban areas, while the pension day vendors move to their customers from one rural or peri-urban settlement to the next. The development of infrastructure in a city, as part of an over-arching urban management plan for the informal sector, would benefit the street vendors as this would provide storage facilities and protection from the elements. The

construction of a fixed infrastructure for the mobile pension day vendors, however, could have adverse effects for the intended beneficiaries and/or the already pressured resource base. If the current pension day vendors were to be offered fixed facilities close to the area in which they operate, at a major transportation cross- roads, for example, most would accept the invitation to participate in the project, as the majority of informal sector operators in this region were eager to accept offers of external assistance. New vendors would then take up the previous trading niches in the pension day markets as cash strapped consumers in rural areas prefer not to travel too far, and are likely to continue purchasing the majority of their traditional medicines in their own villages. If the newly created market were to fail, the pension day vendors would lose their current trading niche, due to the additional entrants now selling at the pension day markets. Local and regional harvesting pressure would increase due to the additional number of vendors operating in the markets, as well as a possible increase in demand if commuters and vendors from outside the area purchase from the newly created market. With the current pressures on wild populations, it would be prudent not to establish additional markets until mass cultivation of medicinal plants becomes a reality, either through commercial or community co-operative means.

Cross-border trade is important in the Lowveld, particularly in Mpumalanga Province. Recommendations have been made for stricter border controls and education of border post officials to reduce pressure on wildlife medicinal products (Marshall 1998). While other informal sector operators involved in cross border trade between Zimbabwe and South Africa reported ill treatment by customs and police (Nthaduleni 1999), this did not affect those in the medicinal trade prior to 1999 and no bribes were required. By 2001, however, vendors reported that they were having to pay bribes to bring medici- nal products into South Africa from Mozam- bique (pers comms, pension day vendors, 2001). Although certain regulations are necessary, increased border controls will almost certainly negatively impact on the already strained livelihoods of vendors and traders, and are unlikely to substantially reduce the quantity of

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medicinal plants harvested. If the South Afiican vendors are struggling for survival, their Mozam- biquan counterparts are in even worse straits, with Mozambique being rated one of the poorest countries in the world (Bell 1998). Alternative, co-operative approaches need to be explored in the sub-region, to ensure that valuable medicinal plants remain available to people without com- promising livelihoods or further eroding wild plant populations.

These strategies need to include national and regional government agencies, as well as the private sector, vendors, traders, and traditional healers. If those from the subsistence sector are excluded from this process, plants will continue to be harvested from the wild until populations are SO depleted that it is no longer financially viable to do so or populations go locally extinct. The sociological environments in which the traditional healers, vendors, traders and con- sumers live and work also need to be considered. Traditional healers sometimes engender commu- nity fear and censure through their ambivalent power, at times resulting in violence (Ralushai et al. 1995). Resource management programmes need to be developed within the broader context of the community, with regular communication and feedback. The process could be linked to health care initiatives that include training and improved reciprocal co-operation with staff from clinics and hospitals. The often marginalized positions of those trading in, particularly, the informal sector (especially vulnerable groups such as women and pensioners) needs to be taken into account, and care needs to be taken not to create circumstances through which people could be further disempowered.

CONCLUSION The medicinal trade makes an important contribution to the health of communities as well as the livelihoods of traders, vendors and their families in the Lowveld. With the high levels of unemployment and low standards of formal edu- cation in the region, opportunities for individual vendors and traders to obtain long-term, formal sector employment are limited. Between 1970 and 1995, there was a decrease of 24% in demand for labour in South Africa across the formal employment sectors for individuals with only

primary or secondary schooling, and a decrease of 79% for those with no schooling (Bhorat 2000). The relatively low numbers of vendors and traders operating in this sector in the Lowveld provides a window of opportunity for the devel- opment of CBC programmes to address the effective management of medicinal plants in the region. Socio-economic differentiation between the different market players needs to be taken into account, however. Apart from cultural diver- sity, socio-economic differentiation occurred at a number of levels. First, there were socio-eco- nomic differences between the traders and vendors. The former generated significantly higher incomes, were able to diversify their business activities, usually employed assistants and were able to reinvest more money back into their businesses. Vendors, on the other hand, generally operated at the survivalist end of the spectrum, despite many earning higher incomes than their counterparts in other sectors or provinces. Second, gender differences were apparent, with women earning significantly less than men and having to undergo more social challenges in their operation in the market place. In the Lowveld region, the majority worked with their husbands or co-wives and were not the sole breadwinners in the household. Third, there were operational differences between the traders, as well as street and pension day vendors. The traders operated from fixed premises, while the street vendors traded at fixed locations near transport routes in the capital of Mpumalanga Province, and the pension day vendors followed the pension payout route, providing cash strapped rural consumers with regular oppor- tunities to purchase medicinal plants without having to spend money on transport. The last group was mobile, and had the additional con- straint and expense of having to pack and transport their wares several times a day. Fourth, the MDS highlighted socio-economic differen- tiation at household level, emphasizing in particular one of the most vulnerable groups, the elderly. The potential influence of this socio- economic differentiation on the development of CBC programmes needs to be carefully evaluated and constantly monitored, with programmes being proactively adapted to meet changing market conditions, if the dual aims of conserv- ing biodiversity and improving the lives and

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livelihoods of those who traditionally rely on medicinal plants are to be met.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The KNP Traditional Healers programme was funded by The Green Trust (an associated trust of WWF-SA, suppor ted by Nedbank Green) between 1994 and 1998. South African National Parks and the University of the Witwatersrand

provided logistical support. Special thanks go to the vendors and traders, without whom this study would not have been possible. Mr Alfred Ngwenya, Mr Hendrick Mugwabana and Mr T h a n d o Msomo assisted with translations. Thanks are also due to: Mr David Newton of TRAFFIC-SA, as well as Prof Richard Pienaar, Prof Robert Thornton and Prof Kevin Balkwill of Wits University, for comments on various aspects of the study

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