Socio‑economic factors influencing Afzelia africana Sm. use value and traditional knowledge in Uganda: implications for sustainable management
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Abstract
Afzelia africana Sm. is a highly valued multi-purpose and overexploited tree species in
Africa. Ethnobotany of A. africana can guide its sustainable usage, yet there is limited
information on such aspect for the species in Uganda. Here, we assessed use values of A.
africana and users’ traditional knowledge, and how they relate to plant parts and socioeconomic
factors including ethnicity, gender, education, age, marital status, profession,
household size, income, land size and livestock ownership. Two hundred face-to-face
semi-structured interviews were conducted. Use values were assessed based on plant part
value (PPV) and use value per use category (
UVk), while users’ traditional knowledge was
compared using overall use value (OUV) and reported use value (RUV). All plant parts
were used, with stem (PPV = 41.4%), seeds (19.6%) and leaves (19.3%) being the most
important. Nine plant use categories were enumerated, with most dominant being material
(
UVk = 0.63), followed by social (0.49) and fuel wood (0.41). Bark and root were mostly
used for medicinal purpose, and branch and stem for fuelwood and material, respectively.
Men and youngsters had higher OUV than females and older people, respectively. In particular,
men frequently mentioned the use in agriculture, for fuelwood, environment and
medicine, while women reported social use. Although socio-cultural group did not influence
significantly OUV and RUV, multivariate analyses revealed differentiation in use category
according to socio-cultural group. Land size also predisposed informants to report
more uses for the species. Taking these significant socio-economic factors into account in
participative forest management will facilitate A. africana sustainable use.
Description
Keywords
Ethnobotany, Socio-cultural group, Multi-purpose tree species, Gender, Traditional knowledge, Uganda
Citation
Biara, E., Egeru, A., Mensah, S., Salamula, J. B., & Kadigo, M. M. (2021). Socio-economic factors influencing Afzelia africana Sm. use value and traditional knowledge in Uganda: implications for sustainable management. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(2), 2261-2278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00673-6