Ecosystem services of urban green spaces in African countries: perspectives and challenges
Date
2013Author
Cilliers, Sarel
Cilliers, Juanee
Lubbe, Rina
Siebert, Stefan
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The concept of ecosystem goods and services is increasingly used to describe how
biodiversity and ecosystems are linked to human well-being and that it should be placed at
the core of sustainable urban development. Predictions of a tremendous future increase of
urbanization in Africa necessitate an investigation into the research on ecosystem goods and
services in the urban green infrastructure of Africa. Ecosystem goods and services (ES) are
described as the benefits humans derive directly or indirectly from ecosystem functions and
are classified as supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. A literature study
focusing on journal papers was conducted. Additionally a case study based on two masters
studies was further refined. ES studies in African cities are biased towards South Africa and
include assessments and economic valuations in which several different methods were used
to determine direct consumptive and non-consumptive and indirect use values. Emphasis
was placed on the multifunctional nature of ES. The main objectives of these studies were to
sensitize policy makers, planners and the general public about the importance of biodiversity
and ES. Ecosystem-based adaptation is discussed as the most appropriate approach in terms
of applying knowledge about ES and their values in African cities as many residents still rely
on ES from natural areas, but the major ecological, economic and political challenges are
acknowledged. A case study focusing on domestic gardens (private green spaces) have
indicated that the demand and supply of certain ES differ along a socio-economic gradient
due to poor service delivery and smaller plots in the poorer areas mainly due to the legacy of
separate development of the past. Where provisioning services are mainly outsourced in
cities, it was found that plant species useful as food, medicine, etc. were more frequent in the
gardens of poorer residents than in those of more affluent areas. The tendency to pay more
for residential properties close to public open spaces, as in Europe, could not be statistically
proven in the more affluent areas of a South African city, although the property values in
proximity of public open spaces in some of the areas studied were lower than further away
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/16783https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-012-0254-3
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0254-3