Direct-use Values of Non-Timber Forest Products from Two Areas on the Transkei Wild Coast

It is now widely appreciated internationally that rural communities make extensive use of wild resources, and that this use has significant direct use value. The number of case studies in South Africa that have valued the use of such resources are small, albeit growing. Yet none of them have been from coastal sites, which would include use of marine resources, nor have previous studies included the non-biological resources of sand and clay for building purposes. This paper addresses this gap, through examination of the role and value of wild resources in rural livelihoods of households in the Ntubeni and Cwebe areas of the Transkei Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. Households used a wide range of resources collected from the surrounding communal lands and the Dwesa Cwebe Nature Reserve. Major differences between the sites were the widespread use of bushmeat, shellfish and building sand at Ntubeni compared with relatively small use of these three resources at Cwebe. These differences resulted in a markedly higher, gross, annual, direct-use value at Ntubeni than at Cwebe. The gross, annual, direct-use value averaged across all resources (excluding medicinal plants) and all households (user and non-users) was over R12 000 at Ntubeni, compared to R4 858 at Cwebe. At Ntubeni over half of the total annual direct-use value was contributed by fish and shellfish, indicating the need for more studies in coastal areas. A similar pattern was not evident at Cwebe, because residents did not have access to a rocky shoreline outside of the marine reserve. Local trade was highly variable, both between resources and between households. Averaging the value of trade across all households (i.e. traders and non-traders), gave a total gross, annual value of R1 660 and R600 at Ntubeni and Cwebe, respectively.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Changing energy profiles and consumption patterns following electrification in five rural villages, South Africa

Following the democratic transition in South Africa in the early 1990s the government has implemented a widespread electrification programme, as well as introduced a free basic electricity allowance as a means of poverty alleviation. Yet there are limited longitudinal studies on the impacts of the introduction of electricity on the patterns of household energy use, and even more so in the neglected rural sector. This study reports on the patterns of household energy use in five rural settlements in 1991 and again in 2002. Results indicate a changing pattern of energy use for lighting and powering entertainment appliances, more specifically from dry-cell batteries and paraffin to electricity. Yet for thermal needs, most notably cooking, fuelwood has remained the most widespread fuel, and the amount used per month has not changed, despite increasing scarcity of wood in the local environment. There has been an increase in the proportion of households purchasing fuelwood as opposed to collecting their own. Overall, the mean total number of fuel types used per household has increased, indicating that electricity is simply viewed as an additional energy, rather than an alternative. Yet, electricity accounted for approximately 60% of expenditure on energy sources in 2002, despite the government's policy of a free basic allowance of 5–6 kWh per month. This has implications for energy supply costing, as well as the poverty alleviation dimensions of the whole programme

Household fuelwood use in small electrified towns of the Makana District, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Access to secure energy supplies is a key foundation for sustainable development. Consequently local planning and development initiatives must be based on a sound knowledge of the energy use patterns and preferences of local users. This paper reports on such for three small urban settlements in the Eastern Cape Province, with a particular focus on fuelwood use. Despite widespread electrification over a decade ago, and perceptions that the ease of fuelwood collection was declining, most households continued to use fuelwood for cooking and space heating, whereas electricity was favoured for light-ing. The most common reason for this was because fuelwood was cheap (or free) compared to electric-ity. Annual demand was approximately 1 450 kg per household per year. Households that collected their own supplies of fuelwood were significantly poorer than those that either bought their stocks, or those that did not use fuelwood at all. Indigenous species were favoured over exotic species, although fuelwood vendors traded mostly in exotic species, particularly Eucalyptus and wattle. The greater reliance of poorer and unelectrified households on fuelwood requires that local authorities consider this in energy planning, otherwise the poor will be neg-lected in policies such as the Free Basic Electricity

Household fuelwood use in small electrified towns of the Makana District, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Access to secure energy supplies is a key foundation for sustainable development. Consequently local planning and development initiatives must be based on a sound knowledge of the energy use patterns and preferences of local users. This paper reports on such for three small urban settlements in the Eastern Cape Province, with a particular focus on fuelwood use. Despite widespread electrification over a decade ago, and perceptions that the ease of fuelwood collection was declining, most households continued to use fuelwood for cooking and space heating, whereas electricity was favoured for light-ing. The most common reason for this was because fuelwood was cheap (or free) compared to electric-ity. Annual demand was approximately 1 450 kg per household per year. Households that collected their own supplies of fuelwood were significantly poorer than those that either bought their stocks, or those that did not use fuelwood at all. Indigenous species were favoured over exotic species, although fuelwood vendors traded mostly in exotic species, particularly Eucalyptus and wattle. The greater reliance of poorer and unelectrified households on fuelwood requires that local authorities consider this in energy planning, otherwise the poor will be neg-lected in policies such as the Free Basic Electricity

SUN1 interacts with nuclear lamin A and cytoplasmic nesprins to provide a physical connection between the nuclear lamina and the cytoskeleton

The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Nuclear migration and positioning within cells are critical for many developmental processes and are governed by the cytoskeletal network. Although mechanisms of nuclear-cytoskeletal attachment are unclear, growing evidence links a novel family of nuclear envelope (NE) proteins that share a conserved C-terminal SUN (Sad1/UNC-84 homology) domain. Analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans mutants has implicated UNC-84 in actin-mediated nuclear positioning by regulating NE anchoring of a giant actin-binding protein, ANC-1. Here, we report the identification of SUN1 as a lamin A-binding protein in a yeast two-hybrid screen. We demonstrate that SUN1 is an integral membrane protein located at the inner nuclear membrane. While the N-terminal domain of SUN1 is responsible for detergent-resistant association with the nuclear lamina and lamin A binding, lamin A/C expression is not required for SUN1 NE localization. Furthermore, SUN1 does not interact with type B lamins, suggesting that NE localization is ensured by binding to an additional nuclear component(s), most likely chromatin. Importantly, we find that the luminal C-terminal domain of SUN1 interacts with the mammalian ANC-1 homologs nesprins 1 and 2 via their conserved KASH domain. Our data provide evidence of a physical nuclear-cytoskeletal connection that is likely to be a key mechanism in nuclear-cytoplasmic communication and regulation of nuclear position

The choice for EU theorists: Establishing a common framework for analysis

European Union (EU) studies have entered a highly contentious and, arguably, creative phase. A range of theoretical perspectives, seemingly quite highly differentiated from one another, now compete for influence and lsquospacersquo. However, the questions remain: is EU studies developing theories which are truly competing theories? Or is it developing theories that do not compete so much as they aim to explain distinctly different pieces of the EU puzzle? This paper responds directly to these two questions, while reviewing recent literature on EU governance. It argues, first, that we lack theories of EU governance that are true rivals; and, second, that leading models explain different outcomes at different levels in a multi-level system of governance. The result is somewhat phoney debates between compatible theories masquerading as rivals, and between lsquocomparative politicsrsquo and lsquointernational relationsrsquo approaches. Above all, perhaps, we find middle range theories posing as general or lsquometa-theoriesrsquo. In the absence of a plausible general theory of EU governance, theorists must choose precisely which type of outcome theywish to explain

Seasonal changes in biomass concentration in three coastal grassland communities in Transkei.

The density of forage available to wild ungulates was measured in terms of biomass concentration. Data were collected in three grassland communities for several months. In two of the communities burning and grazing treatments were also applied. The biomass concentration was greatest in the shortest sward. Results indicate that after burning biomass concentrations were temporarily below the level required by a LSU to maintain body mass. This temporary shortage existed for 5-6 months after a fire. This may be partly responsible for the increased grazing frequently observed following a fire.Keywords: biomass; body mass; burning; burnt; fire; forage; grassland; grassland communities; grazing; grazing treatments; lsu; mkambati game reserve; pondoland; south africa; transkei; unburnt; ungulate

Seasonal changes in above-ground standing crop in three coastal grassland communities in Transkei.

Above-ground standing crop (ASC) dynamics were followed over a two-year period in three coastal grassland communities. The mass of biomass, necromass and litter components was determined monthly from hand-clipped samples and compared under three management treatments - grazing, burning and protection from defoliation. Burning reduced ASC to below control levels until the second post-fire summer. Grazing reduced the amount of biomass marginally for 12 months following a fire. The mass of litter increased with time after burning. In unburnt swards changes in the litter component were inconsistent between sites. Peak ASC was higher than that recorded in most sour grassland communities to date.Language: EnglishKeywords: above-ground standing crop; Above-ground standing crop dynamics; ASC; Biomass; botany; burning; defoliation; dynamics; fire; Fire effects; grassland; grassland communities; Grasslands; grazing; Grazing effects; Litter; management; mkambati game reserve; Necromass; south africa; standing crop; transkei; treatments; unburn