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This project intends to build on
the traditional knowledge systems of species and products, which
are familiar to particular communities. The total project will be
an exercise in innovative research and development of ecologically
realistic and socially acceptable SMME's based on the sustainable
utilization of species and products traditionally harvested from
forests and woodlands in South Africa. It will contribute to:
i) the survival of the used
species in their natural environments,
ii) environmental conservation
in rural areas, and
iii) job creation, local
empowerment, and associated improved quality of life in rural
areas of South Africa.
The project will accumulate
information on which of the many species from the forest and
woodland ecosystems have been used. The intention is to turn this
knowledge, together with the local practitioners, into useful
technologies for the benefit of the rural and national economies,
and for restoration of the degraded environments. The project will
also establish core characteristics of selected species which
would help to overcome constraints in their cultivation and
development, to provide a basis for monitoring sustainable
resource use from the natural environment, and to improve
production from outside the natural ecosystems within
cost-effective industries. |