Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
Only parts or products of the organism (e.g., feathers, leaves, branches, eggs, nuts)
Details of parts/products taken
The shells of the fruit are used to make bowls, cups, and jars.
Fruit is harvested for human consumption; young leaves are eaten as a spinach, and the seeds can be eaten as a snack either raw or roasted. The roots, when boiled, produce a red-purple dye that is suitable for dying fabric. Bark is harvested for traditional medicine purposes. Both bark and roots are harvested using axes. They are simply chopped off haphazardly when being used for traditional medicine purposes, whereas when the bark is to be used for rope or crafts a rectangular strip of bark is usually removed, sometimes spanning the entire circumference of the tree (ringbarking).
Gweta, population roughly 5000, is situated on the northern outskirts of the Makgadikgadi pans in the country’s Central District and is one of the main entry points for tourists visiting the pans.
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Yes, it is having a negative effect (e.g., prey depletion, stress, disrupted breeding, movement, sleeping, feeding patterns)
Unknown/not recorded
Additional Details (if available)
At the moment, buffalo weavers are threatened by branch loss, which can and does cause their nests to drop from the trees.
Details of assessment carried out
Results suggest that baobab harvesting in its current form is detrimental to the trees’ health and may not be sustainable in the long term;
harvesting practices at present are causing damage to the trees and will result in diminishing returns to the village over time, especially where fruit is concerned. At the moment, fruit yields are almost certainly declining as a result of human exploitation. In the face of a growing human population, pressure on the trees will increase, and as a result the benefits they provide to the community will gradually wither away. If pushed farther, even the trees themselves could begin to be killed as has happened with fungus-infected baobabs in Namibia;
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
pulp contains six times the vitamin C of an orange, more calcium than milk, numerous antioxidants, and a high concentration of vitamin A. The leaves are also high in vitamin A, can be eaten as a green, and are used medicinally to treat fevers and diarrhoea.
Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?
Unknown/not recorded
Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?
Rhodes, Benjamin, "Testing the Baobab’s Mettle: An Evaluation of the Sustainability and Economic Potential of Harvesting Adansonia digitata" (2009). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 727. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/727
Results suggest that baobab harvesting in its current form is detrimental to the trees’ health and may not be sustainable in the long term; Human usage was linked to increased branch loss and to the severity of infection by rot fungi.