Are Mopani Worms a Mechanism for Mopane Tree (Colophospermum mopane) Conservation? An Evaluation of the Villages Around Giyani, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background and Background Aims: Colophospermum mopane provides many benefits including mopani worms, firewood, timber for construction, and medicine. Despite C. mopane playing a significant role in the lives and livelihoods of communities within their range, they are destroyed because of unsustainable harvesting practices coupled with lack of management practices. Assessment of people’s attitudes has become significant in studies dealing with the conservation of biodiversity. This study aims to assess the attitudes of local communities in and surrounding Giyani in Limpopo Province in South Africa towards the mopane tree and to determine if their attitudes relate to obedience to traditional rules and regulations. Methods: Interview-administered questionnaires were used to systematically select 161 households in Muyexe village and 82 households in Nsavulani village. The questionnaire evaluated the biographical data of respondents, knowledge of mopane woodlands, importance of mopane trees and mopani worms, and their attitudes towards mopane tree conservation. Results: The overwhelming majority of respondents in both villages had positive attitudes towards mopane trees for ethical reasons. Respondents were also positive that mopane trees should be protected for future generations. The positive attitude of most respondents relates to obedience to rules and regulations that do not allow cutting of wet C. mopane. Respondents only cut dead or dry mopane woodlands for fuelwood. Cutting or harvesting was done on a subsistence and sustainable basis. Conclusion: The communities have shown that they are guardians of C. mopane. The study concluded that mopani worms serve a mechanism for C. mopane conservation in Muyexe and Nsavulani villages in South Africa. Implications for conservation: The positive attitudes of local communities, and obedience to the customary rules and regulations is a positive sign not only for ethical reasons, but also for long-term mopane woodlands conservation. This approach encourages the long sustainability of mopane woodlands in the study area.