Walter Musakwa

Background/Rationale: In spite of the fact that ecosystems are deteriorating and being degraded by humans, there is still a knowledge gap regarding their purpose and benefits to society. Provisioning ecosystem services are vital to both human existence and economic activity throughout Africa, yet the connections between these services and human health and wellbeing remain poorly understood. Objectives: This paper aims to highlight research conducted on provisioning ecosystem services in Africa and their impact on human health and wellbeing over the last three decades (1991-2021). Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach, PSALSAR was used to identify studies conducted between 1991 and 202. These studies examined the value of provisioning ecosystem services. In order to provide a comprehensive view of the existing literature, the paper combined bibliometric analysis with the PRISMA protocol. The analysis of the bibliometric data was visualized using the VOSviewer software. Results: With approximately 47944 publications on ecosystem services. South Africa was the leading country in Africa in terms of knowledge contribution and analysis. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria, most being from South Africa. Studies primarily consisted of or employed qualitative, review-based, and cross-sectional designs. Thus, highlighting a gap in quantitative evidence. Food, water, medicinal plants, and fuelwood emerged as the most frequently examined provisioning services. Research on ecosystem services and human health focused primarily on water-related health outcomes, while wellbeing-focused research centred on livelihood support, biodiversity conservation, and landscape management. Conclusions: This review highlights the critical but underexplored role of provisioning ecosystem services in supporting human health and wellbeing across Africa, particularly in Southern African contexts. Emerging research trends point toward the interconnectedness of social-ecological systems, biodiversity conservation, and agricultural provisioning. As such policies and land management practices should recognise and protect these contributions.

Throughout South Africa, conservation areas are increasingly influenced by a history of keeping people out. This is especially apparent in those communities around Kruger National, because the management of these areas has a direct impact on how people live, and on their link to the natural world. This study considers the connection between people and their surroundings in Ward 15, Musina Local Municipality, Limpopo Province; a region alongside the northern boundary of the KNP and which exemplifies the difficulties in simultaneously conserving nature and enabling the development of local communities. A combination of research methods was used, and the study is based on 156 interviews with households in several villages and uses a 45-minute questionnaire integrates quantitative indicators with qualitative narratives. The results of the study show that differences in getting basic services continue, income is not fairly shared, and local people are not sufficiently involved in decisions about conservation. Although KNP does try to connect with the public, those interviewed stressed the need for open discussion, a fair share of benefits, and governance which includes everyone. The main results suggest that what people think and feel about Kruger National Park is a good way to assess whether conservation will be sustainable. It is suggested that conservation policy should take account of the people who live nearby, so that conservation can be strong, involve all people, and be fair to society.

Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) have been operating under unsolved theoretical puzzles related to policy coherence and practical coordination. In particular, the mismatch between national policies and ground operations warrants a thorough policy and functional coherence assessment, which remains underexplored in TFCAs. Through a qualitative comparative analysis of strategic park policy documents and twenty key informant interviews, this study examines the extent of policy and functional coherence between Kruger and Gonarezhou National Parks within the Greater Limpopo TFCA (GLTFCA). The study applied a theme-based coding method to assess alignment across functional policy domains. Our findings reveal a moderate policy alignment (3.6 out of 5) with strong coherence in themes aligned to international frameworks and global norms. In contrast, themes related to governance, institutional efficiency, and transboundary cooperation showed the weakest coherence, highlighting implementation gaps and fragmented accountability. These weaknesses correspond closely to key coordination dimensions, particularly those related to institutional alignment and knowledge-sharing mechanisms. These findings underscore that while policy intent aligns, functional coherence is constrained by disparities in power, institutional capacity, the complexities of legal pluralism, and fragmented coordination mechanisms. The findings underscore that aligning policy intent is insufficient without addressing functional coherence and call for greater attention to political, institutional, and legal asymmetries in TFCAs. This research also contributes to ongoing efforts for policy harmonization within the GLTFCA by offering a practical, theme-based method for diagnosing alignment gaps and overlaps across strategic conservation policies. It provides empirical insights into the current disconnect between policy provisions and operational realities, highlighting critical areas in need of immediate attention and resource allocation.

Climate change can influence malaria incidence directly and indirectly, impacting vector and parasite dynamics, along with socioeconomic factors influencing malaria risk. In Zimbabwe there is a paucity of research linking climate change, environmental factors, and malaria incidence, hindering coordinated efforts for malaria elimination. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to explore the link between climate change, environmental factors, and malaria incidences, from 2010 to 2022, in Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe. A transdisciplinary approach was applied, combining quantitative weather data from weather stations, malaria incidence data and insights from focus group discussions which were used to glean people’s perceptions and knowledge of climate change and malaria in Chiredzi District. Participatory mapping showing hot spots of malaria incidence were also utilized. Statistical analysis in MATLAB was used to analyse the weather and malaria data and a P-value of 0.0479 was obtained which is deemed as statistically significant. ATLAS.ti was used to qualitatively analyse data from the focus group discussions. Key results from the study show evidence of climate change in Chiredzi district manifesting through an increase in rainfall, increase in temperature, change in seasons and extreme weather patterns. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between changes in climate and an increase in malaria incidence. However, in some years the relation is negative, and this can be attributed to other factors. Similarly, malaria incidence is also related to other socioeconomic and environmental factors such as poverty and migration which are further exacerbated by climate change. Malaria incidence is also attributed to other environmental and socio-economic factors. Further studies with extended datasets that span a longer period need to be carried out. Likewise forecasting malaria incidence based on current climate, environmental and socio-economic conditions is crucial for advocating transformative malaria prevention programs, emphasizing the importance of inclusive partnership and adaptation to a changing climate. New malaria prevention programs that consider the impact of a changing climate on malaria, local environmental and socio-economic factors are urgently needed.

Discussions surrounding wildlife governance are lacking in critical engagement concerning the impact of different tiers of governance on elephant conservation and community participation. Although most studies acknowledge that local-level wildlife governance is impacted by higher levels of governance, few have endeavored to analyze the nature and impact of this interface. This study conducted a comprehensive literature review to investigate how studies have addressed this complex subject matter. The study aims to determine how wildlife governance scholarship considers global multilateralism, particularly CITES decisions, and their impact on elephant conservation and community participation. A bibliometric analysis was performed using data from online databases and visualization software. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) were then used as a protocol to select relevant literature from the larger database for content analysis. The findings suggest that, while wildlife governance is a globally documented and acceptable concept, research on the impact of environmental multilateralism, especially CITES, on African elephant conservation and community participation is very limited. Existing studies mainly focus on approaches to elephant and broader wildlife conservation, protected area management, sustainable development, governance approaches, approaches to community participation, CITES, and wildlife trade. There is an identified dearth in the available literature on how the participation of communities living with wildlife, in particular, the African elephant is affected by higher governance structures such as Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). These findings provide valuable insights for future research trends, highlighting opportunities for building research partnerships and strengthening engagements at all levels of wildlife governance, policy generation, and community participation.