An evaluation of the factors that influence households’ participation and perceptions of the tree and ecological restoration in the eThekwini District, South Africa.

Abstract

Ecological restoration, described as the method of assisting the regeneration of an ecosystem that has been degraded, weakened, or lost is an important tool for achieving conservation objectives. Concern for the environment is expanding as a result of increased environmental damage brought on by human activity. Without knowing how people perceive the environment, effective environmental management cannot be achieved. Interactions between people and nature are frequently influenced by their beliefs, perceptions, and environmental concerns. The effectiveness of ecological restoration is seen as being largely dependent on community participation. Understanding factors influencing households’ perceptions and participation in restoration assists restoration managers in creating ecological restoration programs that encourage community participation. Hence this study evaluated socioeconomic and demographic factors influencing household perceptions and participation in the tree and ecological restoration in eThekwini Districts, South Africa. Primary data were collected from 160 randomly selected household heads. Multinomial logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the factors influencing households’ decision to participate in the tree and ecological restoration. The results showed that socioeconomic and demographic factors such as age (p<0.000), gender (p<0.030), years of education (p<0.000), and total monthly income (p<0.077) statistically significantly influence participation positively, whereas household tenure (p<0.012) affects negatively. Ordinal logistic regression was utilized to determine the socioeconomic factors and household demographic characteristics influencing households’ perceptions towards trees in their environment. The results showed that socioeconomic factors and household demographic characteristics such as age (p<0.000), gender (p<0.020), marital status (p<0.023) and dwelling type (p<0.007) were significant predictors of households’ perceptions towards trees in their environment. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to generate composite indices representing perceived income from the ecological restoration projects. Ordinary Least Squares was then employed to determine the factors influencing such valuation of the ecological restoration project. The model showed that socioeconomic and demographic factors such as age (p<0.000), gender (p<0.060), total monthly income (p<0.039), years of education (p<0.001), household size (p<0.073) and access to forest resources (p<0.032) influence obtained income from the

restoration project. The study concludes that socioeconomic and demographic elements, which were very important in the research area, should be incorporated into the government policy framework on ecological restoration projects. These factors could encourage local people's involvement in ecological restoration projects if they are thoughtfully incorporated into policy formulation. Keywords: Ecological restoration, socioeconomic factors, demographic factors, community participation, environmental concerns, household perceptions.