Into the urban wild: Collection of wild urban plants for food and medicine in Kampala, Uganda

• Published in: Land use policy 2017-04, Vol.63, p.67-77
• Main Authors: Mollee, Eefke, Pouliot, Mariève, McDonald, Morag A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulators; Collection; Collectors; Diet; Flowers & plants; Food; Food plants; Human ecology; Income; Land use; Livelihoods; Medicinal plants; Medicine; Natural resource management; Natural resources; Non-timber forest products; Peri-urban areas; Plant resources; Population studies; Residents; Respondents; Safety net; Seasonal variations; Traditions; Urban areas; Urban ecosystems; Urban planning; Urban populations; Urbanization
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.01.020

•We explored the prevalence and determinants of urban wild plant collection in Kampala.•Nearly half of the respondents collected urban wild plants.•Predictive variables of wild plant collectors are wealth status, age and location.•The majority of wild plants collected are used as medicine.•Food plant collection appears to be more seasonal. In sub-Saharan Africa, many people depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. While urbanisation causes landscape changes, little is known of how this process affects the use of wild plant resources by urban populations. This study contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by exploring the prevalence and determinants of urban collectors of wild plants in Kampala, Uganda. During February to August 2015, 93 structured interviews were conducted in inner, outer, and peri-urban areas of the city. The findings in this study show that urban wild plants are used by almost half (47%) of the respondents, mainly for medicinal purposes but also as a complement to diets. The findings further indicate that residents with lower income, of younger age (