THE EFFECTS OF UTILIZATION BY PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK ON HYPHAENE-PETERSIANA (ARECACEAE) BASKETRY RESOURCES IN THE PALM SAVANNA OF NORTH-CENTRAL, NAMIBIA

Basketry production is an important informal sector activity in the pa lm savanna of north-central Namibia, particularly for women. This stud y assesses the comparative impact of utilization by basket makers and browsing livestock in areas of different human and livestock populatio n pressures on the source of weaving fibre, leaves from juvenile indiv iduals of the vegetable ivory palm, Hyphaene petersiana. Mature indivi duals of this species are an important source of edible fruit. Destruc tive uses of mature individuals such as tapping for palm wine and the cutting of stems for construction purposes are also practised, even th ough they are forbidden by customary law. Unlike other centres of bask et production in southern Africa, the level of leaf utilization for ba sketry is low and there is potential for greater use of this resource. Despite the unpalatability of this species, a cause for concern, howe ver, is the intensity of browsing by domestic livestock on young palms , which may affect the future structure and viability of the palm popu lation in north-central Namibia. This predicted degradation of a multi ple-use species such as H. petersiana represents the gradual erosion o f an important buffer against rural poverty, loss of income and reduct ion in food security.