Taruvinga, Amon2016-11-172016-11-172009http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/724Wetlands are stocks of natural resources limited in supply, in the middle of unlimited human wants with multiple uses to society, presenting an economic problem in as far as their rational and sustainable use is concerned. To that end, conflicting recommendations have been forwarded regarding wetland cultivation as a possible land use across the globe and from within the same regions. On one extreme, wetland cultivation has been linked to degradation of wetlands with pure wetland conservation as the prescribed viable and sustainable land use option to society. Closer to reality, partial wetland conversion to crop land has been found compatible with wetland bio-diversity; implying that partial wetland cultivation is the prescribed wetland use option viable and sustainable to societies, a dictum mainly claimed by rural communities. With that conflicting background and based on the “Safe Minimum Standard” approach, a ban on wetland cultivation was maintained in several early environmental policies in Zimbabwe as a basis for legislative protection of wetlands, a position that is still legally binding in current statutes. Contrary to that, rural communities have responded by invading wetlands as a coping strategy in pursuit of the claimed values of wetland cultivation, further conflicting with standing policies. This scenario has managed to “lock” and is currently locking the claimed 1,28 million hectares of wetlands in Zimbabwe in a “legal-operational impasse”, at a cost to the entire nation since no meaningful investment is possible in wetlands when there is a legal conflict. Viability of wetland cultivation is therefore questionable, which warrants further investigation towards appraising wetland cultivation as a possible land use in rural areas. The connection between wetland cultivation and household food security also requires further exploration with the implicit goal of quantifying the claimed value attached to wetland cultivation. For purposes of regularising wetland cultivation in the event of a significant contribution of wetland cultivation to humanity, socio-economic factors influencing households to participate in wetland cultivation become necessary towards crafting of wetland cultivation transfer user rights. From a policy realm, such an analysis would provide an economic body of evidence to support the economic pillar under sustainable development ecology and the social pillar before a policy shift can be imagined. In an effort to appraise and explore the economic body of evidence as the economic pillar behind wetland cultivation from a sustainable development point of view amid conflicting recommendations, a case study of Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe was conducted to investigate the economics of wetland cultivation. Using Gross Margin Model, the Return per Dollar Variable Costs Invested and the Net Present Value approach, profitability of wetland cultivated crops was estimated. To further quantify the viability of wetland cultivation, the contribution of wetland cultivation to household food security was investigated using Kendall`s tau_b and Spearman`s rho non parametric correlation models for estimation of the systematic relationship that could exist. Using Cross Tabulation association and directional measures, the significance and direction of the systematic relationship postulated by correlation models was quantified. Building on these analyses the actual contribution of wetland cultivation to household food security was deduced using the Relative Risk Estimate – Odds Ratio approach. The study went on to estimate factors capable of influencing participation of households in wetland cultivation for purpose of policy guidance in the event of transfer of wetland cultivation user rights to communities using a Binary Logistic Regression model. The study concludes that wetland cultivation under rural setting was profitable, with a significant positive linear correlation to household food security to such an extent that wetland cultivators were more than twice food secure than non wetland cultivators at net food security level of households. Household head age, distance to wetland area and availability of wetland restrictive measures were chief factors capable of positively influencing participation of households in wetland cultivation. Household head education, amount of livestock units and household size were negatively related to participation. The study therefore calls for promotion of partial wetland cultivation from a rural setting through lifting of the technical ban in wetland cultivation as currently contained in the environmental legal framework of Zimbabwe. Caution however should be taken in crafting transfer user rights amid mixed perceptions from society and general scarcity of wetlands in relation to potential demand from society. The negative relationship between participation and household head education as well as the young households further casts a bleak future for wetland cultivation as a possible land use option in Zimbabwe. The study recommends targeted awareness campaigns to correct current mixed perceptions in societies regarding wetland cultivation and grouping of communities in wetland cultivation schemes to accommodate the potential shortage that can cause scramble and conflict.enGame reserves -- ZimbabweWildlife conservation -- ZimbabweWildlife management -- ZimbabweSustainable development -- ZimbabweGame farms -- ZimbabweRural poor -- ZimbabweThesis