Mallika Sardeshpande

University of KwaZulu-Natal | ukzn · School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Urban sustainability and food security remain pressing issues for cities across the world. Here, we argue that adapting rewilding to urban contexts unlocks new solutions for societal challenges. Rewilding is an established paradigm in ecological restoration, with the goal of restoring autonomous biotic and abiotic agents and processes. However, urb...

Urban foraging for wild plant and animal products is increasingly recognised for its multiple benefits for people and nature stewardship. Planning for foraging in urban greenspace is one way that foraging can be made more accessible, beneficial, and equitable. Here, we explore how foraging could be recognised and provided for in urban municipalitie...

The provision and management of urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides multiple benefits to the wellbeing of urban residents. A crucial, yet underexplored benefit, is the role that UGI can play in poverty alleviation. Acknowledging this role raises questions as to how UGI design and management can better provide opportunities for poverty allevia...

Going through the wonderful chapters contributed to this volume, I asked myself what made me a forager. Was it toddler games collecting bright red gunja (Abrus precatorius) seeds and henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves in a laid-back tropical neighbourhood? Was it the walk with friends collecting citrusy pine tips and wholesome hops (Humulus lupulus) i...

Foraging by humans is an activity that is increasingly being observed in urban areas. This book presents a collection of scientific research and practitioner perspectives on urban foraging from different parts of the world. The sections in the book document what urban humans forage for, why, where, and how, and what urban foraging could look like i...

Food environments are rapidly changing globally, both in developed and developing contexts, contributing to poor dietary habits and environmental concerns. As a result, more than 80% of countries in the world face different forms of malnutrition, while the environment faces further degradation due to unsustainable production and consumption pattern...

Investigate challenges and benefits of urban rewilding in diverse contexts, considering socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological factors. Establish collaborations with local authorities, managers, and communities to explore practical aspects of rewilding, fostering cooperation and knowledge exchange. Examine policy challenges and consequences of tra...

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are used by billions of rural and urban people globally. Income shares from NTFPs are generally highest among poor communities and households, and consequently, their use has at times been described as a poverty trap. However, there are only a handful of works that have directly examined the existence of poverty t...

Rapid urbanisation, particularly in the Global South, calls for more efficient and equitable food supply in urban and peri-urban areas. Peri-urban food production can be a source of affordable, fresh, and nutritious food, and can provide a departure from conventional forms of cropping. A number of social, ecological, and economic variables influenc...

Urban Rewilding Aesthetics and People's Needs Into Multifunctional Blue and Green Infrastructure Design

The concept of edible landscapes seeks to combine a participatory approach to food production with wider concerns about well-designed, sustainable human-landscape relationships. Despite its decade-long history and seeming potential for holistically addressing multiple intertwined socio-ecological crises, the concept has received much less attention...

Urban foraging is a global informal phenomenon which has been investigated in the Global North more than other parts of the world. Characterising the nature of urban foraging in the Global South is imperative given the rapid urbanisation and sustainable development priorities in the region. In this study, we interviewed 80 urban foragers in four ci...

Informal foraging for food and other natural materials in urban greenspaces is an activity undertaken by many across the world. For some, foraging is a necessary means of survival and livelihood, while for others, it provides cultural and recreational opportunities. In the socioeconomic crises induced by Covid-19, foraging can help communities, esp...

Wild edible fruits (WEFs) are important non-timber forest products (NTFP) that are commonly grouped with other wild foods or NTFPs in general. We hypothesize that WEFs, other wild foods, and non-food NTFPs contribute in different ways to household economies. Using data collected through a survey of 503 households in South Africa, we describe patter...

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s10745-020-00196-8

Edible urban commons can aid recovery from the pandemic-induced crises, and build urban resilience to future disruptions.

Gathering of uncultivated food from green spaces, also known as foraging, is observed in urban areas across the world, but the literature focuses predominantly on the global north. Our study examines the existing urban land management structure and its approach to urban foraging in the eastern coastal region of South Africa. Through interviews with...

Wild edible fruits (WEFs) are among the most widely used non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and important sources of nutrition, medicine, and income for their users. In addition to their use as food, WEF species may also yield fiber, fuel, and a range of processed products. Besides forests, WEF species also thrive in diverse environments, such as...

Ostional in Costa Rica is the second largest nesting site of the olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea , which is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In Ostional the local community helps maintain the nesting site and collects olive ridley eggs for consumption and trade within Costa Rica. Since its inception in 1987 the egg harv...