Ann Eveleth
The apartheid-era homeland system and rural “betterment schemes” were the worst causes of land degradation, according to a rapid appraisal of land resources conducted in the run-up to World Desertification Day on Wednesday.
The study forms part of South Africa’s National Action Programme to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The programme was launched by Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Pallo Jordan, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Derek Hanekom and Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Kader Asmal.
Tim Hoffman, the scientist leading the appraisal project, said at least 25% of South Africa’s total land area is classified as “severely degraded”, and most of this is in the former homelands. This has implications for land reform, as well as the socio-economic standing of rural people.
“In some areas there are 20m deep dongas. People lose livestock when pinnacles of soil collapse and their animals die. They don’t want their children to go near the dongas, because they get killed. And the dongas eat away at their land,” said Hoffman.
According to Asmal, more than 300-million tons of topsoil are washed away every year. “It takes some 6 000 years for soil to form to the depth of an A4 sheet (30cm). This amount of topsoil could be lost in a one-hour thunderstorm in certain regions … [Worldwide] every 10 years, an area the size of Czechoslavakia is being turned into a wasteland,” he said.
Hoffman said while climatic causes are often blamed for desertification, these are “not a prime factor in South Africa. Here the problem is mainly human factors, and the fact that the most degraded land is found in the former homelands suggests that state policies are to blame.”
Too many people living on too little land, betterment schemes that have reorganised communities without consultation, and the migrant-labour system are among the main culprits, Hoffman added.
Most of the degraded land can be reclaimed but the economic feasibility of this “depends on whether the technical, stones- in-dongas approach” of the past continues, or is replaced by a “human solution” which makes people responsible for their land.
Jordan told launch participants that a feasibility study to establish a National Desertification Fund was in the process of being set up.
“The convention provides us with unique opportunities to reverse the wrongs of the past, to address the needs of those impoverished by land degradation and drought, and to land a solid foundation for future generations,” Jordan added.