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The Northern Cape Province forms part of the
former Cape Province and while it is the largest province in South
Africa, it is also the most sparsely populated.
The landscape is characterised by vast
arid plains with haphazard rocky outcrops. The western coastal
region, which receives small amounts of winter rain, is dominated
by succulent shrubs. The interior of the Province has a mixture of
low shrubs and grasses. Wind and sheet erosion are extensive with
salinisation (build-up of salt within the soil) affecting the
majority of the Province.
Bush encroachment and changes in species
composition are serious problems affecting the land. Alien plant
invasions are also severe in many parts of the Northern Cape. This
study documents the state of land in the Northern Cape based on
actual and modelled data obtained for the Province.
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| Land degradation |
Land degradation is defined as "the loss
of biological or economic productivity of an area, primarily caused
by human activities". Human activities such as agricultural
mismanagement, overgrazing, fuelwood consumption, industry and
urbanisation, as well as natural disasters, could all contribute
to land degradation.
The
Northern Cape is predominantly arid and thus
the majority of land is used for stock farming (cattle, sheep
or goat) and mining. Relatively small areas are reserved for crop
farming and conservation. Overgrazing is one of the main
causes of land degradation in the Northern Cape; and mining has had
serious negative environmental consequences in cases where negative
impacts have not been mitigated. Alien plant invasions are also
posing a threat to the rich flora
of the region.
The Northern Cape is one of the worst
affected areas in terms of bush encroachment, where large areas of
grazing land are lost, species diversity is reduced and habitats are
transformed. These land use activities all contribute to a loss of
vegetation cover, soil erosion and ultimately land degradation. Land
degradation is thus an important issue to rural communities and
farmers that depend on the land
for their livelihood:
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| Desertification |
Desertification refers to land degradation
in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various
factors such as climatic variation and human activities. This
includes bush encroachment, loss of vegetation cover as well as
change in species composition. In some cases, desertification
follows localised overgrazing where poor land management practices
cause degraded land
to become desertified.
In South
Africa the main desertification problems lie across large parts of the Northern Cape
due to its dry and arid characteristics. Desertification
is strongly linked to poverty and food security. This is especially
true of the Northern Cape since many people live off the land.
Desertification
is reported through:
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| Land use |
Different land uses have varying effects on
the ecological functioning of the land. It is therefore necessary to
understand the different land use activities in order to effectively
combat soil erosion, overgrazing, loss of vegetation
cover and desertification.
The predominant land
use activities within the Northern Cape are mining and sheep,
goat, cattle and game farming. Mining is slowly decreasing
in the Province and retrenched workers often purchase livestock
to earn a living, ultimately contributing to increased land
degradation. The
selected indicator is:
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| Land ownership |
The land reform process is currently in
progress in the Northern Cape and consists of land restitution,
redistribution and tenure reform. By the end of 2003, the Northern
Cape had processed 2 606 land claims out
of 2 773.
Almost all the land in the Northern Cape is
privately owned. In the past, state agricultural land has been made
available to emerging commercial farmers, in the form of leasing,
outright sale and access to grazing land. More recently
the Northern Cape launched the Land Redistribution for
Agricultural Development (LRAD) programme which is designed to
reduce rural poverty by helping previously disadvantaged
people to manage their own farms effectively. As information for
land redistribution and tenure reform is not readily available, the
indicator chosen is:
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