17 million South Africans live on communal land – new study of a rural valley offers insights on how to manage it
The valley is typical of South Africa’s communal land: affected by soil erosion, bush encroachment and water scarcity.
- The valley is typical of South Africa’s communal land: affected by soil erosion, bush encroachment and water scarcity.
- About one third (over 17 million) of South Africa’s population lives on communal land, which makes up around 13% of all land in the country.
- The Communal Land Tenure Bill, 2017 defines communal land as “owned, occupied or used by members of a community subject to shared rules or norms and customs”.
- In South Africa, communal land is considered to be more degraded than privately owned land.
- This offered a more complete view of communal land change, and valuable insights on its impacts.
Satellite imagery and community perceptions
- Our study set out to discover whether satellite-measured trends of land use and land cover corresponded with those perceived by the community.
- Satellite imagery from 1989 to 2019 revealed increases of the sweet thorn tree (Vachellia karroo) by 25% and the residential area (2.5%).
- Most respondents (over 80%) noted the encroachment of the sweet thorn tree on grazing land and abandoned cropland.
- The community perceived that water resources had declined because of overuse and poor maintenance of dams.
- They said the government no longer desilted community dams, and that the community had abandoned traditional practices such as the maintenance of surface water channels and homestead ponds.
Better land management
- The land can be better managed through interventions by village committees, tribal authorities and extension services, and by following spatial planning and land use guidelines.
- This study shows that the combination of satellite imagery and local perceptions provides valuable insights about the extent, causes and impacts of land change in communal areas.
Wonga Masiza receives funding from Agricultural Research Council.