Pastoralists’ perceptions and realities of vegetation change and browse consumption in the northern Kalahari, Namibia

Pastoral production around artificial watering points in semi-arid environments affects the density and composition of plant communities. In the Kalahari desert of southwestern Africa, bush encroachment is often regarded as the major form of land degradation resulting from pastoral production around watering points. We investigated the OvaHerero pastoralists’ perceptions of the extent of vegetation change since the establishment of artificial watering points in the northern Kalahari desert of Namibia, and related this to ecological data on vegetation change. We determined the utility of woody vegetation to pastoralists’ livelihoods in terms of provision of construction material, fuel wood and browse. We quantified local knowledge of cattle browse consumption and correlated this with field data. We also assessed the purposes for which major livestock types were used. Our results showed that: (1) pastoral knowledge of bush encroachment and browse consumption was consistent with concurrently collected field data, (2) the current level of bush encroachment was perceived to be beneficial for pastoral production, and (3) cattle played an important role in the production of milk and milk by-products for domestic use, and served as a source of cash income, while sheep and goats were primarily kept for meat consumption. This result contrasts with historical studies that mainly portray cattle as a symbol of social status among OvaHerero pastoralists.     

Following the Afar: Using remote tracking systems to analyze pastoralists' trekking routes

For nomadic pastoralists in arid environments, judicious migration of the herds is the principle strategy for short term survival and long term sustainability. Yet, this efficient mechanism is increasingly challenged by mounting population pressure, appropriation of land and restricted transboundary movements. Lack of information on trekking patterns and grazing areas makes it difficult for government authorities to protect the migration routes. Data are so scarce because the object of measurement is moving in directions no outsider can predict. Consequently, data collection is costly and laborious. The present study suggests the use of satellite telemetry to trace trekking routes in a near real-time mode that can operate without the presence of external observers on the ground. We report on a pilot that tests a remote tracking technique to locate the routing of a nomadic pastoralist during the dry spell, in the Afar region of Ethiopia. From a movement analysis we infer trekking routes and grazing areas as well as the spatial and temporal correlation between the vegetation cover index NDVI, and the visits by the herd. Our first results seem encouraging in that our data collection method can produce unique information relatively quickly and at low cost.     

“Die man is die hoof en vat voor”: Women's attitudes to land and farming in the communal areas of Namaqualand

In the former coloured rural reserves of Namaqualand, land is held under an evolving form of communal tenure. This study, using in-depth interviews with both women farmers and non-farmers in Namaqualand, explores women's attitudes towards land and their experience of agriculture. It finds that women gain access to land for residential and production purposes mainly through dependent relationships with husbands, fathers and sons, and that unmarried women find it virtually impossible to obtain land rights in their own name. In the event of divorce or widowhood, women are vulnerable to loss of land rights and other resources. Women were found to engage in a range of agricultural activities, both on land allocated for their own use and on land controlled by male relatives, while a few better-off women engage in independent livestock farming. While the South African government's land reform programme has extended the area of communal land and attempted to secure the rights of existing land holders, this has largely benefited existing male farmers and appears to offer little to women farmers. Women's attitudes to the patriarchal system of land holding were found to be largely conservative. Few are willing to challenge the highly gendered nature of land rights within families, and women generally feel excluded from public processes around land. Nonetheless, women in the study expressed a demand for more secure access to land and an interest in agriculture as part of wider livelihood strategies.     

产权变化视角下的珠江三角洲土地利用 时空变化及其机制——以佛山市南海区为例

以佛山南海区为例,采用遥感、土地利用调查及土地利用现状图等多种数据,运用遥感影像人机交互解译、景观格局指数以及田野调查、案例分析等定量与定性相结合的方法,分析了1987年以来南海区土地利用时空变化及其对土地产权变革的响应。结果发现,南海区土地产权变化分为3个阶段：即土地有偿投包制阶段（1987-1992年）、土地股份合作制阶段（1993-2002年）和土地紧缩及“三旧”改造政策下的政府主导模式阶段（2003-2013年）,这3个阶段土地产权的演化具有以土地的“所有”为中心向以“利用”为其中心转变的趋势,这是市场需求和资源利用高效化发展的结果,也是土地由资源转变为资产及资本的过程。南海区土地产权变化与土地利用时空变化具有较为显著的关联性及规律性。土地利用在不同时段变化的速度、强度和结构等对土地产权变化的响应明显,其空间格局也同样呈现“农用地集聚-乡村工业化破碎格局-集聚与破碎化共存”3个阶段性变化特征。南海区土地利用变化是众多内外部因素综合作用的结果,主要表现为诱致机制、引导机制、引擎机制及调节机制。宏观上,土地股份制改革和分散的管理体系导致了土地利用的粗放扩张和破碎化格局;微观上,不同土地利用主体间的利益博弈、土地收益分配方式及产权割裂是导致土地利用变化的根本原因。未来经济转型与土地再开发过程中,如何针对土地产权变化新趋势,兼顾各利益相关方的诉求,构建利益共享机制是实现土地高效利用和空间优化的关键。     

Access to natural resources and conflicts between farmers and agro‐pastoralists in Borkena Wetland,north‐eastern Ethiopia

This case study on the Borkena wetlands in north‐eastern Ethiopia tells, through the voices of the inhabitants, the story of the occupation and management of an area where agro‐pastoralists (Urrane) and farmers have progressively settled. It shows how different policy changes and natural disasters have transformed the type of peoples' livelihoods and land use patterns in the wetland. It tells the history of relationships between smallholder peasants, irrigation farmers, commercial farms, and the Urrane, where conflicts as well as collaboration developed, and it shows how different stakeholders behave and consider their own situation. The study also reveals that development intervention by World Vision Ethiopia (WVE) had mixed impact on peoples' livelihoods in the wetland: sedentary peasants have benefited while the Urrane have been adversely affected. The main issue is the marginalization of pastoralists, with the denial of their traditional land use rights by three successive regimes and administrations. Any solution to the cohabitation of the different groups and livelihoods will have to address the issue of land rights for the pastoralists and promote the fair participation of all stakeholders in the future management of the wetlands. Good governance and the competence of the state actors at local levels are the crucial issues for the realization of the suggested solutions.     

Enclosing the land: Cotton,population growth and tenure in Mali

On-going tenure changes in the cotton zone in southern Mali are discussed. Land tenure in the area is changing and adapting to the rapid agricultural development taking place. This adaptation supports the main tenets of Property Rights Theory (PRT). The driving forces behind enclosure of land rights as described by PRT, such as population pressure and increased market access, are acknowledged. Enclosure takes two forms in the study area. First, some customary authorities in villages where population pressure is relatively high attempt to restrict access to pastures and woods on village land to create exclusive village commons. Second, holdings are being subdivided and farmers are increasingly confining their fields through tree planting. Except around the towns, where semi-formal land sales are becoming increasingly frequent, this individualisation does not imply exclusive and absolute private property to land. Bundles of overlapping rights still exist where various individuals or groups control access to different resources on the same piece of land.     

Many a little makes a mickle: Cumulative land cover changes and traditional land use in the Kyrö reindeer herding district,northern Finland

Traditional land use systems are threatened by land use intensification and resulting land cover transitions in northern areas. This article examines cumulative land cover changes and their impacts on reindeer grazing grounds in the Kyrö reindeer herding district in northern Finland. Land cover transitions were studied using Landsat TM and OLI images and topographic maps. The results showed that the herding district has experienced notable land cover changes during the past decades, and most of these changes were directly related to forestry. The proportion of continuous coniferous forests of the total forest cover declined from 92% to 78% between 1987 and 2013. Approximately one third of the forests outside current conservation areas were disturbed by forest management by 2013, and remaining forests were notably more fragmented than forests within conservation areas. The extent of the road and path networks expanded considerably between 1960s and 2010 as a result of increasing logging and tourism. Accumulation of disturbances gradually results in loss of key resources and declined quality of the landscape mosaic from the reindeer herding perspective, which can pose a serious threat to long-term sustainability of the livelihood. Rapid land cover changes in non-protected areas highlight an increasingly important role of conservation areas in maintaining resources for reindeer husbandry in the face of intensifying land use. Sustainable management of resources outside conservation areas requires careful participatory planning and efficient cumulative impact assessment of different land use activities.     

河南省农村土地流转影响因素探析

以选取的河南省18个地市62个县区的81个村庄作为调查对象,运用抽样调查的研究方法,从实证角度对河南省农地流转的现状和影响因素做出客观评价.研究发现,河南省农地流转市场处于萌芽阶段,市场发育较为缓慢.非正式的关系网络在农地流转中起着重要作用,农地流转的市场价格还没有反映出拥有土地权利的价值;而土地权属不清、社会保障不健全、缺乏持久的人员流动机制和中介组织匮乏是造成上述情况的原因.因此,应从明晰土地产权、加强政府立法和社会保障机制的建立、形成有效的人员流动机制等入手,推动河南省农地的规范、有序流转.     

Conservation-induced resettlement as a driver of land cover change in India: An object-based trend analysis

Located in the foothills of the Indian Himalaya, Rajaji National Park was established to protect and enhance the habitat of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and tiger (Panthera tigris). In 2002 the Van Gujjars, indigenous forest pastoralists, were voluntarily resettled from the Chilla Range (an administrative unit of Rajaji National Park) to Gaindikhata, a nearby area where they were granted land for agriculture. In this study we used a variety of remote sensing approaches to identify changes in land cover associated with the resettlement. The methods comprise two main approaches. First, we used object-based image analysis (OBIA) to identify the pre-resettlement land cover classes of use areas (representing agricultural expansion and adjacent areas of grazing, and collection of fuelwood and fodder) and recovery areas (representing areas where settlements were removed, and the adjacent areas of resource use). Secondly, we used trend analysis to assess the gradual and abrupt changes in vegetation that took place in use and recovery areas. To conduct the trend analysis we used BFAST (Breaks For Additive Season and Trend), which separates seasonal variation from long-term trends, and identifies breaks that can be linked back to disturbances or land cover changes. We found that the OBIA classification yielded high average class accuracies, and we were able to make class distinctions that would have been difficult to make using a traditional pixel-based approach. Pre-resettlement, the recovery areas were classified as mixed forest and riparian vegetation. In contrast, the use areas were classified primarily as grass dominated, brush dominated, and plantation forest, and were located relatively far away from riparian areas. Following the resettlement, the trend analysis showed a sudden change in the seasonal variation of NDVI in areas converted to agriculture. Areas neighboring the new agricultural land experienced sudden decreases in NDVI, suggestive of disturbances, at a higher rate than the same land cover types elsewhere. At the same time, these neighboring areas experienced a gradual overall increase in NDVI which could be caused by an expansion of leafy invasive shrubs such as Lantana camara in areas heavily used for biomass collection. The recovery areas also experienced a gradual increase in NDVI as well as sudden breaks to this trend, but we lacked evidence to connect these changes to the resettlement. Our findings support the claim that the resettlement has shifted pressure from more ecologically valuable to less ecologically valuable land cover types, and suggest that to some degree resource use pressure has increased outside the park. The study employs a novel synthesis of OBIA and trend analysis that could be applied to land change studies more broadly.     

毛乌素沙地沙漠化的遥感监测

通过对１９８７年和１９９３年ＴＭ数据的分析和计算机辅助系统的应用，开展了毛乌素沙地沙漠化土地的动态监测。结果表明，在这７ａ间，研究区内沙漠化土地面积共减少了１９３６ｋｍ２，总体上处于稳定的逆转状态，但局部地带沙漠化迅速蔓延不可忽视；几乎所有的逆转面积都来自于被固定和半固定后的流动沙丘（地）面积的减少，可见“三北”防护林建设及沙地围封保护的积极效果；但作为农牧业用地的不同程度沙漠化土地逆转不明显，势必会影响到防治的经济效益。研究还表明，遥感与计算机相结合对沙漠化土地的监测评价是一种行之有效的定量研究方法     

产权视角下中国快速城镇化地区的增长与收缩 ——以珠江三角洲东莞市为例

伴随全球化的蔓延,快速城镇化地区的增长与收缩已成为地区发展转型研究中的国际性话题。改革开放以来,珠江三角洲在外来资本和廉价劳动力的双重推动下实现了农村城镇化发展,随之出现了大量的“城乡一体化（Desakota）”混杂空间。然而,2008年的金融危机对城市发展造成了巨大冲击,地区产权结构的不同导致了更新政策的差异,城市中出现增长与收缩并存的新空间现象。基于此,文章从区域农村城镇化的特殊条件出发,结合城乡二元土地产权结构的制度背景,探索珠江三角洲“Desakota”形成的内在因素,并提出理解城镇增长与收缩的分析框架。后危机时代,城市国有土地和集体土地与国家产业政策的匹配程度存在巨大差异,为不同地区带来了截然不同的发展机会。实证分析部分以东莞市为例,通过夜间灯光数据探索城市增长与收缩的空间分布特征,同时结合典型地区的案例分析,从产权视角切入分析地区出现差异化发展的机制。土地是决定地区发展方向的本质性因素,城市中产权明确且结构单一的国有土地有利于更新置换并实现再增长,而产权零散、用地混杂的集体土地往往因改造成本高而难以推动更新发展,地区出现“穿孔式”收缩。     

Assessment of land degradation in Mediterranean forests and grazing lands using a landscape unit approach and the normalized difference vegetation index

Land managers need sound, evidence-based information about land degradation patterns and about the effectiveness of their management responses. Obtaining such information is particularly difficult in Mediterranean grazing lands and forests, where a long history of anthropogenic pressure, high topographical and climatic variability, and frequent disturbances combine to create a highly diverse and unstable environment.Our study aimed at designing a methodology to provide land managers in three data-scarce drylands in Spain, Greece, and Cyprus with spatially explicit, up-to-date information on the state of their land, the pressures driving land degradation, and the effectiveness of their management efforts using remotely sensed NDVI data. To translate NDVI values into a land degradation assessment, we analysed the variance of the annual average NDVI within different landscape units, which we identified based on land cover, aspect, and slope steepness parameters. After calibrating and validating the land degradation mapping methodology using field observations, we related the obtained land degradation patterns with spatial information about grazing and wildfire, as well as controlled grazing and afforestation practices.Our methodology proved useful to assess land degradation and management measures in dry, semi-natural ecosystems. It also provided insights into the role of landscape in modulating land degradation. Results indicate that grazing is a significant cause of land degradation even in partially abandoned areas; repeated fires have a negative impact; slope steepness increases the land's sensitivity to grazing; north- and east-facing slopes are less sensitive to fire in the long term than south- and west-facing slopes; and the effectiveness of responses to land degradation is substantially affected by land cover and topography.The methodology presented can be used to overcome the lack of spatially explicit information on the state of the land in drylands of the Mediterranean and beyond, or as a basis for more in-depth studies to plan restoration interventions.     

从城镇发展看海南西部沿海土地利用的变化——以东方八所镇为例

海南西部因其独特的位置而具有与海南其他地方显著不同的脆弱的自然环境.城镇的形成和扩张引起周围地区土地利用的巨大变化,尤其是风沙化土地和耕地在城镇发展的不同时期表现出不同的变化特征.城镇建设、人口增加、水利和防护林建设是土地利用变化的主要驱动力.     

西南地区山地不同土地退化类型特征及调控途径

土地退化不仅是目前全还需性的重大环境问题之一，而且也是重大的社会和经济问题之一，西南地区的土地退化是以水力侵蚀为主要动力形成的，文中简述了西南地区的土地退化状况，选择了4个（楚雄市、遂宁市，毕节地区及元谋县）山地不同土地退化类型进行分析，讨论了土 退化过程，提出了土地退化调控途径。     

Common features and different trajectories of land cover changes in six Western Mediterranean urban regions

Land use and land cover change (LULCC) dynamics have been particularly strong in the Mediterranean region, due to its historical development and to agro-pedoclimatic conditions favorable to human settlement. This area has undergone in the 1950s and the 1980s intense urbanization processes that has followed different trajectories. Urban expansion commonly occurs at the expense of agricultural land, leading to the fragmentation of natural areas and conflicts over access to land resources. These dynamics mainly concern the fringe between urban and agricultural land, e.g. the peri-urban areas usually included within functional urban regions. Here, to identify common features of LULCC in Western Mediterranean urban regions, we investigated two main features: direct changes due to urbanization and indirect changes affecting non-artificial land uses. We compared LULCC dynamics in 6 case studies from the north and south of the Western Mediterranean region: the urban regions of Montpellier and Avignon (France), Pisa (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Meknes (Morocco), and Constantine (Algeria), using a 30-year multitemporal spatial analysis (1980–2010). Two series of Landsat TM images were acquired for each case study and land cover data were analyzed both for dynamics and for land patterns, using landscape and class metrics. We found no significant north-south differences in LULCC dynamics between the investigated Western Mediterranean urban regions. Differences are more pronounced between small–medium cities and large metropolitan areas in type of urban diffusion, which is more sprawled in small–medium cities and more compact in large metropolitan areas. Rather, differences occur in LULCC not directly affected by urbanization, since in Northern Mediterranean urban regions afforestation and abandonment of agricultural areas are prevalent and closer to the urban areas, whereas transformation of natural areas into agricultural ones occurs mainly in Southern Mediterranean urban regions at a similar distance from urban areas than it happens for afforested or abandoned areas. In attempting for the first time to assess LULCC in these Mediterranean urban regions, we provide a preliminary comprehensive analysis that can contribute to the active LULCC research in the Mediterranean basin and that can be easily applied to other Mediterranean urban regions.     

绿洲土地整合是增加耕地和保护生态的重要措施——以新疆玛纳斯河流域为例

保护耕地资源,“坚决守住1.2×10⁸ hm²(18亿亩)耕地红线”,是中国政府的一项基本国策。以新疆为代表的干旱区绿洲农业,近年来耕地面积增长很快,从1995-2008年均每年增加15.4×10⁸ hm²,这对抑制全国耕地面积下滑和促进新疆农业发展起了重要作用,但同时也对生态环境带来严重影响。如何在保护生态的前提下使耕地面积稳中有增,通过在玛纳斯河流域利用遥感图像解释和实际调查,提出通过绿洲内部土地综合整治,改变现土地利用中的“破碎化”程度,提高净耕地利用系数的思路;在不开荒不增加引水量情况下,耕地面积一般可增加8%~10%,而在一些土地利用规划差和管理粗放地区可增加到15%。通过土地整合使土地化零为整,还为节水灌溉、发展现代农业、实行农业规模化、集约化经营及农民致富创造了条件。     

Land reform in Namaqualand, 1994–2005: A review

With the transition to democracy in 1994, South Africa was faced with an enormous challenge in redressing the highly unequal and racialized pattern of land rights inherited from the colonial and apartheid past. In Namaqualand, a history of land dispossession and racial segregation presented the new government with a complex set of problems, which led to a series of distinct policy responses within the context of the wider national land reform programme. Land reform in Namaqualand aims to impact positively on local people's access to land, improve livelihood opportunities and develop the local economy. Unique features of the land reform process in Namaqualand include the reform of tenure in the former Coloured Rural Areas, the prominent role played by local municipalities and the heavy reliance on municipal commonage as a form of landholding. This study provides and overview of the process of land reform in Namaqualand since 1994, considering the three elements of tenure reform, land redistribution and restitution of historical land rights. It concludes that, while considerable progress has been made in provision of additional land to historically disadvantaged communities, obstacles remain in the area of post-transfer support to new and emerging farmers.     

Geologically constrained changes to landforms caused by human activities in the 20th century: A case study from Fukuoka Prefecture,Japan

Human activity has been recognized to be an important geomorphic agent, and the resulting changes to landforms and land cover are regarded as a global problem. Although there has been much research into the relationships between geomorphic processes and types of land use such as agriculture, mining, and urbanization, it is important to clarify spatiotemporal human impacts on topography on a regional scale when predicting future changes in land cover.This study examined changes in land use to clarify the distribution and impact of anthropogenic changes to landforms, as well as the influence of geology on the extent of these changes. In a case study from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, changes in land use over the last century were analyzed using a geographic information system (GIS). The study area, which covers approximately 4930 km², has experienced urban development since 1950 and has a current population of over 5 million. Land use data were prepared using paper-based early editions of topographic maps. Subsequently, the distribution of anthropogenic landforms was evaluated by comparing landforms with regional geological data.GIS analysis using our prepared land use data, landform data, and regional geological data has clarified the following characteristics of the study area. (1) Land uses prior to 1950 were constrained by topographic relief. After 1950, land use was characterized by urban sprawl. Urban areas expanded and contained both higher elevations and steeper slopes at their margins. The relationships between land uses and landforms during this urbanization are unclear. (2) The area of urban land increased in the geological regions with Paleogene sedimentary rocks (PSD) and Mesozoic granitic rocks (GR) during the 20th century. The largest coal mining area in Japan was located in the PSD geological regions, and ancient iron working was common in the GR geological regions, particularly during the 7th century. This result indicates that the land use distribution, especially urban areas in sloping terrain, is related to the regional geology. (3) Deforestation related to land use resulted in steeper terrain in forest land in the PSD and GR geological regions. These changes to landforms in forest areas occurred as a result of rapid urban sprawl and have created many new boundaries between forest areas with steeper slopes and urban areas with gentler slopes. This phenomenon may have caused an increase in the frequency of sediment-related disasters.This case study indicates that predictions of anthropogenic changes to landform, which are important for the assessment of global climate change and natural hazards, must clarify the relationships between land uses, landforms, and regional geology.     

Small-area estimation of land cover statistics by post-stratification of a national area frame survey

The objective of this paper is to examine a method for estimation of land cover statistics for local environments from available area frame surveys of larger, surrounding areas. The method is a simple version of the small-area estimation methodology. The starting point is a national area frame survey of land cover. This survey is post-stratified using a coarse land cover map based on topographic maps and segmentation of satellite images. The approach is to describe the land cover composition of each stratum and subsequently use the results to calculate land cover statistics for a smaller area where the relative distribution of the strata is known. The method was applied to a mountain environment in Gausdal in Eastern Norway and the result was compared to reference data from a complete in situ land cover map of the study area. The overall correlation (Pearson’s rho) between the observed and the estimated land cover figures was r = 0.95. The method does not produce a map of the target area and the estimation error was large for a few of the land cover classes. The overall conclusion is, however, that the method is applicable when the objective is to produce land cover statistics and the interest is the general composition of land cover classes - not the precise estimate of each class. The method will be applied in outfield pasture management in Norway, where it offers a cost-efficient way to screen the management units and identify local areas with a land cover composition suitable for grazing. The limited resources available for in situ land cover mapping can then be allocated efficiently to in-depth studies of the areas with the highest grazing potential. It is also expected that the method can be used to compile land cover statistics for other purposes as well, provided that the motivation is to describe the overall land cover composition and not to provide exact estimates for the individual land cover classes.     

土地征收中生态补偿缺失对农民权利的影响

文章采用资料分析,理论分析的方法,归纳总结了国内外土地征收补偿中都存在着生态补偿缺失的问题, 尤其是中国的征收补偿制度存在明显缺陷,如补偿理论支持不足、补偿范围小、补偿额度低、补偿不到位等。这种制 度缺陷不仅造成了大量的耕地流失,同时也造成了农业生态环境的破坏,直接影响了土地使用权人———农民的相 关利益,如土地被征收导致土地分割,形成不经济的土地规模,造成土地利用效率的损失,降低了相邻土地的生产 力,影响了农民的相邻权;土地又是农民世代生存、繁衍、发展之所在,是农民的基本生活保障和基本生活来源,农 民失去土地就意味着失去了生存和发展的基础,影响了生存权和发展权;土地的资源属性表明,土地征收必然涉及 到土地利用的变化和生态环境因素的改变,涉及到农民的环境权的保障。为此,必须完善土地征收制度,建立有效 的市场化运作手段,通过对农地生态价值的正确评估,公平、合理的补偿失地农民的损失,以实现社会公平、和谐。