The co-production of land use and livelihoods change: Implications for development interventions

In a previous paper [McCusker, B., Carr, E.R., 2006. The co-production of livelihoods and land use change: Case studies from South Africa and Ghana. Geoforum 37 (5), 790–804], we argued that land use and livelihoods could best be understood as co-produced, where land use and livelihoods are not separate objects of knowledge related to one another through abstract processes, but different manifestations of social processes through which individuals and groups come to understand the challenges facing their everyday lives, the various resources available to them to negotiate these challenges, and the strategies by which they can conduct that negotiation. In this paper, we examine the theoretical basis for “co-production” with the goal of using this approach to inform development interventions.     

Assessing land use and land cover change in the Wassa West District of Ghana using remote sensing

Vast tracts of forests are lost globally every year especially in the developing countries of the tropics due to various human activities such as lumbering, farming, bush fires, surface mining and urbanization. The rainforest in Ghana has experienced rapid depletion since the 1980s. The impact of deforestation is widespread, affecting the livelihoods of local people and disrupting the tropical ecosystem. There is a serious concern in the study area about climatic change, soil erosion, siltation of rivers and loss in biodiversity which have an adverse impact on traditional medicinal plants of the local people. The study examined the extent of land cover change through image differencing of Landsat TM 1986 and 2002. The image classification indicated that, vegetative cover from 1986 to 2002 has been reducing whiles land use activities have been increasing. Closed canopy, open canopy and plantation have significantly diminished and land use activities especially built ups, farms, mining and openfields are more than doubled. The driving forces for the change in land cover are population growth, lumbering, socio-economic and cultural practices of the people. Lumbering and mining have been some of the major causes of the changing landscape in primary forest. Also the reliance on wood for domestic energy and the need to increase food productivity to feed growing population have also contributed greatly to the rapid depletion of the vegetative cover.     

The impact of membership in communal property associations on livelihoods in the Northern Province, South Africa

This paper investigates the impacts of Communal Property Associations on rural livelihoods in the Northern Province, South Africa. After a brief review of livelihoods and a short background to land reform in South Africa the paper details findings regarding the impact of land reform in the province. Quantitative and qualitative interviews were conducted from July 1999 until May 2000 and in January 2001 to identify and explain any change in livelihoods resulting from land transfer. Change in livelihoods as a result of land reform was found to be minimal largely due to general disorganization, farm size problems, lack of capital, lack of skills and labor, gender bias, and skewed age distribution.     

Hybridity emergent: Geo-history, learning, and land restitution in South Africa

Market-Led Agrarian Reform (MLAR), which is advocated by the World Bank and is being implemented in various contexts around the world, is a more neo-liberal approach to land reform than that we have seen implemented in the past. MLAR principles have underpinned South Africa’s land reform programme, being based on the ‘willing-seller, willing-buyer’ principle, which guarantees market-related prices to sellers. Evidence presented in this paper, however, raises serious questions about the extent to which the South African government has held on to MLAR principles. Specifically, the paper argues that South Africa’s peculiar geo-historical context has in some instances led the government to fuse market-led approaches with more authoritarian interventions that dictate to land reform beneficiaries how the land will be used. A case in point is the government’s approach to the restitution of land rights to communities dispossessed from the Levubu area of Limpopo province. As the paper illustrates, the government has imposed on the intended beneficiaries a so-called ‘strategic partnership’ between them and agribusinesses. Although the government touts the approach as a way to protect the commercial viability of the land and to transfer skills from white farmers to the beneficiaries, the terms of the Levubu solution may turn out to be less than favourable for the beneficiaries.     

Biodiversity conservation and land rights in South Africa: Whither the farm dwellers?

South Africa is unique in that its globally significant biodiversity, which is under significant threat, coexists with an apartheid history of dispossession that produced a starkly unequal land ownership pattern and widespread rural poverty. It is in this context that the post-apartheid government must fulfil constitutional and international obligations to safeguard environmental assets as well as undertake land reform benefiting the previously dispossessed. Consequently, there is a continuous challenge of reconciling complex and often conflicting relationships between poverty, inequitable access to resources, and the protection of biodiversity. Current efforts to conserve the Cape Floral Kingdom emphasize partnerships between private landowners and existing nature reserves to promote sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. This paper presents a case study exploring how this approach might be reconciled with land rights and opportunities for land-based livelihoods among farm dwellers in the Baviaanskloof area of the Eastern Cape. The paper identifies systemic and structural tensions in current attempts to reconcile biodiversity conservation and farm dwellers’ interests, and documents issues of process and principle that could become important in the future. In doing so, it highlights the influence of on-farm power relations and overly complex institutional arrangements in determining the real extent of participation by affected farm dwellers and the efficacy of social safeguard policies. Findings also caution against an over-reliance on ecotourism as the major occupation and the paper argues instead for support for multiple livelihood strategies.     

Poverty, vulnerability and the impact of flooding in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

The article evaluates household vulnerability after the 2000 flood in two poor communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study analyses the forms of vulnerability which disasters such as floods present. Using data gathered from a survey of households, the study presents the impacts, coping and adapting strategies of households after the 2000 flood. The article argues that beyond the concern over socio-economic circumstances as the major determinant of household vulnerability, the management of the disaster can serve to perpetuate vulnerability.     

Beyond the numbers: Understanding the value of vegetation to rural livelihoods in Africa

Different types of vegetation found in local environments are of value to rural livelihoods of many African households. However, the dominant way of expressing this value, which is mainly through economic valuation studies, is potentially limiting this knowledge’s usefulness in policy and research, due to the inability to present full picture. Using literature review and insights from field work, the paper argues that realized and notional values of vegetation to rural livelihoods are socially constructed and contested, and - in addition to understanding local livelihood context, which include social difference, and ecological dynamics - a focus on social institutions as terrains of negotiation is crucial. This means that resource value in rural livelihoods can be realized through contested and negotiated access arrangements that are mediated by complex institutions at local and external levels.     

Understanding land-use/cover change process for land and environmental resources use management policy in Ghana

Accurate information on land-use/cover change is a critical input for natural resource use management policy decisions. In Ghana, however, land-use/cover change is premised on the assumption that there has been a historically simple, linear, and uniform degradation of vegetation across all landscapes. The Kintampo and neighboring districts have become a subject of intense debate as to the real nature of prevailing land cover changes .It is commonly assumed that there is ubiquitously progressive irreversible woody vegetation loss across the area. The paper reports on the process and amount of land-use/cover changes that have prevailed in specific localities across the area within a 10-year period. It is hoped this will improve understanding and management of land-use/cover change in Ghana. Remote sensing and Geographic information systems technologies were used for the investigation. A multi-site satellite imagery approach was adopted to ensure that inductive inferences could be made. The outcome of the study indicated that, in space and time, there have been significant land-use/cover changes. Variability in change was a constant, rather than occasional feature across these human dominated landscapes. The conversion and transformation processes indicated that the traditional land-use strategies are self-sustaining. Any effective land-use/cover management strategy should be built upon the existing traditional farming system knowledge and practices.     

The transfer of agricultural technology and the development of small-scale farming in rural Africa: Case studies from Ghana, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa

In many developing countries, research institutions or centres have been established to develop and/or adapt technologies that would help agricultural development. This is particularly true in Africa where national efforts have been supplemented with international research institutes. Although some modest progress has been achieved in improving agricultural technology, on the whole, the improvement record is not quite encouraging among the small-scale farmers. In many areas, either there are no improved technologies, or where they exist, are unacceptable by farmers. However, where useful technologies exist, their spread has been very limited and where they have been adapted, the benefits only accrue to a small segment of the community. The logical question posed is: why and how do we find ourselves in the current situation? This paper considers the view that to understand fully why the available technologies have remained largely at the research centres, there is need to examine the whole process of research, development, dissemination and utilization of agricultural technology. It is significant to investigate the structural constraints and prospects under which those involved in the process work, their motivations and the interactions between different groups. The traditional ‘top-down’ of development strategy should be supplemented with farmers' indigenous knowledge, and programmes encouraging transfer of agricultural technology should include institutional support. Only by the identification of farmers' environmental and resource utilisation, preferences, socio-economic circumstances and constraints can a development programme of optimum meaning to farmers be devised and implemented with success.     

The perfect way to ending a painful past? Makuleke land deal in South Africa

This article presents a discussion of one of the first large-scale community based rural land claims in South Africa. The Makuleke land claim was highly contentious, as it involved more than 20 stakeholders: government departments, local communities and their chiefs, NGOs, mining companies, commissions and task teams, and individuals; all pursuing vested and conflicting interests. [According to the former Chief of the Defence Force, General George Meiring, “the whole area (was) riddled with claims. Many of the claims came from people who visited (the area) once in a blue moon” (WildNet Africa, 1997. News File, May 9)]. Moreover, the greater part of the claim lies within the Kruger National Park, thus, drawing statutory environmental conservation policies into the ambit of land reform. The analysis presented here juxtaposes historical material and trajectories of restitution in order to shed light on the contestation between national goals and community interests.     

A GIS-based groundwater travel time model to evaluate stream nitrate concentration reductions from land use change

Excessive nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) loss from agricultural watersheds is an environmental concern. A common conservation practice to improve stream water quality is to retire vulnerable row croplands to grass. In this paper, a groundwater travel time model based on a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of readily available soil and topographic variables was used to evaluate the time needed to observe stream nitrate concentration reductions from conversion of row crop land to native prairie in Walnut Creek watershed, Iowa. Average linear groundwater velocity in 5-m cells was estimated by overlaying GIS layers of soil permeability, land slope (surrogates for hydraulic conductivity and gradient, respectively) and porosity. Cells were summed backwards from the stream network to watershed divide to develop a travel time distribution map. Results suggested that groundwater from half of the land planted in prairie has reached the stream network during the 10 years of ongoing water quality monitoring. The mean travel time for the watershed was estimated to be 10.1 years, consistent with results from a simple analytical model. The proportion of land in the watershed and subbasins with prairie groundwater reaching the stream (10–22%) was similar to the measured reduction of stream nitrate (11–36%). Results provide encouragement that additional nitrate reductions in Walnut Creek are probable in the future as reduced nitrate groundwater from distal locations discharges to the stream network in the coming years. The high spatial resolution of the model (5-m cells) and its simplicity may make it potentially applicable for land managers interested in communicating lag time issues to the public, particularly related to nitrate concentration reductions over time.     

The ecological and social context of mammal hunting in the coastal savanna of Ghana

This article argues that insufficient attention has been paid in the recent literature to the social and environmental factors which regulate hunting in Ghanaian savannas, and to how this may influence the sustainability of their livelihoods. Despite the vital significance of this issue, the emphasis in the literature and media has been on the destructive impacts of hunting and the bushmeat trade on wildlife. Taking a case study from the coastal savanna of Ghana, a region commonly regarded as a degraded relict of former deciduous forest with a richer wildlife past, it investigates the hypothesis that structure/actor dualities, manifested by socio-cultural change, local environmental knowledge and livelihood activity options, are the primary regulators of hunting intensity and possible sustainability. Such an evaluation is effective if done from a structuration perspective. The integrated methodology incorporates social surveys, GIS based time series image analysis, ecological field methods and statistical analysis. The results provide evidence that the direct and indirect regulatory functions of the socioenvironmental context provide a core feature of the sustainability of hunting. It is concluded that local strategies of resource management may provide an effective complement to conservation policy.     

Short communication: collection of isoseismal maps for South Africa

An atlas of isoseismal maps for South Africa, dating from as far back as 1932–2005, is provided. This work involved searching through historical reports to find records of macroseismic effects. In many instances, when there was a large tremor, questionnaires were distributed to local towns to assess the severity of the tremor and the damage it caused. Based on the results of these questionnaires and site investigations, isoseismal maps were drawn. These isoseismal maps were revisited and digitised for this study. Five additional isoseismal maps were prepared by the authors based on the results of questionnaires alone. Most isoseismal maps in the historical record use the Modified Mercalli scale. All maps are hence provided according to this scale. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Linking reforestation policies with land use change in northern Vietnam: Why local factors matter

In many countries worldwide, similar state policies on land management have been implemented as a response to deforestation in mountainous areas. So far, few studies have examined to which extent these policies have actually contributed to reforestation. This is the focus of our analysis, based on a case study in Vietnam. Because land access and land use were traditionally governed by common rules, we examine land use changes from an institutional perspective. We use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, coupled with an historical perspective and the analysis of actors’ perception and dominant narratives on land management and forests. Results show that national policies significantly interfered with local factors, leading to a complex course of decision-making and action. Substantial reforestation in the area was not a response by farmers to policy incentives but rather the unexpected outcome of the disruption of local institutions by these policies. We argue that, because national interventions have relied on false or exaggerated narratives and beliefs, their implementation is in conflict with the local reality in upland areas, leading to unpredictable and locally dependent outcomes. We defend hence the need for local level studies and also recommend considering local institutions for land use change analysis in contexts where land use systems are characterised by a high degree of human interaction.     

Spatial analysis of land use change effect on soil organic carbon stocks in the eastern regions of China between 1980 and 2000

Spatial distributions of 0-20 cm soil carbon sources/sinks caused by land use changes from the year 1980 to 2000 in an area of 2.97 × 10~6 km~2 in eastern China were investigated using a land use dataset from a recent soil geochemical survey.A map of soil carbon sources/sinks has been prepared based on a spatial analysis scheme with GIS.Spatial statistics showed that land use changes had caused 30.7 ± 13.64 Tg of surface soil organic carbon loss,which accounts for 0.33%of the total carbon storage of 9.22 Pg.The net effect of the carbon source was estimated to be ~ 71.49 Tg soil carbon decrease and ~40.80 Tg increase.Land use changes in Northeast China(NE) have the largest impact on soil organic carbon storage compared with other regions.Paddy fields,which were mainly transformed into dry farmland in NE,and constructed land in other regions,were the largest carbon sources among the land use types.Swamp land in NE was also another large soil carbon source when it was transformed into dry farmland or paddy fields.Dry farmland in the NE region formed the largest soil organic carbon sink,as some were transformed into paddy fields,forested land,and other land use types with high SOCD.     

Agricultural groundwater use and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: A first-cut assessment

The rapid expansion in agricultural groundwater use in the last few decades has transformed rural economies in large parts of the developing world, in particular South Asia and North China. There has been no such “Groundwater Revolution” in most of sub-Saharan Africa and little is known about the actual role of groundwater use in supporting agricultural livelihoods in the region or opportunities to expand this role in the future. Published literature has been reviewed to paint a preliminary, region-wide picture of the contribution groundwater makes to agriculture, and in turn to rural livelihoods, within sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicate that groundwater is used on only 1–2 million hectares of cropped area, directly contributing to the livelihoods of 1.5–3% of the rural population. Groundwater also plays a critical role in the vital livestock sector as well as an important indirect role in the supply of domestic water to agricultural households. While data are lacking, these latter two roles likely surpass the direct importance of groundwater to crop production. This suggests that an understanding of the value of agricultural groundwater use in support of rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa should be based on different models than have typically been applied in Asia.

区域土地利用变化驱动力研究前景展望

区域土地利用变化驱动力研究旨在从典型区域角度揭示土地利用变化背后的真正动因及其作用机理,进而动态模拟、预测区域土地利用变化过程。土地利用系统的自组织性及其内驱动因子作用的复杂性,决定了其研究必须与某一特定区域相联系,以便确定合适的可定量指标来体现外生驱动因子的驱动效果。系统地识别土地利用系统在不同控制状态下的驱动因子及其多种时空尺度效应,建立具有综合模拟的区域土地利用变化动态模型,能减少土地利用系统通常受临界值域和突变所左右的局面。区域土地利用变化驱动因子识别、区域土地利用变化驱动机制分析、区域土地利用变化驱动过程模拟等的研究现状表明,为更好地理解区域土地利用变化的机制和原因,测度现有及未来土地利用变化的速率、过程和地点,支持政府相关决策的制定与实施,促使区域土地利用变化向有利于人类的方向发展,区域土地利用变化驱动力分析应优先考虑以下研究领域：①驱动力因子识别及其作用效应的尺度依赖性;②驱动力因子的贡献量化及其在具体区域的非均一分布;③驱动力因子作用过程的自然反馈机制模型化。 [HT5H]关〓键〓词：[HT5K]     

Volunteer tourism: The case of Habitat for Humanity South Africa

Volunteer tourism as a subset of alternative tourism is the focus of analysis. This paper contributes to the limited writings on volunteer tourism by investigating the activities in South Africa of Habitat for Humanity, a grassroots ecumenical Christian organization that works in partnership with communities to eliminate poverty through the provision of shelter. A profile of the volunteer tourist and of their tourism experience in South Africa is presented which is based largely upon the return of 123 questionnaires from volunteer tourists in South Africa working with the local branch of Habitat for Humanity. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The urban land debate in the global South: New avenues for research

The global ‘land grab’ debate is going urban and needs a specific conceptual framework to analyze the diverse modalities through which land commodification and speculation are transforming cities across the globe. This article identifies new avenues for research on urban land issues by drawing on an extensive body of academic literature and concrete cases of urban land transformations in Asia, Latin America and Africa. These transformations are analyzed by focusing on three types of urban investments – investments in property, investments in public space and public services, and investments in speculation, image building and ‘worlding’ – and the way these investments are intermingled with and enhanced by processes of gentrification and speculative urbanism. Addressing real estate and infrastructure investments, speculation and gentrification through a land-based lens allows us to deepen the discussion on urban land governance in the global South. We argue that urban land acquisition cannot be thoroughly understood in isolation from the workings of urban real estate markets, public policies, and displacement processes. The urban land grab debate needs to consider the dialectic interplay between land use change and general socio-spatial transformations both in central – or recentralized – and peripheral areas. This is why we plea for a kaleidoscopic perspective on urban land governance by uncovering the complex patchwork of urban land acquisitions and their diverse temporalities and spatialities, their hybrid character in terms of actors involved, and the multiple and often unpredicted ways in which urban dwellers try to gain control over and access to urban land.