164
7
the Leliefontein communal area in the Northern Cape. The figures show that grazing
pressure has been around the current level for about 180 years. If there had been a
continuous deterioration of pastures—ecological overgrazing—it would not have
been possible to maintain this number of livestock over time. In that case, one would
have expected a decrease in animal numbers. . Table 7.2 from the Concordia communal area also demonstrates that the number of livestock is correlated with the
annual rainfall. This supports the idea in the flexibility discourse that the pastoral
grazing system to a large extent is driven by climatic factors.
It is also interesting to note that there is still a large species diversity in this area,
in spite of several hundred years of intensive livestock-keeping. The persistent high
density of livestock in the communal areas has produced an old cultural landscape
with a different biological diversity than what is found for areas where use is less
intensive. This is a cultural landscape that is not valued in southern Africa today.
Agricultural authorities tend to compare the use of the land in communal areas with
how the white-owned commercial farms are run, while conservationists argue for the
reinstatement of a pristine landscape and seem to prioritize the protection of biodiversity at the cost of poverty alleviation (Benjaminsen et al. 2008).
The idea that African small-scale farming degrades the landscape is used by different influential actors in the discussion of land reform in southern Africa. First, it
is used as an argument against redistribution of land in general (Hongslo and
Benjaminsen 2002). Second, this idea serves to justify prioritizing so-called emergent
black commercial farmers, as opposed to more widespread redistribution
(Benjaminsen et al. 2006). Third, it is used as an argument for placing land under the
. Table 7.1 Small Stock Units (SSU) in Leliefontein communal area by year. Note
the reduction in SSU due to multi-year droughts between 1903–1907 and 1998–2000.
One SSU equals a sheep or a goat
Year
Smallstock units
1824
24,000
1854
25,230
1875
24,400
1890
25,600
1909
14,700
1947
34,890
1953
40,000
1997
36,479
2002
23,712
Source: Benjaminsen et al. (2006)
Chapter 7 · Pastoralists and the State
7
the Leliefontein communal area in the Northern Cape. The figures show that grazing
pressure has been around the current level for about 180 years. If there had been a
continuous deterioration of pastures—ecological overgrazing—it would not have
been possible to maintain this number of livestock over time. In that case, one would
have expected a decrease in animal numbers. . Table 7.2 from the Concordia communal area also demonstrates that the number of livestock is correlated with the
annual rainfall. This supports the idea in the flexibility discourse that the pastoral
grazing system to a large extent is driven by climatic factors.
It is also interesting to note that there is still a large species diversity in this area,
in spite of several hundred years of intensive livestock-keeping. The persistent high
density of livestock in the communal areas has produced an old cultural landscape
with a different biological diversity than what is found for areas where use is less
intensive. This is a cultural landscape that is not valued in southern Africa today.
Agricultural authorities tend to compare the use of the land in communal areas with
how the white-owned commercial farms are run, while conservationists argue for the
reinstatement of a pristine landscape and seem to prioritize the protection of biodiversity at the cost of poverty alleviation (Benjaminsen et al. 2008).
The idea that African small-scale farming degrades the landscape is used by different influential actors in the discussion of land reform in southern Africa. First, it
is used as an argument against redistribution of land in general (Hongslo and
Benjaminsen 2002). Second, this idea serves to justify prioritizing so-called emergent
black commercial farmers, as opposed to more widespread redistribution
(Benjaminsen et al. 2006). Third, it is used as an argument for placing land under the
. Table 7.1 Small Stock Units (SSU) in Leliefontein communal area by year. Note
the reduction in SSU due to multi-year droughts between 1903–1907 and 1998–2000.
One SSU equals a sheep or a goat
Year
Smallstock units
1824
24,000
1854
25,230
1875
24,400
1890
25,600
1909
14,700
1947
34,890
1953
40,000
1997
36,479
2002
23,712
Source: Benjaminsen et al. (2006)
Chapter 7 · Pastoralists and the State