Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Grasslands of South Africa 89
The natural flora, comprising some 24 000 taxa, is one of the richest floras
in the world and creates many opportunities for developing the ecotourism
industry. Regions of particular significance include Namaqualand, which
attracts visitors to its unique floral displays during September of each year.
The diverse Cape floral kingdom, with its estimated 8 000 taxa and associated
avifauna, also provides the visitor with a glimpse of unique evolutionary forces
driving speciation in the region. The southern Cape and its “garden route”,
with a high structural diversity (Afromontane forests, coastal thicket, lowland
fynbos and mountain fynbos), attracts many international visitors.
LAND TENURE
There are four broad categories of land use in South Africa that are relevant
to agricultural production, representing various land tenure regimes.
Approximately 70 percent of the country is “commercial” farmland under freehold
tenure, 14 percent is state land that is communally managed, 10 percent is
formally conserved by the State as National and other parks, and the remaining
6 percent is freehold land used for mining, urban and industrial development .
The communal areas are situated mainly in the former homelands of Transkei,
Ciskei, Bophutatswana, Lebowa, Kwa-Zulu, Venda and Gazankulu in the
north and east of the country, while the commercial areas occupy most of the
western, central and southern regions.
There are two widely disparate types of land tenure systems (Table 3.4). On
the freehold farms there are clear boundaries, exclusive rights for the individual
properties, and commercial farming objectives. These landowners are able to
trade with their properties and use their title as collateral security against loans.
In contrast, in the communal areas, there are often unclear boundaries, generally
open access rights to grazing areas and farmers are subsistence oriented.
TABLE 3.4
A comparison between communal and freehold tenure systems in a similar area (approximately
15 000 ha) of the Peddie district, Eastern Cape, South Africa .
Tenure system Communal Commercial (Freehold)
Economic orientation Multiple use but essentially
subsistence
Profit (commercial)
Human population density
(persons per km2 )
56 3–6
Livestock Cattle 3 548 Cattle 2 028
Sheep 5 120 Goats 3 000
Goats 14 488
Ability to maintain natural Poor Economics and strong peer pressure to achieve
resources
desired conservation state
Livestock owners Approx 3 000 10–12
Infrastructure Poor Road system, power network, fencing and water
provision
Access to formal markets Poor Good – commodity-based marketing
Historical access to subsidies
and loans
Weak Good
SOURCE: Palmer, Novellie and Lloyd, 1999.