Institutions and governance of communal rangelands in South Africa

The creation of local institutions with a mandate over land access and control is seen as a prerequisite for successful decentralisation of land tenure and effective local resource management in sub-Saharan Africa. However, with land tenure reform in South Africa currently at a state of legislative impasse, real uncertainty now exists over land rights and governance of rangeland in many communal areas. This paper draws on case study material from Eastern Cape province to illustrate how this ongoing uncertainty has resulted in the operation of a range of traditional authority and civil society institutions in different communal areas with varying degrees of legitimate authority over land administration and highly variable performance in managing rangeland resources. Collective management of rangeland resources seems most difficult in environments where land rights are contested because of the coexistence of traditional leaders and civil society institutions. On this basis an approach to tenure reform is advocated, which vests all powers over local land administration in democratically elected and accountable civil society institutions. Some successful examples of this already exist and might serve to guide policy formation, which must be flexible enough to accommodate collective management approaches that emphasise cooperation both within and between communities.Keywords: common property, land tenure, natural resource management, traditional leadersAfrican Journal of Range & Forage Science 2013, 30(1&2): 77–8

A facilitated process towards finding options for improved livestock production in the communal areas of Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

A participatory multi-stakeholder process of finding options for improving livestock production in the severely degraded communal grazing area of Sterkspruit in South Africa was conducted. Interviews were conducted with individual livestock keepers from two sites to gather data on their demographic characteristics, livestock holdings, and main sources of income. Interviews and focus workshops with various stakeholders and the livestock keepers were conducted on what they perceived to be options for improving livestock production. Livestock keepers comprised less than 20% of the entire population in both villages, consisting of individuals about 60 years of age. About 60% kept less than eight cattle. Regardless of herd size, about 40% relied on old-age and welfare grants rather than livestock for income. Livestock keepers identified options promoting survival of livestock, such as improved veterinary services and winter feeding as a priority. In contrast, other stakeholders, including representatives of government, municipalities, farmers unions and commodity associations, identified options for reducing livestock numbers, such as marketing and removal of large stock owners to private land, as a priority for reducing degradation due to overstocking. Due to this difference in goals and aspirations, no common set of priorities could be agreed upon. Keywords: degradation; livelihoods; livestock keepers; multi-stakeholder; participatoryAfrican Journal of Range & Forage Science 2008, 25(2): 63–6