Environmental sustainability and land reform in South Africa: A neglected dimension

Abstract

Despite supportive policy frameworks and increased environmental awareness, a growing body of evidence indicates that environmental sustainability is not central to planning and decision-making processes in land reform in South Africa. Increasing pressures on government to meet land reform targets, cumbersome and often inappropriate environmental assessment procedures, and a confusing multitude of laws all contribute to neglect of long-term environmental sustainability considerations in land reform. This is exacerbated by poor recognition of resource rights, a lack of proactive and pre-emptive environmental management plans, and insufficient implementation capacity. This paper argues that the early incorporation of environmental sustainability issues in pre-settlement and post-settlement land reform planning processes could significantly improve the environmental, social and economic outcomes of these projects. A simple, participant-driven environmental sustainability assessment tool is proposed to achieve these environmental and developmental goals.

Contemporary Land Reform Policy and Practice in South Africa and Its Environmental Implications: New Ideas, Old Problems?

“…The South African environment has been termed a 'neglected dimension' in agrarian transformation [Wynberg and Sowman, 2007] and, unfortunately, newly proposed policy interventions appear unlikely to be any more sustainable than existing ones. Given the semi-arid nature of much of South Africa, the words of Geist and Lambin [2004: 828] are highly pertinent where they note that "...a detailed understanding of the complex set of proximal causes and underlying driving forces affecting dryland-cover change is required before any assessment or policy intervention".…”

“…There has been much debate in both official government circles and in the media (see, for example, Financial Mail, 28 over the potential environmental impact of agrarian land reform if sustainability issues are not systematically incorporated into policy and practice [Wynberg and Sowman, 2007]. Thus, while there are clear political and economic imperatives to land reform, the fact that much of rural South Africa experiences a semi-arid climate and is highly susceptible to land degradation [Hoffman et al, 1999;Kakembo and Rowntree, 2003], strongly suggests that such environmental concerns need to be taken very seriously.…”

“…Decisions made on a sound ecological basis, taking into account most recent theories of environmental degradation, are better able to avert the failure of these new settlements and promote more sustainable land reform projects. Sustainability within the land reform context is a measure of the extent to which land reform objectives (environmental, economic and social) can be met from a defined land use over a fixed period of time [Wynberg and Sowman, 2007].…”

“…In South Africa, any policy aimed at agrarian reform must surely include a consideration of the environment in its manifestation. Land reform, if inappropriately or improperly applied, can amplify environmental degradation and reduce the sustainability of the very resource that is targeted by the policy [see Wynberg and Sowman, 2007].…”

The people’s choice: options for land ownership in South Africa’s land reform

“…There are also concerns that land reform should take place within the framework of environmental sustainability (Wynberg and Sowman 2007). From the perspective of environmentalism, land reform measures are often seen as a threat to the conservation of biodiversity, especially when land claims are made against national parks and other areas rich in biodiversity (see Coombes and Hill 2005;Kepe 1997).…”