Mobility Patterns of Livestock Keepers in Semi-Arid Communal Rangelands of Namaqualand, South Africa

Abstract

In arid and semi-arid environments, pastoralists use herd mobility to manage resource variability. We investigated temporal mobility patterns of livestock keepers on the spatially confined commons of Namaqualand, South Africa, between 1997 and 2006. We conducted semi-structured interviews with about 300 livestock keepers from ten villages in the Leliefontein communal area. Herd mobility varies significantly amongst the herds in the different villages. Mobility in Leliefontein is complex and is influenced by environmental, agricultural, social and personal factors. We conclude that even with a high degree of variability in herd movements, the mobility patterns of livestock keepers over the last ten years have remained relatively stable.

The good shepherd: remedying the fencing syndrome

“…• Biodiversity management Herders in Leliefontein move their herds strategically to avoid overgrazing of parts of the rangelands and herd competition at water points, and to rest certain parts of the rangeland (Samuels et al 2008). In Okhombe, the reintroduction of herding helped to reduce grazing pressure on the lower hillslopes, which showed signs of degradation.…”

“…There are about 256 herds within the area that move between about 600 stock posts and 169 water points (Samuels et al 2008). Studying spatial patterns of resource use by livestock, Samuels et al (2007) show how herders in Namaqualand apply adaptive grazing management strategies in response to drought, whereas herding is also used to reduce pressure on the rangelands (Debeaudoin 2001, Baker and.…”

Water, justice, and wellbeing in the Kamiesberg, Namaqualand: Reflecting on local histories in the context of the Anthropocene

“…Nevertheless, communal access to unfenced forage rangelands (or veld ); to borehole, spring and dug well water (known as “puts”) for sheep and goats; and medicinal plants and firewood, plays a vital role in many people's lives. Herders' sophisticated and dynamic knowledge of plant and water availabilities in the veld, informal collective agreements, and the flexibility of movement that communal land affords, have been shown to be key to the veld's ability to support overall consistent levels of stock over many years—although with significant rises and falls according to drought and rainfall (Allsopp, Laurent, Debeaudoin, & Samuels, 2007; Salomon, Cupido, & Samuels, 2013; Samuels et al, 2019; Samuels, Allsopp, & Hoffman, 2008; Samuels, Allsopp, & Knight, 2007). While small, income generated through selling stock can help tide people over when other sources run out.…”

Climate change, risk management and the end ofNomadicpastoralism

“…Niamir-Fuller and Turner 1999). In arid and semi-arid environments, pastoralists use mobility to manage resource variability (Samuels et al 2008), because mobility allows full exploitation of forage resources that are unequally distributed in space and time (Schwartz 2005) and because flexible movements to spatially dispersed resources are key to livestock survival (Scoones 1995). More to the point, mobility allows pastoralists to take advantage of resources found in different habitat types and thus supports more animals than if they were stationary (Fernandez-Gimenez and Le Febre 2006: 343).…”