Suchergebnisse

Understanding the patterns and drivers of land use and land cover (LULC) changes is fundamental for rational and specific planning for sustainable land management. Using remote sensing techniques, geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical modeling via multinomial logistic regression, we sought to identify spatial variables that determine LULC change and their extent over time in the protected and communal areas of the Zambezi Region, Namibia. Multi-temporal satellite imagery of the Landsat series was used to map changes over a period of twenty-six years, divided into three stages (1984&ndash ; 1991, 1991&ndash ; 2000 and 2000&ndash ; 2010). Post classification change detection methodologies were used to determine conversions between LULC classes. Additionally, socio-economic characteristics of the area were used to identify drivers of changes. Four spatial drivers of LULC change that we identified included the distance to the nearest road, distance to settlements, population density and fire return periods. Population density, distance to settlements and fire return period were significantly associated with conversion from crop/grass land to crop/grass land and forest land to crop/grass, forest land to bare land and forest land to forest land in the protected area. In communal areas, distance to the road was found to significantly influence conversion from crop/grass land to crop/grass land. The study concluded that the influence of these drivers is attributable to distinct political and agro-demographical differences during the study period. Policy makers and planners need to take these drivers into consideration together with their subsidiaries to respond and make sound decisions regarding undesirable changes in LULC.

Eastern Otjozondjupa is located in north-eastern Namibia on the western edge of the Kalahari Basin, and comprises the former Bushmanland Region and the Gam District. Until 1960 the region was virtually uninhabited except in the eastern part of Bushmanland. Since 1960, the region has been transformed from a predominantly Ju/'hoansi, hunter-gathering society, to the present mix of different population groups and a diverse economy combining crop farming, livestock production, cash incomes, food aid, and hunting and gathering. As a result of ongoing resettlement programmes and the growing demands of the different population groups, the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (MLRR) is in the process of developing a land use plan for the region of Eastern Otjozondjupa. This report describes the history and the present-day situation of the socio-economic development in the region and makes recommendations for positive interventions to improve the social and economic conditions of the households. (DÜI-Hff)

The majority of South Africa's rural population resides in the former homelands. Although cash from urban and government sources is the mainstay of the rural economy in many areas, the multiple and diverse livelihood base of rural households is not widely recognised. This diversity includes the land-based strategies of arable farming, livestock husbandry and consumption and trade in natural resources. This article examines recent and emerging literature from a livelihood perspective in terms of the role and value of each of these three land-based livelihood sectors. We conclude that the contribution of land-based activities to rural livelihoods is important in both financial and social terms, and is probably greater than previously appreciated within the whole gamut of livelihood strategies adopted including transfers from formal employment and state pensions. We examine the policy implications of this for land and agrarian reform in South Africa. (Dev South Afr/ DÜI)

More than half of the natural vegetation in Mexico is managed collectively within common property systems. The appropriation and continuity of government programs related to the conservation of land that is communally used is proposed to depend on the level of organization of the communities and the interaction between the local and governmental institutions, as well as the benefits derived from conservation projects. Patterns of what drives the conservation of common natural resources were analyzed in order to propose improvements to conservation policy. Changes in primary and secondary vegetation cover in common and private properties were identified by performing a historical spatial analysis. Questionnaires were used to survey 32 populations of seven states of the Mexican Republic to determine the conservation status of common property resources, as well as the ability of the community to continue conservation activities initially undertaken by government programs. Some 53% of the primary and secondary vegetation in Mexico is found in common property areas, but the change from primary and secondary vegetation to other uses is the same for common and private property. Communities with a high level of conservation of communal areas and with the ability to continue conservation projects were those that had dedicated the areas to recreation and conservation, had stronger community organization and were less marginalized. A recognition of the heterogeneity of the socioeconomic and cultural context of communities with common property is necessary to design governmental conservation programs that achieve long-term conservation. To meet the needs of a region that is both degraded and marginalized, the creation of synergies between programs that combat poverty and programs that promote conservation is needed. In addition, the continuation of payments with public funds for work that preserves or rehabilitates natural areas is needed, thereby acknowledging the environmental services that these areas generate.

International Conference Sharing Society, Bilbao, May 23-24, 2019 ; Communal lands were essential for the survival of communities in pre-modern societies being traditionally used for cultivation or grazing, collecting wood or stone for buildings, bushes for fuel or for fertilization, honey production, etc. In Portugal, they have survived to this day, despite the attacks that were driven mainly from the second half of the eighteenth century by an adverse state inspired by liberal thinking and by a fierce and powerful rural bourgeoisie who anxiously wanted to lay hands on these lands. The fact that communities have had to face attacks from different antagonists (feudal nobility, gentlemen farmers, landowning bourgeoisie, physiocratic, liberal and positivist thinkers, modern state administration) has strengthened ties and strengthened collective action in communities. The recognition of community property by the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of 1976 was an opportunity to recreate new forms of use of common goods more appropriate to contemporary realities. Some of these ways were aimed at revitalizing communities through collective action and investment in material and social capital; some other ways have sought to broaden and diversify access to the use of common goods in order to meet the demands of external users such as tourism, sports or leisure agencies. In these cases, the activities carried out could involve a high degree of commodification, unlike what happened in the first ones when the "solidarity economy" was strengthened. The presentation of two cases with different orientations allows for a debate on the future of communal lands in Portugal and on the risks and challenges of the new uses of these lands.