A national review of land degradation in South Africa: The influence of biophysical and socio-economic factors

Studies of land degradation in South Africa have seldom addressed the issue for the whole country. As parr of the first step in developing a National Action Programme to combat desertification, a national review of the soil a nd veld degradation problem was conducted in 1997 and 1998, The results are based on the perceptions of agricultural extension workers and resource co nservation technicians from the Department of Agriculture. They indicate th at it is primarily in the communal areas along the eastern and northern esc arpment and in some commercial districts along the Orange River that proble ms of soil degradation are greatest. Veld degradation is also higher in com munal areas than commercial areas, although many commercial areas are susce ptible to bush encroachment and alien plant invasions. A separate multiple regression analysis indicates that both biophysical and socio-economic fact ors are associated with high levels of soil and veld degradation. Magisteri al districts which are most degraded are characterised by steep slopes and high mean annual temperatures, and a rural population in which many people are dependent on only a few wage earners. Although the interaction is poorl y understood it appears that when there are high levels of poverty in susce ptible environments, land degradation is greatest.