The nature, extent and causes of land degradation in South Africa: legacy of the past, lessons for the future?

The aim of this paper is to reassess the land degradation and desertification problem in South Africa. The country has a wide range of interrelated environmental and development challenges existing in a socio-political context recently subject to substantial change. The paper outlines the fundamenta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inArea (London 1969) Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 428 - 437
Main Authors Meadows, M. E., Hoffman, M. T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK and Boston, USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd 01.12.2002
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Agricultural land
Climate models
Desertification
historical legacy
Land degradation
Land tenure
Land use
Soil degradation
Soil erosion
South Africa
Vegetation
vegetation degradation
Veld
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The aim of this paper is to reassess the land degradation and desertification problem in South Africa. The country has a wide range of interrelated environmental and development challenges existing in a socio-political context recently subject to substantial change. The paper outlines the fundamental environmental constraints and opportunities that underlie degradation phenomena and illustrates the nature, extent and geographical distribution of the major forms of soil and vegetation degradation in the country. The principal causes of degradation are identified and some important land use and land tenure questions that need to be addressed in the near future are posited.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-568FBGZ9-B
istex:B70C51A9DE20E71EFC985EEB0BB5A43F4366727C
ArticleID:AREA100
ISSN:0004-0894
1475-4762
DOI:10.1111/1475-4762.00100