Workshop on Land Reform, Land Trusts and StewardshipCo-ordinated by Conservation International and SANBI
20th November - Pretoria
Rick de Satgé
Policy and strategy initiatives◦ DLA’s attempts to integrate environmental
planning into land reform◦ National Settlement & Implementation Support
Strategy◦ Land and Agrarian Reform Project (LARP)
Case sketches◦ Mtakatye (Eastern Cape◦ Schmidtsdrift (Northern Cape)
In 2001 a joint DLA/DANCED project produced Policy and Guidelines on the Integration of Environmental Planning into Land Reform and Land Development
Guidelines highlighted that environmental sustainability (both bio-physical and socio-economic) had not enjoyed adequate attention
Proposed introduction of an Environmental Decision Support Tool as an integral part of project assessment and planning procedures
Guidelines tested in 2005 and the Environmental Evaluation Unit (UCT) developed an Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Tool
Designed to provide an integrated natural resource baseline highlighting environmental opportunities and constraints as a basis for a management and monitoring plan
Guidelines remain unimplemented Institutional fragmentation where natural
resource management is concerned Plethora of legislation administered by
different departments Emphasis on the development of resource
assessment tools and legislative compliance while development and support of local institutions to manage rights and resources neglected
The review of post transfer support to Restitution and Redistribution programmes highlighted:◦ Inadequate budget and prioritisation of this key
function International experience indicates that the cost of
land purchase should amount to between 30% and 40% of total support package
◦ Land reform dominated by quantitative targets (hectares transferred and claims settled) rather than qualitative results
◦ Lack of clarity on the farming systems that should result from land reform
Narrow conception of the scope of support required
Inadequate conceptual and institutional framework for integrated planning and settlement support◦ No clarity about whose responsibility this should
be Poor intergovernmental relations limit the
co-ordination of effective support
Distinguishes between front end services needed by land reform projects◦ Social◦ Institutional◦ Environmental◦ Economic
Back office support to create an enabling environment at local, district, provincial and national scale
Reframing land reform as a joint programme of government, the private sector and civil society - coordinated by DLA in partnership with DoA and located within the District IDP
Drawing on DPLG guidelines for joint programme management gazetted ito IGRFA
Area based planning Developing designated support agencies and
partnerships at District Municipal scale
Elements of the SIS strategy have informed the Land and Agrarian Reform Project (LARP) – a recent DLA/DoA partnership
However it appears that key aspects of the strategy including:◦ Land rights determination and management◦ Dedicated support for CPIs◦ Development of functioning common property
resource management regimes◦ Integrated natural resource managementhave yet to find a home
In our view these are prerequisites for effective stewardship programmes
MtakatyeSchmidtsdrift
Land reform takes place in vastly different institutional settings◦ State owned communal areas◦ Privately owned land which has been
redistributed or restored held by a CPA or a Trust◦ Forestry areas◦ Protected areas◦ Municipal commonage◦ State owned land acquired through PLAS◦ Labour tenants and occupiers on commercial
farms
A communal area on former Transkei Wild Coast
A former betterment area – limited arable land Pockets of declared and ‘chief’s forests’ Most people cultivating homestead gardens
◦ Declining yields and soil fertility Perception that land in the forests more fertile
than home gardens Early 1990’s people invade and clear portions
of declared indigenous forest Increasing pressure on marine resources
particularly shellfish in the intertidal zone
How has government responded?◦ DEAT provided a grant to
a local entrepreneur to develop an indigenous
nursery hire people to clear
invasive aliens replant deforested areas
Current situation unclear
Contested local governance and unsupported land tenure systems can result in de facto ‘open access’◦ Continuing uncertainties about exercise of land rights
management functions The case an ideal zone for ‘participative forest
management’ ito the NFA◦ However low visibility of DWAF Forest Officers in 2006◦ People reluctant to leave cleared areas
Government responses fail to engage with key land and resource tenure issues which underpin sustainable management of the forest resources◦ Commodification of medicinal plants also contributes
to pressure on forest resources
Fragmented responses to multisectoral issues – forests, rangelands, marine resources land and resource tenure
These require an area based joint programme with a clear champion
Currently the approach to stewardship avoids situations where there is institutional confusion or conflict due to high risk of failure
However there is an argument to be made that these situations could become the focus for an integrated stewardship programme
Tswana and Griqua occupants of Schmidtsdrift forcibly removed in 1968
SADF established a training camp Competing land claims settled through negotiation
in 2000 31,829 ha restored to a CPA Restoration characterised by contestation between
Tswana and Griqua claimants, ‘traditionalists’ and ‘modernists’
Some 300 households return to 5 settlement areas◦ 2 declared rural townships◦ 3 spontaneous settlement areas
CPA Constitution fails to determine individual rights, benefits and responsibilities
Alluvial diamond mining commences in 2001 with prospecting rights awarded along the whole river
frontage.
Alluvial diamond mining has massive impact on grazing, cultural and natural assets ◦ In 2003 Government temporarily closed mining
activities of NDC after damage to graves and pollution of environment but it soon resumed
◦ Currently between 200 000-250 000 tonnes of material are processed per month
◦ Contributes spread of prosopis and other invaders◦ Alleged illegal abstraction of water◦ Inadequate rehabilitation
How to give meaning to local stewardship when powerful mining interests ride roughshod over the law and government interventions and monitoring are ineffective?
Prior to removal people were settled in six areas◦ On their return people encouraged to live in two
main settlement areas – majority remain offsite◦ Settlement pattern encourages overgrazing in
areas around settlements Increasing bush encroachment
◦ For several years after settlement there was no investment in grazing camps or water infrastructure
Game relocated to an area which one group of claimants utilised for grazing ◦ Creates conflict over resource use
Phuhlisani appointed in 2008 to clarify membership, rights, address conflict and align plans
Common property resource management depends on decentralised management, agreed boundaries (even if these may be fuzzy) and memberships, effective monitoring, and conflict resolution mechanisms
Clarification of rights ◦ Access and use rights◦ Management rights◦ Exclusion rights◦ Transfer rights
Clarification of duties and contributions Credible management institutions and compliance
capability Environmental stewardship initiatives require
investment in tenure systems and local institutions◦ Self managing ‘stewardship’
Land reform spans diverse settings◦ Ranges from projects on a small geographic scale
utilised by family members and relatively homogenous and coherent groupings through to large land areas where large and heterogeneous groups have rights
Clearly stewardship initiatives will be easier to implement in confined and stable settings
However developing multisectoral stewardship initiatives which can engage in large and complex settings like Mtakatye and Schmidtsdrift remains a key challenge which to date has not been addressed
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