NEWS are ecologically sound and viable while remaining open-minded and innovative to counter new challenges . The mobility [ that is ] key to resilience has greatly reduced through increasing populations , competing for land use , shrinking pastures , and / or pastoralists ’ desire to remain closer to schools and other services .
Mobility allows vegetation to recover between periods of grazing , ensuring the survival of herds in rangelands where forage production varies throughout space and time . Safeguarding pastoralist access to seasonal resources is crucial . Supplementary food during the dry season also plays an important role . The caveat is the risk of excessive grazing impact during the wet season . Livelihood diversification is vital to buffering the uncertainty of a fluctuating and shrinking resource base , as is access to markets for livestock , livestock products , and information ( e . g . market prices and seasonal forecasts that help with planning ).
Mongabay : I would love to hear a bit more about your experience in South Africa ; how does pastoralism play out there ?
Susanne Vetter : South Africa has incredible ecological and cultural diversity . The vegetation ranges from arid shrublands and heathlands to grasslands and savannas to forests . In the succulent winter rainfall shrublands of
Namaqualand , the descendants of Khoi Khoi pastoralists still practice a form of semi-nomadic pastoralism with sheep and goats . Traditional African agropastoralism that was widely practised in the grasslands and savannas has been heavily modified by decades of colonial and apartheid rule , which confined people of African descent to a small fraction of the country ’ s land . High population densities and widespread migrant labour to support rural households have led to greatly reduced herds and a dwindling contribution of livestock to livelihoods .
The challenges are significant : increasing rates of unemployment , high population densities , increasingly frequent droughts and widespread bush encroachment where trees proliferate because there is less fire , more grazing and elevated atmospheric CO 2
. The material and cultural role of livestock remain strong , however , and the challenge is now to find innovative and locally appropriate ways to support livestock farming as part of diverse livelihood strategies in this changing world .
In contrast , large areas of South Africa are sparsely populated with extensive areas of land owned by ( still mostly white ) commercial livestock farmers and conservation areas . One noticeable shift has been a widespread shift from livestock farming to keeping wildlife for ecotourism or hunting .
Mongabay : Could you please describe a recent interesting research project or experiment ?
Susanne Vetter : Through a long-standing collaboration with Michelle Cocks , an anthropologist who also works at Rhodes University , we have been delving deep into the relationship rural and urban Xhosa-speaking people in South Africa have with nature . The findings have blown us away — despite lifestyles that are a far cry from traditional agropastoralism , the connection to nature is still deep , and inextricably linked to cultural practices such as resource use and rituals . Apart from providing natural resources , nature also offers a place of reflection , healing and identity . Research and interventions aimed at developing and conserving African ecosystems would benefit from engaging more with people ’ s worldviews , practices and experiences that shape their relationship with the land they live in .
Kang-Chun Cheng is an environmental photojournalist based in Nairobi , Kenya , with an interest in community-based natural resource management and traditional ecological knowledge .
Citation
Schuman , G ., Janzen , H ., & Herrick , J . ( 2002 ).
Soil carbon dynamics and potential carbon sequestration by rangelands . Environmental Pollution , 116 ( 3 ), 391- 396 . doi : 10.1016 / s0269-7491 ( 01 ) 00215-9
Figure 6 . Maasai market day near Kimana Sanctuary in southern Kenya . Cattle are prized possessions amongst the Maasai and a sign of both wealth and power . Image by Kang-Chun Cheng .
Grassroots Vol 22 No 1 March 2022 20