Session A4Rangelands as dynamic systems Desertification: patterns and processes in Africa

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) makes special mention of the desertification problem in Africa. This session will provide an up to date overview of the extent of desertification in Africa and reflect on some of the problems associated with the measurement of the phenomenon. New perspectives of looking at the problem, particularly those offered by the Dahlem Desertification Paradigm, will be shared and an emphasis of the session will be to explore the complexity of the relationships between biophysical and socio-economic factors as determinants of desertification. In particular, the role of land tenure and poverty as primary causes of land degradation will be considered. A case study from Botswana will examine the impact of different land tenure regimes on plant diversity and soil parameters around water points. Similarly, evidence for a link between poverty and degradation will be explored using information from the recently completed national review of land degradation in South Africa. A third case study from Ethiopia will investigate the role that agro-ecological change might have on the spread of malaria in the region. The hypothesis that is tested here is that the new agro-ecology of maize production in the area has significantly increased the incidence of malaria and facilitated its spread to previously unaffected zones. Finally, an alternative futures analysis of a range of plausible land use options for parts of Namibia will be evaluated in terms of this country's National Programme to Combat Desertification. The session will be concluded by a half hour panel discussion in which general issues concerned with the desertification debate in Africa will be addressed. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2003, 20(2): 101-106