The Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, on 14 June commemorated World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) 2013 by showcasing and handing-over a R12 million land rehabilitation project at four sites in Sterkspruit, Eastern Cape to the Senqu Local Municipality.

The land rehabilitation programme aims to reverse degradation which negatively affects the biological productivity of the topsoil which is caused by human activities and natural causes. Land degradation is exacerbated by poverty and the adverse impacts of climate change amongst many other aspects. The undesirable combination of desertification, land degradation and drought negatively affects water resources, drives deforestation, and contributes to environmentally induced migrations.

“Drought and desertification are the major environmental and socio-economic problems with negative effects on the livelihood. It greatly affects subsistence agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability in rural areas such as Sterkspruit. As a result, poverty is at its most prevalent among our communities that depend directly on degraded land. We have a duty and obligation to strengthen land stewardship post 2015 global development agenda to catalyze policy and mobilize resources in order to improve the conditions of the rural poor, most notably land,” said Mabudafhasi.

That is why, as national assessments indicate, poverty which remains tremendously rural, correlates highly with land degradation because more than 40% of the world’s degraded lands are found in areas with the highest incidence of poverty. The same can be said about the interrelation between land and poverty in the Eastern Cape region. Land in South Africa has enormous economic, social, and environmental value, but as a largely dry and sub humid country, a large proportion of the country’s land surface is susceptible to degradation.

This is the reason why government in its various spheres has embarked on a number of developmental initiatives. The existing environmentally friendly projects in the Eastern Cape include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast Spatial Development Initiatives, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and the Coega Integrated Development Zone near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post-apartheid era in South Africa. The construction of the deep water Port of Ngqura was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009. It is expected that this development will give the province a major economic boost.

World Day to Combat Desertification is observed globally each year on June 17th, and this year’s slogan “Don’t let our future dry up,” calls for everyone to take action to promote preparedness and resilience to water scarcity, desertification and drought. About 70% of fresh water is held in the soil. When soil is healthy, it holds more water and the effects of drought will be less severe. Droughts have devastating effects to our communities, on livelihoods and to the economy.

In order to satisfy the ever increasing demand, the DEA has set targets for its land rehabilitation programme to achieve Zero net land degradation by 2030, or net restoration of degraded lands by 2030; Zero net forest degradation by 2030; and Drought policies and drought preparedness measures put in place in all drought‐prone countries by 2020. Zero Net Land Degradation (ZNLD) is a new and explicit goal of sustainable development which was agreed upon at the Rio+20 Conference as the reduction on the rate of land degradation to achieve land degradation neutrality. Achieving it involves a combination of reducing the rate of further degradation of land and offsetting newly occurring degradation by restoring the productivity and other ecosystem services of currently degraded lands.

Eastern cape focus

The Eastern Cape has a fairly high provincial veld degradation index and of the highest provincial indices of soil degradation. Approximately, 64% of land in the Eastern Cape is used for stock farming, including beef cattle, sheep, goats and game. In this regard, land degradation undermines the productive potential of land and water resources, As such, the consequences are considerable and diverse in terms of the provisioning of goods and services provided by natural ecosystems with direct impacts on human welfare, our biodiversity and the productive potential of our land. Bush encroachment, change in species composition and alien plant invasions are the most serious veld degradation problems in this region.

The implementation of the R12 million land rehabilitation project at the four sites (Jozana’s Hoek, Magwiji, Sundudza and Jozana’s neck) has eradicated the inevitable threat of houses being washed away during rainfalls. The erection of gabions to curb the spread of dongas will go a long way to restore the agricultural land for subsistence farming by locals as well as ensuring availability of grazing land for the livestock. The project has benefited the local community by creating a combined total of 158 job opportunities for clerical, labourers, semi-skilled, skilled and supervisors for local women, the youth and people living with disability. With the training provided during the implementation, former employees will be able to use the acquired skills to start Small, Micro & Medium Enterprises (SMMES).

In conclusion, the Deputy Minister said, “If we do not rise to this challenge, we will not achieve our commitments for climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity conservation, forest and Millennium Development Goals targets; we will not effectively alleviate rural poverty and hunger nor ensure long‐term food security nor build resilience to drought and water stress.”