Sustainability Indicators for Swaziland

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NATURAL RESOURCE ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SWAZILAND

DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

Background

The Kingdom of Swaziland is experiencing formidable challenges of addressing land degradation and desertification problems. These problems are experienced within the context of a rapid population increase, worsening poverty and progressive increase in the utilisation of environment and land resources. Presently, almost half (49%) of the total land is vulnerable to desertification. Moreover, more than half (55%) of total communal rangelands have experienced a sharp decline in their productivity. The semi - arid portion estimated at 26% of the total land area is consistently experiencing drought conditions which render the soil prone to erosion.

The Government of Swaziland, as a signatory to the International Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), with the assistance of the United Nations Office for Desertification, is making significant headway towards meeting its obligations under the convention. The preparation of the Convention to Combat Desertification Swaziland National Action Programme (CCD NAP) was the culmination of several activities undertaken by government towards the implementation of the convention. The NAP prepares the stage where local partner signatories to the convention are invited to contribute their assistance and initiatives in the implementation of the convention.

Brief summary of desertification in Swaziland

The accepted UNCED definition is that desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from climatic variation and human activities.

Recent and comprehensive information on desertification is available for Swaziland. Most studies have focused on the rangelands where degradation is found to be most severe. The grasslands of the Upper Middleveld, and to a lesser extent also the Highveld, are the most severely eroded parts of Swaziland, with more than 50 percent of the communal rangelands having a serious erosion status.

Erosion and land degradation is less severe in the woodlands and savannas of the Lower Middleveld and Lowveld, but still significant. About one third of the communal rangelands in the Lower Middleveld and Western Lowveld has a serious erosion status, and a corresponding percentage of the woodlands and savannas is described as having poor range conditions, with still increasing deterioration. In the Eastern Lowveld and Lebombo Range relatively minor degradation is reported.

The composition of woodlands and rangelands of Swaziland - which are predominantly used as rangelands - is changing in response to grazing by domestic livestock. These changes include a decrease in the density of palatable plants and an increase in the relative abundance of bush and ephemeral plants. The consequence of such changes is a general reduction in biodiversity, with negative effects on the carrying capacity and the potential for extraction of natural products. This effect is noticeable in all rangelands, but it affects in particular the private rangelands and ranches. Encroachment of shrubs onto arable lands is a serious problem in parts of the Lowveld where fields have been abandoned due to low yields.

Poor grazing practices are not the only cause of degradation of the woodlands and savannas. Uncontrolled cutting of trees and unlimited extraction of a variety of plant materials have strongly contributed to further degradation of the vegetation in general and the species composition in particular. Although such unsustainable practices have been described in numerous cases for all of the ecological zones, little quantification is available.

"Severe bush encroachment is found concentrated in the Lowveld and the Lower Middleveld where the majority of the commercial ranches are found. It is developing predominantly in privately owned lands (TDL ranches) as there is not much clearing of land for cultivation, and relatively little extraction of firewood and building materials as compared to SNL, where a large proportion of the trees and shrubs has been removed. Other factors exacerbating the problem of bush encroachment in private lands are the exclusion of fire, and the lack of browsing animals.

The cost of soil erosion in Swaziland has been calculated in the eKukhanyeni area in the Manzini Region, showing significant losses of productive land and reduction in income of rural households. More studies of this kind are needed to obtain a more comprehensive overview of the cost of land degradation.

Summary of causes of desertification in Swaziland

A brief summary of the causes of desertification and land degradation is presented in the table below. Recognition of the underlying causes is an essential step that must be addressed in all programme formulation and design.

The main causes of land degradation in Swaziland

Primary Causes	Consequences
1. Socio-economic Conditions and Attitudes
- Population pressure leading to increased competition for the natural resource base; lack of alternative sources of livelihoods	Over exploitation of resources Inappropriate land distribution
- Lack of control on communal land management	Inappropriate/unplanned use of land
- Communal land tenure arrangements	Lack of responsibility/accountability
- Traditional attitude of keeping cattle in numbers (low off take)	High stocking rates, low productivity
- Poor socio-economic status	Inappropriate/unplanned use of land
- Breakdown traditional leadership	Lack of controlled range management
- Lack of commercial attitude/different values attached to livestock	Low economic returns
- Poor enforcement of laws and regulations with regard to land use; incapacity to implement changes	Inappropriate policy formation and implementation mechanisms
- Land and chieftaincy disputes	Lack of controlled range management and of responsibility/accountability
- Poor management of TDL	Bush encroachment
2. Range and livestock management
- Unsustainable stocking rates and lack of data on carrying capacity	Overgrazing, vegetation depletion
- Extensive traffic along same route to and from kraal/homestead, watering point (river, borehole, etc.) and dipping tank	Trampling, denudation of soil surface
- Traditional ‘sisa’ system	Overgrazing, lack of management
- Lack of rotational grazing	Decrease grass species composition
- Lack of browsing	Bush encroachment
- Poor livestock diversification	Poor utilisation of grazing areas
- Inappropriate and uncontrolled burning	Vegetation degradation
3. Direct human interference
- Inappropriate settlements location	Damage to environment
- Infrastructure depletion (roads, dams, etc)	Disturbance to environment
- Degradation of cultivated land	Depletion of soil fertility
- Removal of vegetation, deforestation	Disturbance and impoverishment
- Mining, excavating	Disturbance ecological balance
- Forest encroachment (plantation forestry, woodlots, wattle growths)	Decrease biodiversity, less grasses and less soil water
4. Physical factors
- Soil erodibility	Accelerating or reducing erosion
- Topography/slope	Increase of run off and speed
- Rainfall (amount, intensity)	Intensity accelerating erosion in vulnerable places
- Geology/lithology	Accelerating or reducing erosion
- Vegetation characteristics	Ecological imbalance and bush encroachment

This page was last updated on 03 February 2004