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Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes pp 281–304Cite as

North-West Province, South Africa: Communal and Commercial Livestock Systems in Transition

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South Africa is a nation rich in natural resources, from diamonds and gold, to the world-famous fauna in Kruger and other national parks, to areas of extreme diversity in flora (the southern coast of South Africa is rich in plant species) (Kemper et al. 1999). South Africa is also home to 43 million hectares of savanna, contributing to Africa possessing the world’s highest proportion of these savannas (Hudak 1999). But what is the state of South Africa’s savanna ecosystems? Multiple studies show that land degradation in the country as a whole is extremely high (Dean and Macdonald 1994, Snyman 1998, Hoffman and Todd 2000, Dube and Pickup 2001) and that livestock carrying capacities on rangelands are decreasing (Dean and Macdonald 1994). What are the causes for this decline in rangeland sustainability and productivity? A long process of land fragmentation is certainly one reason.

Keywords

  • Land Tenure
  • Herd Size
  • Commercial Farmer
  • Livelihood Strategy
  • Communal Farmer

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kathleen A. Galvin & Linda M. Knapp

  2. International Livestock Research Institute, 30709, Nairobi, Kenya

    Philip K. Thornton

  3. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Randall B. Boone

Authors
  1. Kathleen A. Galvin
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  2. Philip K. Thornton
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  3. Randall B. Boone
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  4. Linda M. Knapp
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kathleen A. Galvin & N. Thompson Hobbs & 

  2. International Livestock Research Institute, 30709, Nairobi, Kenya

    Robin S. Reid

  3. Macaulay Institute, AB15 8QH, Aberdeen, UK

    Roy H. Behnke Jr

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Galvin, K.A., Thornton, P.K., Boone, R.B., Knapp, L.M. (2008). North-West Province, South Africa: Communal and Commercial Livestock Systems in Transition. In: Galvin, K.A., Reid, R.S., Jr, R.H.B., Hobbs, N.T. (eds) Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4906-4_12

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