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Exploring Long-Term Livelihood and Landscape Change in Two Semi-Arid Sites in Southern Africa: Drivers and Consequences for Social–Ecological Vulnerability

Author

Listed:
  • Current Masunungure

    (Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa)

  • Sheona E. Shackleton

    (Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa)

Abstract

This paper investigates the drivers and dynamics of livelihood and landscape change over a 30-year period in two sites in the communal drylands of Zimbabwe (Marwendo) and South Africa (Tshivuhulani). Of particular interest to us was how access to social protection and a wider range of options may mitigate increased vulnerability under a changing climate. A mixed methods approach (using household surveys, focus group discussions, life history interviews, transect walks and secondary sources of data) was applied to develop human–environment timelines for each study site. Findings indicate that prolonged periods of droughts, unreliable rainfall, changing socioeconomic policies and development-related projects were among the major drivers of both positive and negative change in both villages. Marwendo, in particular, experienced a suite of negative drivers in the last 10 years that increased vulnerability and forced households to diversify into potentially maladaptive activities. In contrast, the expansion in social grants in Tshivhulani provided an important safety net that reduced vulnerability, but also led to a decline in farming and a narrowing of livelihood activities for some households. We demonstrate that rural development initiatives such as electrification and road construction can strengthen local people’s capacity to respond to drivers of change, while new methods of farming and diversification of the livelihood portfolio can make them more climate-resilient. However, long-term changes in landscapes and ecosystem services and feedbacks on livelihoods could reverse some of the benefits of development by eroding the natural capital many households still depend on.

Suggested Citation

  • Current Masunungure & Sheona E. Shackleton, 2018. "Exploring Long-Term Livelihood and Landscape Change in Two Semi-Arid Sites in Southern Africa: Drivers and Consequences for Social–Ecological Vulnerability," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:7:y:2018:i:2:p:50-:d:141220
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sheona Shackleton & Marty Luckert, 2015. "Changing Livelihoods and Landscapes in the Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa: Past Influences and Future Trajectories," Land, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-30, November.
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    4. Karl Zimmerer, 2007. "Agriculture, livelihoods, and globalization: The analysis of new trajectories (and avoidance of just-so stories) of human-environment change and conservation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(1), pages 9-16, March.
    5. Maura Andrew & Roddy Fox, 2004. "'Undercultivation' and intensification in the Transkei: a case study of historical changes in the use of arable land in Nompa, Shixini," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 687-706.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Walter Musakwa & Ephraim Mpofu & Nesisa Analisa Nyathi, 2020. "Local Community Perceptions on Landscape Change, Ecosystem Services, Climate Change, and Livelihoods in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Shackleton, C.M. & Mograbi, P.J. & Drimie, S. & Fay, D. & Hebinck, P. & Hoffman, M.T. & Maciejewski, K. & Twine, W., 2019. "Deactivation of field cultivation in communal areas of South Africa: Patterns, drivers and socio-economic and ecological consequences," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 686-699.
    4. Qin Liu & Tiange Shi, 2019. "Spatiotemporal Differentiation and the Factors of Ecological Vulnerability in the Toutun River Basin Based on Remote Sensing Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Dale Blair & Charlie M. Shackleton & Penelope J. Mograbi, 2018. "Cropland Abandonment in South African Smallholder Communal Lands: Land Cover Change (1950–2010) and Farmer Perceptions of Contributing Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Walter Musakwa & Shuai Wang & Fangli Wei & Olgah Lerato Malapane & Masala Makumule Thomas & Sydney Mavengahama & Hongwei Zeng & Bingfang Wu & Wenwu Zhao & Nesisa Analisa Nyathi & Zama Eric Mashimbye &, 2020. "Survey of Community Livelihoods and Landscape Change along the Nzhelele and Levuvhu River Catchments in Limpopo Province, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Silberg, Timothy R. & Renner, Karen & Schmitt Olabisi, Laura & Richardson, Robert B. & Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Patrova & Uriona-Maldonado, Mauricio & Basso, Bruno B. & Mwale, Cyprian, 2021. "Modeling smallholder agricultural systems to manage Striga in the semi-arid tropics," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

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