Commission funds initiative to improve sustainability of southern African rangelands
An international team of researchers is working with rangeland communities in southern Africa in a bid to identify approaches to natural resource management, alternative livelihood strategies and policy making that will improve welfare levels. The MAPOSDA project (management and policy options for the sustainable development in southern Africa of communal rangelands and their communities) has received 1.2 million euro in EU funding under the Fifth Framework Programme's 'confirming the international role of Community research' (INCO 2) programme. The team is comprised of soil scientists, hydrologists, ecologists, agriculturalists, sociologists and economists from the UK, Spain, and Norway, and researchers from universities in South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana where the studies are taking place. The project is being coordinated by the University of Wales, Bangor. Professor Gareth Wyn Jones from their centre for arid zone studies told CORDIS News: 'The innovative nature of this project has been widely recognised. Solving the problems facing these rangeland communities depends on the advancement of our biophysical and socio-economic understanding.' Drawing on analysis of the effects of global change on rangeland communities carried out by the team between 1997 and 2001, the current project seeks to come up with practical initiatives, technologies and policies to improve the welfare of people living in these areas. Close cooperation with communities and their leaders is considered crucial to the project's success, and the team must therefore be considerate to their particular needs and aspirations. One approach designed to foster a spirit of cooperation was the organisation of well attended community consultation meetings before activities began in the mountain areas of Pelaneng-Bokong in Lesotho. Although work to identify sustainable approaches only began in Pelaneng-Bokong in August 2002, the project has already yielded results. Alternative crop trials are underway, hydrological surveys have mapped the links between vulnerable natural areas and human disturbances, and practical recommendations have been put forward to address a number of issues. These measures include systems to limit local pollution, strategies for maximising rainfall catchment, better flock and herd management, and alternative sources of income, including green tourism, medicinal plants and environmental goods. The team has also made the community aware of the consequences of certain actions that affect the viability and quality of life. For example, using dead wood for fuel can remove vital protection for germinating seeds, thus threatening future sources of fuel and food. The use of alternative fuels would remove the need to travel to find wood, thus saving time and energy better spent on alternative income generating activities. Similar activities will also take place with communities in Namaqualand, South Africa, and in the Kalahari region of Botswana. Professor Wyn Jones explained to CORDIS News how he hoped the project would benefit those communities involved: 'In cooperation with the communities themselves, we need to identify the best options for improving their welfare, and act as the interface between them and the policy makers in the countries concerned.'