Invisible capital: The contribution of communal rangelands to rural livelihoods in South Africa

Communal rangelands (including their woodland component) contribute significantly to rural livelihoods in that a variety of natural resources are utilised for direct use and for exchange in local and more distant markets. Natural resources are also valued for purposes which are not ‘economic’ (eg for ceremonial and aesthetic reasons) and because of their ecological functions. The fact that many of these uses are not monetised means that their true social and economic value is often underestimated and not taken adequately into account when assessing, for example, the viability of land redistribution projects. The ecological dimension is as crucial as the socio‐economic: how sustainable is this multifold use of communal rangeland resources? More positively, can the productivity of ‘natural capital’ be increased, and how can the benefits of multifold utilisation activities be more widely distributed to help address rural poverty? This article discusses conceptual models drawn from the general literature which may be of relevance; reviews some of the southern African evidence on rural livelihoods and natural resource use; and attempts to draw out the lessons for poverty assessments and land reform policy.

Notes

Professor, Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies, School of Government, University of the Western Cape. The author is grateful to Charlie Shackleton and Thembela Kepe for their useful comments on this article.

A shorter version of this article was presented as a paper at a symposium on ‘Policy‐making for the sustainable use of communal rangelands’. Fort Hare University, 6‐9 July 1998.