Biodiversity Conservation Through Farming: A Landscape Assessment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The integration of agriculture and biodiversity has become an acknowledged solution to concurrently address the development of sustainable food production systems and the preservation of natural resources. However, there are few alternative farming systems combining agricultural commodities with ecosystem services. We examined the farm and landscape dynamics of an area in South Africa which has been isolated from mainstream agriculture for several decades. We used a time series of aerial photographs as well as farm surveys and interviews to analyze how historical and present trends can explain land use features. Results show that today's landscape is the consequence of dramatic socioeconomic transformations that have turned original transhumant livestock keepers into sedentary farmers. Although poverty is widespread, we found a well-balanced landscape with a regularly increasing tree cover and a high biodiversity potential. Beyond farm and household size, the main landscape impact factors are herd size and management as well as soil fertility management practices, including fallowing. We show that these conditions represent a good potential toward a multifunctional landscape, provided the relationships between farmers' practices and biodiversity are better formalized and there are tangible benefits for farmers to opt for this approach.

Keywords:

• agricultural practices
• ecoagriculture
• homelands
• landscape
• multifunctionality

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Centre for Environmental Studies (CFES), University of Pretoria, for hosting F. Nakaggwa during her stay in South Africa and to the Environmental Education Centre in Ndumu for providing accommodation during field work. Munyaradzi Chitakira and Clint Halkett-Skiddall are warmly thanked for their assistance, as well as local interpreters. CFES, the Embassy of France in South Africa, CIRAD and SUPAGRO provided funds for travel, accommodation and research expenses. This article is an updated version of a communication presented at the symposium “Innovation and Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Food” (Montpellier, France, June 2010) and posted as an open archive on http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ISDA2010.