Bibliography: Land Degradation in South Africa project

upon diseases in cattle and sheep in this colony. Presented to both Houses of

Parliament by command of His Excellency the Governor.Anonymous Cape Town, South

Africa:Saul Solomon & Co. :vi-221, 1877.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY

Notes : This is a report following an investigation into the causes of and

remedies for the various diseases which prevail among sheep and cattle in the

South Africa, with a view to the prevention and cure of such diseases. The

report mainly takes into account diseases found in Karoo towns such as

Queenstown, Wodehouse, Albert, Cradock and Middleburg districts. Findings

included that fluke was mainly the cause (additional problems are scab, hart-

water, dunsickte, glanders, chronic colds, strangles, influenza etc.). It was

suggested that salt additives should be provided in diets and that a change of

pasture would ensure a more nutritious diet.

Ref ID : 1971

117. Anonymous Reports of hte conservators of Forests for the year

1901.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of Agriculture, Cape of Good Hope. , 1902.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : FOREST

Ref ID : 545

118. Anonymous Report from the select committee on droughts, rainfall and soil

erosion, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and

appendix/ordered by the Senate, to lie on the table and be printed 19 June

1914.Anonymous Pretoria:Govt Printer. , 1914.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; DROUGHT; CLIMATE; GOVERNMENT

INITIATIVES

Ref ID : 1539

119. Anonymous Kwazulu: the downward spiral. African Wildlife 34(5):5-6, 1919.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : KWAZULU; CONSERVATION; EROSION; POLICY; POPULATION; RURAL

DEVELOPMENT; LAND DEGRADATION; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; GRAZING EFFECTS; COMMUNAL

AREA; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Notes : "The greatest threat to the future of the numerous conservation areas is

the rapid deterioration of the land surrounding them. Many of the rigorously

conserved Drakensberg and Zululand reserves are increasingly threatened by

advancing erosion... The future of such relic island sanctuaries is of great

concern, but until a more general conservation ethic is adopted in South Africa

the creation of relatively small 'witness stands' of our varied ecosystems is

the most expedient approach even if inadequate. While the major responsibility

for the deterioration of the natural soil resources in South Africa must be

placed on ineffective government policy, the real cause is the lack of

appreciation of conservation principles by most of the country's 77 000 white

farmers, who control 71 percent of the nation's land ... Furthermore overgrazing

in the black homelands, where some 33 percent of the country's population occupy

12 percent of the land area, has severely reduced the agricultural land

conservation value of large areas." (Extracts from the Wildlife Society's

Policy and Strategy for Environmental Conservation in South Africa). The Urban

Foundation believes that, with its proposals for a computer-based natural

resources data bank, it is the ideal organisation to undertake a

multidisciplinary project that will result in a rural development programme.

Ref ID : 1588

120. Anonymous Reclaim: The Bush Problem. Stellenbosch:FBC Holdings. , 1919.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : BUSH ENCROACHMENT; DEFORESTATION; RESTORATION; DESERTIFICATION

CONTROL

Notes : This pamphlet promotes a solution to the problem of bush encroachment:

Reclaim. It is a new generation soil-applied bush and tree killer. According

to the pamphlet, Reclaim is idea for getting rid of unwanted bush and trees and

for controlling reinfestation and recovering pasture.

Ref ID : 160

121. Anonymous Final Report of the Drought Investigation Commission.Anonymous

Cape Town:Government Printer. U.G. 49-'23:1-222, 1923. This commission was

briefed to report on the following: the methods by which losses to farmers

owing to periodic droughts in the drier parts of the Union may be prevented,

either by public or private action; and in particular whether any changes in

farming methods are necessary for this purpose; any improvements in farming

conditions generally such as the provisions of more water, prevention of soil

erosion, and any other matters which have a close bearing on point 1; the

methods by which indigency arising among the farming community in consequence of

such losses could best be dealt with; and the production of feeding by the

cultivation of various grasses.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : DROUGHT; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; POLICY; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT;

CLIMATE CHANGE; DESERTIFICATION CONTROL; DESSICATION; HYDROMETEOROLOGY;

VEGETATION CHANGE; SOIL EROSION; EROSION; CULTIVATION

Ref ID : 612

122. Anonymous Dessication a threat 80 years ago. Veld Trust News 1(5):12, 1945.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : DESSICATION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; HYDROLOGY

Ref ID : 8

123. Anonymous Scientists to investigate development of Karoo. (CEM Tidmarsh's

theories). Farmer 37(5):10, 1948.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; KAROO DESERTIFICATION; NAMA KAROO;

GRASSLAND; VEGETATION CHANGE

Ref ID : 161

124. Anonymous Report of the Desert Encroachment Committee.Anonymous

Pretoria:Government Printer. U.G. 59/1951:1-27, 1951.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; KAROO DESERTIFICATION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY;

VEGETATION CHANGE; CLIMATE; FORECASTING; IRRIGATION

Notes : Recommendations are made on vegetation and soil - with available

evidence the Committee could not recommend any specific remedial measures beyond

those already being carried out by the Department of Agriculture, apart from

recommendations which had already been made in connection with research.

Recommendations were made on climate - in spite of the vast amount of research

which had been carried out world-wide, the prospects of useful and reliable

seasonal forecasting were still entirely remote. However, solid progress was

found to have been made in medium-range forecasting (three to ten days) and in

the view of the advantage to be gained by the farming community from such

forecasts, if they were reasonably accurate, it was suggested that everything

should be done to stimulate further research in this direction. Finally,

recommendations were made into water supply and irrigation - which was widely

advocated as a means of arresting veld deterioration and more large schemes were

advocated, especially in the more arid parts of the country. The committee

could not recommend more irrigation schemes for this purpose because even at

that time, the bulk of the most important stock feed (lucerne) grown along the

Orange River and other places in the north-west was exported from the

territory. Small schemes on individual farms, where the feed grown was actually

fed to stock, were strongly recommended as a means of combating veld

deterioration and stock losses.

Ref ID : 1517

125. Anonymous No drums herald the desert's march. Veldtrust XIII(7):5-9, 1952.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : GRASSLAND; MAPS; CONSERVATION; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT;

ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY

Notes :

.

Abstract : The report of the Desert Encroachment Committee, which deals with one

of the most dramatic events in man's long history in Africa, is unfortunately

not a very dramatic document. There are no drums and trumpets to herald the

deserts march into the vanishing grasslands. The event is recorded in coldly

scientific language and on maps. But nothwithstanding this unemotional

objectivity of the experts on the Committee, there is a grim and even a

terrifying warning contained between the covers of that 27-page bluebook. The

fact that two of the experts disagreed with the six others is another reason why

the report seemed somewhat obscure and erudite to the man in the street and the

daily Press. Indeed, its presentation as "news" caused hardly a ripple in the

headlines or in the minds of the reading public. It was not a life and death

issue but "just another of those warnings" from the conservation enthusiasts;

and as such it was pushed aside and ignored.

Ref ID : 179

126. Anonymous Why the desert is engulfing South Africa's soil and plant life.

Veldtrust XIII(7):16-19, 1952.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; KAROO DESERTIFICATION; NAMA KAROO;

GRASSLAND; VEGETATION CHANGE

Abstract : A range of pictures depict the summary of the findings of the five

experts who compiled the report of the Desert Encroachment Committee.

Ref ID : 9

127. Anonymous Report of the Committee for investigation into desert

encroachment. Government of the Union of South Africa No 59/1951.Anonymous

Pretoria:Government Printer. 59/1951, 1952.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; POLICY; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; DROUGHT;

CLIMATE CHANGE; DESSICATION; HYDROMETEOROLOGY; DESERTIFICATION CONTROL;

VEGETATION CHANGE

Ref ID : 1335

128. Anonymous Builders of S.Col. R. J. Father of the. Veltrust 14(6):18-23,

1953.

Reprint : In File,

Notes : This is an article which documents some of the life of Col. R.J. Gordon

who introduced merino sheep to SA. He is also reputed to have left behind him

95 charts and 600 drawings of natural history and "views in Caffraria" after his

suicide in 1795.

Ref ID : 1519

129. Anonymous Dust now settles on desert maps. Veldtrust XVIII(2):10, 1957.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : MAPS; BOTANICAL SURVEY; VELD MANAGEMENT

Abstract : In 1952 the Botanical Survey published a memoir, Veld Types of South

Africa, which contrasted how veld could look if properly cared for. This was

compared to how it would probably look, if warnings made by John Acocks in 1935

were not heeded.

Ref ID : 10

130. Anonymous Report of desert encroachment Committee.Anonymous

Pretoria:Government Printer. , 1958.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; POLICY; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; DROUGHT;

CLIMATE CHANGE; DESSICATION; HYDROMETEOROLOGY; DESERTIFICATION CONTROL;

VEGETATION CHANGE

Ref ID : 11

131. Anonymous Grasveld in Karoo/(Grassveld in Karoo). Landbouweekblad (21 Junie

1960), 1960. This article describes how veld in the Bearford West region has, by

allowing it to remain unharmed by livestock grazing for two years, taken on the

relatively luxuriant look of which it is capable. This appearance, and the

concomittant healing of the land, stands in sharp contrast to the barren

bushveld which most people have come to expect when speaking of the Karoo.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : DESERTIFICATION CONTROL; KAROO DESERTIFICATION; NAMA KAROO;

GRASSLAND; VEGETATION CHANGE

Ref ID : 1972

132. Anonymous Investigation of the Forest and Timber Industry of South Africa.

Supplement to the Report on Timber Resources.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of

Forestry. Supplement, 1960.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : FOREST

Ref ID : 1695

133. Anonymous Report of the interdepartmental committee on the conservation of

mountain catchments in South Africa.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of

Agricultural Technical Services. , 1961.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CONSERVATION; LAND USE; RESTORATION; SOIL CONSERVATION; FOREST;

LEGISLATION; EROSION; EROSION CONTROL; WATER CONSERVATION; POLICY; AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTION; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; DESERTIFICATION CONTROL

Notes : As a result of the investigation, the Committee arrived at the following

conclusions: (1) bearing in mind that the Union is at best a country of limited

water resources, that the rapidly expanding national economy is placing an ever-

increasing demand on available water supplies, and that water-shortage is

already a matter of grave concern in many parts of the country, there can be no

doubt that the proper conservation of mountain catchments, the main sources of

virtually all permanent water supplies, is one of the most important problems

facing the country today; (2) the individual catchment descriptions, as well as

the classification according to their present state of preservation, indicate

that the great majority of mountain catchments in the Union have already

suffered more or less extensive damage, with corresponding impairment of their

value, both quantitative and qualitative, as sources of water supply, this

suggests that the problem is also one of urgency (3) since the degradation of

mountain catchments is a direct result of misuse of catchment land, it follows

that the solution of the problem lies in effective action to eliminate

malpractices and to ensure the general adoption of methods of land use that are

compatible with sound catchment management, together with appropriate measures

for the reclamation and restoration of areas damaged by past misuse ; (4) the

ideal solution would be for the State to exercise the powers conferred on it in

terms of the Soil Conservation Act and other relevant statutes in order to

acquire control of all mountain catchment land, with a view to the gradual

withdrawal of such land from occupation by Bantus or by European farmers and the

placing of this land under permanent protection, as far as may be necessary for

the proper conservation of water supplies. While this should be the long-term

aim, it in no way removes the need for more immediate action as indicated in the

foregoing paragraph to cope with conditions that prevail today. The paragraphs

that follow relate to these more immediate requirements; (5) due regard must be

paid to the type of occupation to which the land is subject and the purpose for

which it is normally used. Trust land and private land, both of which are used

for general farming purposes, are particularly liable to abuse and therefore

present the most serious problem. The State land, consisting very largely of

Forest Reserve, National Parks and the like, is as a rule well cared for and

gives little cause for concern; (6) as regards legislative enablement, the most

significant enactments are those which bear directly on the use of land, viz.

the Forest Act, the Native Trust and Land Act and the Soil Conservation Act, as

applying respectively to State forest land, Trust land and private land. New

legislation is not called for since these statutes are adequate for dealing with

all eventualities that are likely to arise. Their application and

administration could, however, be further facilitated by incorporation of a few

small improvements, as indicated, and it is recommended that early steps be

taken to effect these amendments; (7) the relative neglect of mountain

catchments in the past, with particular reference to Trust land and private

land, may be ascribed to two main reasons: firstly, the absence of any priority

ranking in respect of mountain land, in which connection it must also be noted

that the efforts of the Departments concerned have up to the present been

directed primarily at the improvement of land use from the point of view of

erosion control and increased agricultural production, and not of water

conservation as such; and secondly, shortage of technical staff in these

departments, coupled with pressure of urgent duties elsewhere; (8) it follows

that the first essentials of an effective policy of mountain catchment

conservation for the future are that the conservation of mountain land must be

given priority by all Departments or other bodies concerned, that in dealing

with such land the primary consideration must be the safeguarding of water

resources rather than increase of agricultural production, and that every effort

must be made to ensure that the Departments concerned are adequately staffed to

give the necessary attention to mountain catchments in addition to their other

duties; and (9) for the rest, no radical innovations are called for as regards

the method of approach and the Committee concludes by recommending that the

future policy of mountain catchment conservation be moulded along the lines of

the eleven points cited in the report.

Ref ID : 580

134. Anonymous National Veld Trust: a policy for the next decade, being a report

prepared by a sub-committee of the executive for submission to the Board of

Trustees.Anonymous Johannesburg:National Veld Trust. , 1963.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; POLICY; VELD MANAGEMENT; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES;

SUBSIDIES

Ref ID : 1424

135. Anonymous The Natal region: land utilisation and conservation.Anonymous

Anonymous Pretoria:Goverment Printer. :6-7, 1964.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CONSERVATION; SOIL CONSERVATION

Notes : These two pages on file briefly describe: horticulture and other crops;

soil conservation (including soil conservation areas, and soil conservation

districts); and extension services (stops midway at this point).

Ref ID : 572

136. Anonymous Evaluation of drought conditions in the northern regions of South

Africa.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of Water Affairs. Technical Report 35,

1965.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : DROUGHT; NORTHERN PROVINCE; NORTHWEST PROVINCE; GOVERNMENT

INITIATIVES

Ref ID : 1551

137. Anonymous The Group Areas Act No 36 of 1966.Anonymous :1-55, 1966.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : LEGISLATION; POLITICAL ASPECTS; SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS; LAND TENURE;

POLICY; POPULATION; FREE STATE; NORTHERN CAPE; NORTHERN PROVINCE; EASTERN CAPE;

KWAZULU NATAL

Notes : Have only photocopied a small portion of the original document. The

present Group Areas Act, 1966, came into force on 26 October 1966. It is the

second consolidation of the original Act, no 41 of 1950, which was brought into

operation in the Cape province, Natal and the Transvaal on 30 March 1951 and the

Orange Free State on 31 October 1952. This Act, although not the first to

restrict rights to land tenure, was the most controversial and the first to

extend to the whole country the policy of racial segregation. Apart from a

number of exempted areas reserved for blacks, it provides for the setting aside

of various defined areas in which immovable property can be owned or occupied by

members of particular racial groups only. The main features of the Act are:

the classification of the population into racial groups; the declaration of

various types of area; restrictions on ownership and occupation of immovable

property in the various areas; the qualification of persons and companies for

tenure of such property in those areas; provision for permits and other

exemptions from those restrictions; and matters relating to administration,

offences and other ancillary matters.

Ref ID : 1544

138. Anonymous Erosion threatens the very future of S.A. The Star :8, 1966.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : EROSION; MAPS; FREE STATE; LAND DEGRADATION; PLANT-ANIMAL

INTERACTIONS; STOCKING RATE; CARRYING CAPACITY

Notes : The report provides an account of how the land near Senekal had been

rapidly degraded as a result of a farmer's efforts to rid his farm of hares in

his fields. It is reported that the maps provided by John Acocks indicates the

extent to which the deterioration of the country's veld has reached critical

proportions, where its current stock-carrying capacity has diminished to 25% of

its original capacity.

Ref ID : 1543

139. Anonymous Apathy + Erosion = Starvation: formula of disaster for S. Africa.

The Star , 1966.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : EROSION; SOIL EROSION; FARMING SYSTEMS; POVERTY; VELD CONDITION

Notes : The opinion of John Acocks, South Africa's expert on veld types of the

time, was that stock farming was not being carried out in an appropriate manner.

A complete revision of farming methods would be required if the veld is to be

restored and the tide of soil erosion is to be turned back.

Ref ID : 629

140. Anonymous "Traditional" farmers must face the inevitable: Apathy + Erosion

= Starvation. Formula for disaster for S. Africa. Johannesburg: The Star , 1966.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : COMMUNAL AREA; LAND DEGRADATION

Ref ID : 630

141. Anonymous 400-million tons of soil lost every year. Erosion threatens the

very future of S.A. Johannesburg: The Star :8, 1966.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION

Ref ID : 13

142. Anonymous Bitterbos vat oor/(Bitterbush takes over) (Chrysocome

tenuifolia). Landbouweekblad 54(29):50-51, 1972.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : VEGETATION CHANGE; KAROO DESERTIFICATION; GRASSLAND; POISONOUS

PLANTS; NAMA KAROO

Ref ID : 255

143. Anonymous Veldagteruitgang te Bergkwagga Nasionale Park/Deterioration of

the veld in the Mountain Zebra National Park. Custos 1(12):14-23, 1972.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : LAND DEGRADATION; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; NATURE RESERVES;

VEGETATION CHANGE; STOCKING RATE

Ref ID : 1974

144. Anonymous Commercial timber resources and roundwood processing in South

Africa 1970/71.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of Forestry. , 1972.

Reprint : Not in File,

Ref ID : 14

145. Anonymous Deterioration of the veld in the Mountain Zebra National Park:

operation reversion. Custos 1(12):14-23, 1972.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : DESERTIFICATION CONTROL; VEGETATION CHANGE; NAMA KAROO; STOCKING RATE

Abstract : Operation reversion was conceived of in order to decrease the numbers

of game in the Mountain Zebra Park, which was adversely affecting the condition

of the veld. This operation made use of the catching-pen method, and although

it is expensive, it is preferable as none of the animals are actually handled

during the capturing process. Benefits and disadvantages of this method are

further discussed in the article.

Ref ID : 581

146. Anonymous Invloed van ontbossing van gemengde veld op rooikleigrond van die