Institutional factors in natural resource management in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa - Institutional Constraints to Small Farmer Development in Southern Africa - page 219

Land degradation can be classified into agricultural practices that include overgrazing,
deforestation and overexploitation of vegetation. These factors are categorized under
the direct causes of land degradation and are all common in the Eastern Cape Province
(Meadows and Hoffman, 2002). However, the severity of land degradation is greatest in the
communal areas under which grazing is the dominant form of land use. The first observable
form of degradation is loss of vegetative cover and change in species composition. Bush
encroachment is also severe in the rangelands of the Eastern Cape and communally held
lands are likely to be more adversely affected than commercially farmed areas (Meadows
and Hoffman, 2002).
In the Eastern Cape, about 51% of the land consists of open areas of unmanaged natural
vegetation and this includes the forest, woodland, grassland, shrub land and low fynbos.
About 1.61% of the province is classified as degraded and 0.12% eroded. Roughly 8.2% of
land is being cultivated which is a higher percentage of land while 1.12% of the land is used
for forest plantations (CSIR, 2004).
Figure 10.1 illustrates land degradation in the Eastern Cape Province. In general, the
extent of degradation in the Eastern Cape Province is categorised into insignificant, light,
moderate and severe. According to the Eastern Cape State of Environment Report (CSIR,
2004) citing Hoffman et al. (1999), about 47% of the land in this province is moderately
degraded followed by 36.5% which is light and 11.1% severe, while 5.5% is insignificant. It
is evident from these percentages that almost half of the land in this province is moderately
degraded.
10.4 Existing institutional factors for natural resource management
There are different institutional factors governing the use of communal rangelands and these
rules differ with communities but they have the common feature of managing mobility
within the rangelands. These rules can be either formal or informal and in some areas, they
are used interchangeably while in some, people are still adhering to their informal rules when
utilizing rangelands (Ainslie, 1999). However, when effective, these institutions can bring
fruitful results on the management of natural resources in communal rangelands. This section
discusses both formal and informal institutional factors for natural resource management.
Different studies done by other scholars will be reviewed wherever appropriate.
10.4.1 Informal institutional factors
Informal institutional factors are commonly from the communities themselves and they
include among others, religious beliefs, traditional laws and social norms. The chief and his
committee, which in most cases consists of elderly members of the community, normally
set the rules.