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Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia
Includes bibliographies.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613549048627200 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma |
| author2 | Holmes, P J |
| author_browse | Holmes, P J Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma |
| author_facet | Holmes, P J Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma |
| author_sort | Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Includes bibliographies. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13884 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:54.700Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| publisherStr | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13884 Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma Holmes, P J Environmental Science Includes bibliographies. Land degradation has been recognised as a major economic, social and environmental problem, with more severity in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa. Throughout the dryland regions of Africa natural resources are deteriorating at an accelerating pace. This ecological degradation is caused by overexploitation of resources, and severely undermines Africa's economic future which is largely dependent on agriculture. Amongst the main factors contributing to land degradation in drylands are human actions that ignore the resilience limits of drylands. The ecology of drylands requires land uses that allow flexibility and mobility rather than imposing stability. During the last century, technology and cultural changes have altered the pattern of exploitation of arid and semi-arid areas. Most often the changes are driven by economic needs or national governments policies. Governments tend to make decisions, even if well intended, without prior assessments of the environmental suitability of the intended sites. In most dryland regions the tendency has been towards development of permanent settlements in under-utilised areas leading to increases in population densities beyond the areas' ecological capacity. The result has been overutilisation of natural resources particularly around available water points. This has in turn led to accelerated ecological and cultural decline, and has enhanced the process of land degradation. This dissertation provides a theoretical framework of ecological characteristics and the socio-economic adaptations of dryland environments. The factors contributing to land degradation in arid and semi-arid lands are examined. Examples are drawn from a resettlement programme and the subsequent provision of boreholes in a semi-arid area in Gam, Namibia. The dissertation specifically seeks to examine the Government of Namibia's political decision on a resettlement programme in Gam and evaluate the impacts of resettlement on ecological and socio-economic variables in Gam. 2015-09-14T18:04:30Z 2015-09-14T18:04:30Z 1997 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13884 eng application/pdf Department of Environmental and Geographical Science Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Environmental Science Kibbassa, Jane Andrew Nyanjuma Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| title_full | Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| title_fullStr | Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| title_short | Land degradation in drylands : resettlement and borehole provision in Gam, Namibia |
| title_sort | land degradation in drylands resettlement and borehole provision in gam namibia |
| topic | Environmental Science |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13884 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kibbassajaneandrewnyanjuma landdegradationindrylandsresettlementandboreholeprovisioningamnamibia |