TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lohmann, Dirk
A1  - Falk, Thomas
A1  - Geissler, Katja
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
T1  - Determinants of semi-arid rangeland management in a land reform setting in Namibia
JF  - Journal of arid environments
N2  - To assess the ecological and economic implications of the redistributive land reform in semi-arid Namibia, we investigated to what extent land reform beneficiaries adjust herd size and herd composition according to environmental (rainfall, vegetation) and economic variables (herd size, financial assets, running costs). We performed model-based role-plays with Namibian land reform beneficiaries, simulating 10 years of rangeland management.
 Our study revealed that the farmers surveyed mainly manage their herds according to their economic situation (herd size and account balance) but do not take environmental variability (rainfall and vegetation) into account. Further, our results indicate that, due to financial pressure, farmers are not able to apply their desired management strategies, and that owners of small farms face a higher risk of economic failure. However, farmers apply rather conservative and constant stocking rates and will thus, given the current economic limitations, likely not contribute to semi-arid savanna degradation.
 We conclude that land reform beneficiaries need support to be able to apply straightforward and efficient management strategies. This could be achieved by facilitating cooperation between small farming businesses and by supporting initial investment in productive cattle herds at the time of redistribution of the land.
KW  - Dry land degradation
KW  - Semi-arid savanna
KW  - Land reform
KW  - Rangeland management
KW  - Simulation model
KW  - Role-play
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.10.005
SN  - 0140-1963
SN  - 1095-922X
VL  - 100
SP  - 23
EP  - 30
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - London
ER  -