Land reform in Namibia: Spatial analysis and land degradation in the Otjozondjupa Region
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Date
2014
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Abstract
In Namibia, the land question remains high on the agenda of Government, which is implementing a land reform programme since 1995. The reform attempts the correction of inherited imbalances in the access to land in order to alleviate
poverty and dependency. The research was guided by the theoretical framework known as 'decoloniality'; and configured around the concept of land tenure structure, considered as a central element of any agrarian system. The subject has
been widely investigated, but little attention has been paid to the spatial depiction and analysis of land tenure. Overcoming such lack of data, the thesis provides quite an accurate, contextually relevant and updated thematic map of the land tenure structure in the Otjozondjupa Region. The mapping, which is one of the pivotal goals of this investigation, facilitated enquiring about the implications of the current land tenure structure, focusing on significant social outcomes of the land reform. The spatial characterisation of the land tenure structure provided for the possibility to unfold its relationship with environmental degradation, currently a relevant concern in arid and semi-arid countries like Namibia. Outstanding results reveal that: i) access to land strongly remains racially biased; ii) the land reform is apparently benefiting (already) wealthy Namibians; iii) the benefits for the poor derived form the reform are debatable; iv) communal tenure does not imply a higher degree of environmental degradation, as it is often argued. The concluding discussion suggests strengthening communal rights and powers over land, as well as reconsider the suitability of privatization programmes as means to combat desertification, rural poverty and social inequalities.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Geography).
Keywords
Land reform