Land Reform In Namibia Spatial Analysis And Land Degradation In The Otjozondjupa Region

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.