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dam-l SA wetlands converted to crops/LS



>From today's Mail and Guardian on line:

Crops to grow in
                  world heritage wetlands

                  Kwa-Zulu Natal's provincial government hands over 10
hectares of land for farming -- enraging
                  conservationists who say the area is a proclaimed world
heritage wetlands site.


                  DAVID LARSEN reports


                        DUMO game reserve, on the border with Mozambique in
northern KwaZulu-Natal, is the centre
                        of a land-claim dispute that could set a precedent
for numerous community land claims in game
                        parks throughout the country.

                  The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Traditional and Environmental
Affairs, Nyanga Ngubane, has agreed to
                  temporarily allocate 10ha of land in the reserve for
cultivation, effectively bypassing the official land
                  claim in process.

                  Conservationists are horrified at this surprise move.
Three years ago Ndumo was proclaimed a Ramsar
                  international heritage site for the preservation of
wetlands and bird diversity.

                  The border area along the Pongola River, which includes
the 10ha allocated for cultivation, is a
                  particularly significant breeding site for migratory
birds. The reserve was established in 1927 also to
                  protect hippos that live in the river. Ngubane last week
allocated the 10ha to about 100 families living in
                  the Mbangweni corridor between Ndumo and the Tembe
elephant park east of the reserve.

                  This came after a year of protest by the
                  community, which is frustrated with the slow
                  progress of their formal land claim to the
                  Department of Land Affairs. At issue for the
                  community is the right to grow crops in the fertile
                  soil along the river bank, as well as fishing rights
                  in the Pongola River.

                  Although the allocation by Ngubane is only
                  temporary, it by-passes the land-claim process
                  which, according to Evelyn Bramdeow of the KwaZulu-Natal
state land disposal committee, forbids
                  any exchange of land once a claim has been gazetted.
Conservationists are concerned a precedent may
                  be set for land claims in other conservation areas, and
particularly for a separate community claiming
                  land on the western border of Ndumo.

                  Lawyer Peter Rutsch, who represents the Mbangweni
community, says the land allocation by Ngubane
                  is a temporary measure aimed at improving relations
between conservation authorities and the
                  community, which had become strained.

                  He says the move is aimed at encouraging greater openness
and debate about the optimal use of the
                  Mbangweni corridor as a link between Ndumo and the
neighbouring Tembe elephant park.

                  He has not, however, investigated the implications of the
allocation for the international Ramsar
                  wetlands convention, which South Africa has ratified.
Conservationist Tony Pooley, who worked in
                  the park for 14 years, says allowing local people to grow
crops along the banks of the river is "an
                  accident waiting to happen", because of the numerous
hippos and crocodiles in the river.

                  The hippos, bush pigs and cane rats will make growing
crops along the river "a lot of work for a small
                  return", he adds. -- The Daily Mail & Guardian, November
23, 1998.

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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