Socio-historical and structural factors linked to land degradation and desertification in Namibia's former Herero 'homelands'

Accounts of land degradation and desertification in Namibian communal rangelands have seldom illustrated the broader historical context and structural frameworks within which these social-ecological processes have emerged. This paper aims to address this gap, and argues that it is necessary to take into account past state interventions and policies so as to thoroughly understand the drivers of land degradation problems in these parts of the country. Taking the case of Herero pastoralism as an example, the paper shows how a pre-colonial pastoral system keeping overgrazing at bay, but was radically transformed by the colonial state, and illustrates how current land degradation problems in the former Herero 'homelands' are intrinsically linked to past colonial interventions and policies. The analysis shows, however, that despite the calamities of colonialism and its legacies, key rangeland management practices of Herero pastoralism have not entirely disappeared, thus maintaining livestock rearing in the region as a viable way of life.