DMP Contributes to LandCare Symposium in South Africa

Prof. Klaus Kellner, National Coordinator of the DMP in South Africa at the North-West University, Dr Andre van Rooyen, Regional Coordinator of the DMP for South and East Africa at ICRISAT, Bulawayo, and other DMP partners participated in the Provincial LandCare Symposium in the North West Province, South Africa on 20 and 22 June 2005. They gave presentations on DMP and the DMP-LandCare partnership.

The LandCare program is a key DMP partner in the North West Province of South Africa. LandCare is about encouraging and supporting sustainable land use practices, raising awareness and promoting a resource conservation ethic while also reducing poverty and creating jobs through natural resource rehabilitation, improvement and conservation. LandCare is a community-based program driven by both the public and private sectors through partnerships and co-operation.

Additional DMP-related presentations included Mr. Abdoulaye Saley Moussa on the impacts of communal grazing on sustainable land management; Mr. Adrian Hudson on bird diversity as an indicator of the biological integrity of rangelands; Mrs. Marisa Coetzee on best land use practices in the Western Region of the Province; and Miss Loraine van den Berg on best practices for biodiversity restoration in dryland areas of South Africa. [Photo at right: Dr. Andre van Rooyen; Mr. N. M. Duma, Minister of Agriculture in the North West Province; and Ms. M. Rosho, Director of Corporate Communications in the Department of  Agriculture, NW Province.]

LandCare in the North West Province places heavy emphasis on proper management and protection of the 'veld' rangeland resources of that area. This includes aspects such as yield management, controlling bush (unpalatable species) encroachment, preventing overgrazing, fostering land-user empowerment and commitment to sustainable land management, and monitoring the progress and achievements of the initiative. [Photo below, from left to right: Dr. van Rooyen; Dr. M. E. Mogajane, Deputy Director General for Agriculture in NW Province; Mr. Thabang Tseladimitloa, LandCare Coordinator in the North West Province.]

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