PRIORITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT IN THE MOUNTAIN KINGDOM OF LESOTHO By NTHATUOA RANTOA & DR BOTLE MAPESHOANE
Brief background of Lesotho Lesotho has a total population of 1,872,721. 23.74% lived in urban and 76.26% in rural areas. The capital is Maseru The country's capital, Maseru, accounts for around half of the total urban population Annual increase of urban population is 3.5% The distribution by gender is 911,848 male and 960,873 female The average population density in the country is around 61,7 people per sq km. The annual population growth rate is estimated at 0.13%
10 districts of Lesotho
ECONOMY: Water and electricity - sold to South Africa MOHALE DAM MOHALE DAM INTAKE TOWER
Agriculture Wool and mohair is exported to South Africa and Australia Agriculture contributes 7.1% to the country s GDP
Diamonds exported to all over the world
Lesotho landscape Arable land 10.8% Permanent crops 0.13% Rangeland 60% 0.2% devoted to national parks and game reserves Other 29% Central problem of severe land degradation
Causes of Land Degradation in Lesotho Land degradation in Lesotho is caused by both Natural and Human Induced factors. Natural Factors Climate change Topography Soils - Duplex soils in lowlands and silty shallow soils in the mountains Human Induced Factors Over exploitation of resources Over grazing Deforestation Uncontrolled fires 9 Poor farming practices
Impacts of Land Degradation Unsustainable land management practices have severe impact on water resources in Lesotho, as it leads to the shrinkage of surface and ground water resources. Severe food insecurity and failing livelihoods Recurrent droughts have led to a steep decline in the production of cereals and other staple crops Siltation, drying up of rivers 10
Efforts on Sustainable Soil Management in Lesotho Synergies amongst Rio Conventions and other MEAs (UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CBD) Development of National Action Plan (NAP) Strengthening of national and state institutions involved in environment issues Intensifying international cooperation and partnership arrangements in the areas of training, research, development and transfer of affordable and acceptable environmentally sound technology.
Efforts on Sustainable Soil Management in Lesotho cont. Involvement of local people in the design, implementation and management of natural resources conservation programmes Integrating public awareness and education Integrated programmes targeted at poverty alleviation 12
Efforts on Sustainable Soil Management in Lesotho cont. Construction of stonelines in rangelands to reduce the soil loss due to runoff Construction of check dams/silt traps Promote fodder production to feed animals to reduce pressure from animal grazing Reseeding of denuded marginal lands 13
Efforts on Sustainable Soil Management in Lesotho cont. Investment in soils e.g. Implementation of the Integrated Watershed Management Countrywide.(240 micro-catchments) 14
River bank protection
SOIL INFORMATION Reconnaissance Soil Survey 1979 (1:250 000) Detailed soil surveys and maps (1:20 000) (different areas of interest) Scattered information on soils from other economic development projects (1:10 000) Digital Soil Map produced by Maloti Drakensberg Transfontier Project FAO Classification, 2012 18
SOIL ASSOCIATIONS OF LESOTHO 19
NATIONAL PRIORITIES To develop a national soil database (spatial data) Develop a database for existing soil associations map (metadata and geo-referencing) Ground-truthing (1979 Soil Associations) and correlation with WRB Classification Conduct detailed land degradation assessment (pipeline LADA project) To update soil loss database (last study 1988, 40 million tonnes/ha/yr) Train more pedologists 20
Challenges The communal land tenure system provides little incentive to the individual to improve or protect arable land and communally grazed resources, and the associated risk of investing in agricultural improvement; Poverty has limitation on many households that could be involved in conservation activities, as they may require purchased inputs;
Challenges cont. Shortage of human resource with soil survey, classification and mapping skills Inadequate institutional and systemic capacity for sustainable soil management initiatives Lack of systematic and harmonized soil information
OPPORTUNITIES Political will e.g. Ratification of Conventions and Protocols and increased budget Partnerships with Bilateral Donors/Development Partners e.g. FAO, UNDP, NGOs etc Participation in sub-regional, regional and international meetings and conferences Positive transboundary relationships - (Maluti Drakensburg Transfontier Project) 23
Currently developing Information and Communications Technology (Dissemination, Monitoring and Info Sharing for soils and related matter) 24
Khotso, Pula, Nala (Peace, Rain, Prosperity)