The paper uses new palaeo-ecological data and a selective review of archaeological and written sources to show how social and natural history over the last 1200 years have interacted to form the present day landscape of Limpopo National Park and Northern Kruger National Park. The long-term mosaic of different communities in this landscape, hunter and gatherers, pastoralists, farmers and traders has, over time, contributed to shape and reshape a heterogeneous landscape. While some features in this landscape, such as water scarcity, have remained stable over time, there have also been major transformations in both the physical landscape and social life. The natural mosaics have been utilised and enhanced over time and the combination of natural and cultural mosaics are reflected in the landscape through archaeological sites, the pollen record and in the present day landscape.
In this contribution, we review long-term (millennial-decadal scale) river-flow changes, climate interactions, and interlinkage with vegetation dynamics, as well as society and policy, focusing on the lower Limpopo Valley (from the South African border through Mozambique). Drawing on paleoecological data, we address the valley's potential for defining critical ecological thresholds and managing an adaptive ecological landscape, by focusing on the dynamic relationship between different drivers (fire, hydrology, and grass/tree relationships). We briefly review the long-term interactions between water flow, climate variability, and society using archeological records and written sources. Lastly, we analyze the social and political context of water management, focusing on the last 100 years and transboundary water management. We also discuss planning and mitigation in relation to climate change and rainfall extremes that are projected to increase. It is stressed that forward-thinking policies must heed long-term climate variability, hydrology and biological and social impact and to plan and mitigate for environmental events. The discussion also brings to the fore the importance of an adaptable and equitable strategy in cross-border water sharing.
Få landskap har ett sådant symbolvärde som det grekiska och särskilt gäller det regionen Arkadien. Det arkadiska landskapet spred välljud, dofter och bilder till barockens, renässansens och romantikens poeter och konstnärer. I herdediktningen, som ju hade sitt ursprung i antikens diktning, blev Arkadien scenen för en hängiven längtan efter pastorala och lantliga idyller. Men vid sidan av det som lite nedsättande (och missvisande) brukar kallas ”bonderomantik” bär bilden av Arkadien också på teman för en historiskt återkommande civilisationskritik. Idag liksom igår är människor ibland oense om hur jorden bäst ska brukas, hur landskap ska formas, omformas och förskönas för att passa människors och till och med gudars behov idag och i morgon. Ekvationen har blivit mycket komplex nu när vi också måste ta ställning till långsiktiga effekter på biologisk mångfald och ekologisk hållbarhet. Rötterna till denna komplexitet kan vi finna i den feta, mjuka, grekiska jorden som redan på Platons tid kunde uppfattas som hotad. Vill vi följa miljöhistoriens hemliga meanderbana bör vi emellertid börja vid en punkt där den antika människan försökte finna sig en plats i ett redan besjälat landskap.
Även miljön har en historia och denna historia har stor relevans för hållbarhetsfrågor idag.
Genom att följa ekologiska skeenden och debatter kring miljöfrågor historiskt närmar sig studenter och forskare här frågor kring miljö, ekonomi och social rättvisa.
Texterna följer företeelser eller olika debatter genom tid både utifrån lokala och globala per-
spektiv: från Uppsalabornas relation till sopor och vatten och matvanor och sociala roller,
eller Sundsvalls hantering av industriavfall; till energiförsörjningens ekologiska historia,
vetets globala miljöhistoria eller konstens roll när det gäller att väcka samhällsdebatt kring
miljöfrågor.
Cemus (Centre for Sustainable Development, Uppsala) har sedan lång tid tillbaka haft ett intresse för miljöhistoria som ett sätt att ge perspektiv och uppslag på hållbarhetsfrågor i dag. Boken är ett resultat av Cemus kurs i Global miljöhistoria och innehåller texter från både studenter och föreläsare på kursen.
Bakgrunden till denna bok är det intresse för miljöhistoria och dess roll i att förklara och förändra de problem vi står inför idag som sedan lång tid tillbaka har funnits på Cemus (Centrum för miljö och utvecklingstudier, CSD Uppsala). Bokens olika medförfattare har kanske olika syn på miljöhistoriens roll och hur själva miljöproblematiken ska hanteras. Men tanken om att miljöhistoria är ett relevant verktyg för att förklara och förändra är något som förenar bokens författare
This report presents the results of the first archaeological surveys in Limpopo National Park (Parque Nacional do Limpopo - PNL) in Mozambique. We discuss the different categories of sites, their research potential, and the possible relative ages. Sites dating from the Early Stone Age (ESA) to the Later Stone Age (LSA) have been identified as farming community settlements from both the first and second millennium AD. PNL is of particular interest when it comes to hunter-gatherer and farmer interactions, as foraging communities were reported in the area until the 1870s, and we raise the potential of further studies to elucidate this interaction.
In this paper, we assess vernacular history, traditional authority and the use of heritage places as mediums for negotiating ancestry, identity, territory and belonging based on conversations, interviews and visitations to heritage places together with residents in Limpopo National Park. We explore how particular vernacular histories become dominant village history through the authorisation of traditional leaders and their lineage histories and how traditional leaders use heritage places to mediate narratives. Authorised vernacular histories are narratives about mobility and identity, but they are also localised narratives about ‘home’ in terms of access to resources and heritage places. We discuss how lineage histories and traditional authority are mobilised or questioned in the context of the ongoing displacement of local residents through resettlement programmes and make comparisons with the historical experiences of evictions in the neighbouring Kruger and Gonarezhou National Parks. We emphasise the need for residents to remain connected to and in control of heritage places; otherwise, the linkages between these places, ancestral authority, and present-day authority risk being severed.
In this paper, household vulnerability in Limpopo National Park (LNP) is discussed in relation to interannual climate variability and the effects of the park itself. Climate variability is high and projected to increase with climate change. Meanwhile, the establishment of the national park in 2002 has added both challenges and possibilities. We present the results of livelihood surveys carried out 2013 and discuss changes taking place in and around the park until present day. Constraints and possibilities for endurability of households are discussed. In conclusion, the vulnerability of the LNP households to climate change is high, but there are a number of strategies in place to ensure endurability. Migrant labour is vital for household economy, and cattle production is important for endurability. The hunting ban in the park and losses of crops and livestock due to wildlife present serious challenges. Income from the illegal wildlife trade, which exploded from 2011, has had little impact on household economy or in mitigating household vulnerability but has had devastating effects on the social fabric of households. We discuss possible avenues for transformability, where access to markets and transport remain a challenge for farmers. Individual cattle owners’ view of constraints and possibilities for expanding cattle herding are discussed and assessed in terms of transformability.
Livelyhood assessment data from Limpopo National Park, Mozambique: Anonymised data in excel spreadsheet format from Machamba, Chimangue and Bingo villages. Aonymised and edited as supplmentary to the paper Notelid, M. and Ekblom, A. 2021. Household Vulnerability and Transformability in Limpopo National Park. Sustainability 13(5): 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052597. See paper for details on methodology