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This coming Friday (17th June) is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.  This day aims to raise the profile of desertification and land degradation, and is crucially important in Swaziland as almost all of the country is suffering from the effects of worsening quality of land caused by desertification.

Desertification is brought about by human-induced factors and climate change. It occurs slowly, as different areas of degraded land spread and merge together, rather than through advancing desert.  Whilst on the surface we do not have large areas of sandy ‘desert’ in Swaziland, as one sees in Namibia, we need to deal seriously with the fact that land across the country is being degraded at an ever increasing rate.  Leading causes of desertification in Swaziland include soil erosion from over-grazing and deforestation; salinisation (from over watering of cash-crops); and acidification by inappropriate use of chemicals also contribute to land degradation.

Women and Desertification
This year’s theme for World Day to Combat Desertification is "Women and Desertification"; and draws attention to the fact that the impacts of land degradation affect women disproportionally.  Women play a key role in managing and preserving biodiversity, water, land and other natural resources, yet their importance is often ignored or exploited.  In Swaziland, women are often blamed for desertification, for example through selling firewood by the roadsides, yet the impact of this subsistence work pales into insignificance compared to the large scale deforestation carried out to clear rural land for unsustainable cash-crop agriculture.

In many of the dry agricultural areas of the world, including Swaziland, women traditionally devote much of their time and effort to the land.  They grow, process, manage and market food and other natural resources.  They may have gardens, work in the fields, collect feed for animals, process tree products for sale and collect fuel and water.

Women in Swaziland’s most degraded land tend to rank among the poorest of the poor, with little power to bring about change.  They are often excluded from policies that directly affect their livelihoods.  Ownership and decision making over livestock is normally in the male domain, and even in female-headed households there is still an element of male decision making in the form of extended family members.

Desertification affects men and women differently given their differing productive roles.   Women usually end up travelling longer distances to compensate, often under harsh and unsafe conditions.  Their workload grows as they struggle to collect food and fuel.  Erosion and diminished soil fertility cut into agricultural production and additional sources of income.  And if a family can no longer survive using its traditional production strategies, there is often a seasonal or permanent migration of young men from rural areas.  This puts a strain on those left behind, the women, as labour increases but results in less output because of the declining carrying capacity of the soil.

Summary
Desertification is a complex and serious environmental and social phenomenon. Although women’s social position is often subordinate, they perform many essential survival tasks and have developed valuable skills and practices that complement men’s knowledge.  Severe environmental degradation, however, puts extra burdens on women, who are often left behind to run households when men migrate to cities.  Swaziland must give full recognition of the role of women in tackling desertification, and we need concrete action, for example through the adoption and implementation of the draft National Land Policy, to give women the power and resources to tackle land degradation.

Watch this column for more articles on environmental and sustainable development in Swaziland.

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