“God stopped making land!” Land Rights, Conflict and Law in Namibia’s Caprivi Region

“God stopped making land!” Land Rights, Conflict and Law in Namibia’s Caprivi Region

Firstly, while the land reform issue in Namibia is driven by the domination of primarily white-owned commercial farms in the centre of the country, almost half of the land in Namibia is communally owned, not privately owned. Virtually all authorities on the broad issue of “land reform” have pointed out that without careful attention and improvement of land use and agricultural practices in the communal areas, there can be no meaningful land reform in the commercial areas. Thus, the whole question of how land is used in the communal areas and how that use can be made both more efficient and more supportive of the communities living in these areas can be seen as central to the problem of communal land reform. There are over one million people living on communal lands in Namibia – far too many for either effective resettlement in the commercial areas or absorption into the urban economy, so these people must be able to live productive lives with adequate income in their communal villages. Because Caprivi is the poorest region in the country, and because it is entirely communal land with well-organised traditional villages and great agricultural potential, Caprivi is an appropriate place in which to ask important questions about the prospects of communal land in Namibia in the future. This is perhaps increasingly important in view of the Millennium Development Goals that the Government of Namibia has embraced.

Sidney L. Harring and Willem Odendaal

http://www.lac.org.na/projects/lead/Pdf/godstoppedmakingland.pdf

Legal Assistance Centre

2012

© Land, Environment and Development Project, Legal Assistance Centre, 2012

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