Abstract:
Land degradation is a major risk to the sustainability and functioning of socioecological
systems (SES), especially in arid/semiarid regions. By understanding a system and its interlinkages,
the socioecological approach offers an innovative way to explore degradation. This is achieved
through a synergistic analytical approach to improve the ability of identifying and understanding
systems, predicting their behaviour, and modifying them to achieve the desired effects. This research
provides a roadmap for an integrated interdisciplinary approach that is a critical factor in understanding
the drivers of land degradation. It can be used to determine appropriate land management
action. The aim of this study was, therefore, to apply an integrated SES approach to a degraded rural
semiarid context to address the land degradation problem using the Greater Sekhukhune District
Municipality in South Africa as a case study. The Drive Pressure State Condition and four Responses
(DPSCR4) framework (modified from Drive Pressure State Impact and Response (DPSIR)) was used
as the SES to assess land degradation. Key informant interviews, focus group discussions with local
pastoralists and traditional authorities, and the scientific literature were triangulated to systemically
analyse DPSCR4. Land degradation neutrality (LDN) was integrated into the framework to draw
conclusions on sustainable land management (SLM). The results show that the main anthropogenic
activities driving land degradation are overgrazing, land tenure, poverty and disenfranchisement,
unsustainable land use, and cropland abandonment, which favour bush encroachment. Natural
factors such as topography, dispersive duplex soils, and climate variability and change predispose
the district to soil erosion and gully formation. In combination with human activities, this exacerbates
land degradation. The study recommends measures to enable informed integrated land use planning
and management using the DPSCR4 and LDN frameworks to improve landscape conditions in rural
semiarid regions and provide sustainable livelihoods for the rural poor in developing countries who
depend on natural resources.
