It is well known that land-use changes influence the hydrological cycle and that those changes in the hydrological cycle influence land use. The sophisticated spatial dynamic planning tools that have been developed in the last decades to support policy makers in the decision making process do not take into account the mutual feedbacks between land use and hydrology.

We present a remote sensing based approach for assessing ecosystem state or intactness to inform land use management and conservation planning.

In this paper the use of fenced grazing camps to manage the rangeland commons is challenged. A historical perspective is presented on fencing and rotational grazing in South Africa. Two case studies in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape illustrate the factors that influence the management of rangelands under communal land tenure without the use of fences.

Multipurpose mosaic (“ecoagriculture”) landscapes can serve the purpose of land sharing to combine objectives of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. Rewarding the people who shape and maintain those landscapes could act as a mechanism to generate added-value representing an indirect payment for ecosystem services.

In South Africa, the relative extent of range degradation under freehold compared to communal tenure has been strongly debated. We present a perspective on the processes that drive rangeland degradation on land under communal tenure.

The paper critiques Vetter's (in this issue) assertion that commercialisation of smallholder agriculture holds dangers for sustainable rangeland management. The paper argues that a range of policy options are required, including commercialisation and subsistence farming, large-scale and smallholder farming, a range of land tenure options, rural and peri-urban farming, and part-time farming.

Successful land claims on protected areas by previously disenfranchised communities often result in co-management agreements between claimant communities and state conservation agencies. South Africa, in particular, has pursued co-management as the desired outcome of land claims on its protected areas.

Agriculture is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases. Rice production has been identified as one of the major sources of greenhouse gases, especially methane. However, data on the contributions of rice towards greenhouse gas emissions in tropical Africa are limited.

Agriculture plays a crucial role in food security and poverty reduction in Mozambique, contributing around 25 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, despite the considerable agro-ecological potential and the need for increased production, agricultural productivity remains low.