Land use planning and implemantation in Kanyati communal lands, Kariba District: the process and impact: the Zambezi Valley experience

Abstract

The paper explores the process and impact of land use planning and implementation in the communal lands of Kanyati, Kariba District, Mashonaland West Province in Zimbabwe. It traces history back to the colonial governments initial attempts to plan communal lands with the objective of marginalising Africans to less productive areas of the country. This fueled the war of liberation and Zimbabwe won its independence in 1980, Thereafter, the new government embarked on a Land Reorganisation and Resettlement Programme with the aim to address the inherited inequitable distribution of land. Both programmes have been implemented mostly in the marginal areas of Natural Regions III, IV (48%) and NR V (6%) which are subject to seasonal droughts. This, coupled with communal tenure systems and the continued population increase, means that renewable natural resources in communal lands (previously called Reserves) are often mismanaged and over-exploited, sometimes in favor of agricultural intensification or livestock production. This has already resulted in severe land degradation in the communal lands. This situation is continuing as the government is slowly implementing the land reform programmes.