Dynamics of grazing policy and practice: environmental and social impacts in three communal areas of southern Africa R.F. Rohde a, *, N.M. Moleele b , M. Mphale c , N. Allsopp d , R. Chanda e , M.T. Hoffman f , L. Magole b , E. Young g a Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, 21 George Square, Edinburgh, Scotland b GEF-UNDP Wetland Biodiversity Conservation Project, University of Botswana, Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre, Maun, Botswana c Department of Sociology, University of Lesotho, Maseru, Lesotho d ARC-Range & Forage Science, c/o University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa e Department of Environmental Science, University of Botswana, Private Bag UB 00704, Gaborone, Botswana f Leslie Hill Institute for Plant Conservation, Botany Department, University of Cape Town, Private Bag Rondebosch 7701, South Africa g Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Wales Bangor, Bangor, Wales 1. Introduction The three case studies presented here grew out of the shared experience of researchers working within an EU funded project 1 , which specifically focussed on assessing the sustain- ability of three diverse rangeland management systems in southern Africa and to identify viable policy options that would lead to improvements in both the welfare of environmental science & policy 9 (2006) 302–316 article info Keywords: Pastoralism Communal land Rangeland management Rangeland ecology abstract This paper traces the history of grazing policy, its conceptual basis, practical implementa- tions and outcomes, in three southern African countries. In spite of the divergent environ- mental conditions facing pastoralists in the Highlands of Lesotho, Botswana’s southern Kalahari and the Namaqualand succulent karoo in South Africa, they have all been sub- jected to similar grazing and rangeland management policies. The theoretical underpin- nings of such policies have their origins in a development paradigm and ecological theory derived from northern temperate environments and are directly related to two persistent and powerful narratives: ‘land degradation’ and ‘the tragedy of the commons’. Policy and development initiatives were implemented in order to overcome the perceived causes of these negative scenarios, such as overstocking, open access tenure and low output sub- sistence production. They typically ignored the multi-purpose goals of traditional pastoral systems and emphasized commercialisation of livestock farming and privatisation of communal land, which resulted in the weakening or destruction of local, traditional land management institutions. Such policies have survived the transitions from colonial rule to independence and from apartheid to democracy. We argue that these powerful and pervasive ideas, when applied to grazing policies, have caused the very problems they were formulated to prevent. # 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Present address: 11 Belmont Avenue, Cape Town 8001, South Africa Tel.: +27 21 461 5921/650 5552. E-mail address: rick.rohde@ed.ac.uk (R.F. Rohde). 1 MAPOSDA: Management and policy options for the sustainable development of communal rangelands and their communities in southern Africa. (2001–2004) INCO Project No. ICA4-CT-2001-10050. available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envsci 1462-9011/$ – see front matter # 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2005.11.009