Land use and land cover change as a consequence of the South African land reform program: A remote sensing approach

The South African land reform policy under the democratic government (after 1994) was designed to redress the inequality of land ownership aiming to reverse the land ownership injustice that had occurred in the past era as a deliberate act of policy by the colonial and the apartheid government. This study aimed at investigating the effects of the South African land reform policy on land use and land cover change on a land restitution project in Makotopong, Limpopo province, South Africa. To determine land cover dynamics, 1994 and 2007 Landsat images were used. A maximum likelihood classification for each image was computed for identification of land cover variables. Trends in land cover change depict a decline in post-transfer activities with agricultural cropland decreasing from 78.04 ha in 1994 to 20.43 ha in 2007. Inadvertently, land under fallow and shrubs increased by 6% and 30%, respectively. This accelerated decline of agricultural activity is mainly attributable to change of land ownership and management skills from the commercial farmers to the inexperienced land claimants. Results suggest that quantification of the changes in land use and land cover types can be very useful in assessing environmental and social condition of the land reform project. The study recommends that spatial data analysis through remote sensing procedures should form the information base in monitoring and evaluating the land reform projects to ensure productivity and management.