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Chapter 24-Southern Africa

Geography Matters...

Southern Africa is a difficult land to categorize. Most of it is part of a continent, but it also consists of a large island and several small islands. The continental part is surrounded on three sides by ocean, but most of its landforms are plateaus and highlands.

The people of Southern Africa have a history that goes back tens of thousands of years. Yet their culture has been heavily influenced by Europeans who arrived just a few centuries ago. Some Southern Africans live in densely packed cities; others live in the desert much the same way as their ancestors did. Christianity is widespread, but many traditional religions are still practiced as well.

LESSON 1-Physical Geography of Southern AfricaESSENTIAL QUESTION • How do physical systems and human systems shape a place? 

The terrain of Southern Africa produces a wide variety of biomes—tropical, desert, and temperate regions. Life and culture are very different in each of these areas. In addition, Southern Africa’s rivers are essential for both the natural environment and human activity in the subregion.  

Landforms 

What is the most dominant physical feature of Southern Africa? 

Southern Africa consists of 14 countries, 10 of which are on the mainland. The other four are island countries. Imagine a line drawn roughly along the northern borders of Angola, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. Everything south of that line is part of Southern Africa. Extend the line out into the Indian Ocean, and it runs just above Comoros and Madagascar. Mauritius is east of Madagascar, while Seychelles is northeast of Madagascar.

If Angola, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique form the “top row” of Southern Africa, then Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the southern half of Mozambique form the “second row.” At the southern tip of the continent is South Africa. The country of Lesotho (luh•SOO•too) lies entirely within South Africa. Swaziland is on the South African-Mozambique border.

The mainland of Southern Africa is surrounded on three sides by ocean. Most of the land sits at a high altitude, or height above sea level, of over 2,000 feet (610 m). Along the coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa lies the coastal plain, a narrow strip of land that varies from a few miles wide to a few dozen miles wide. Looming up behind this coastal plain are high steep cliffs known as the Great Escarpment. These cliffs form an almost unbroken U-shape. They run from the west coast south to the Cape of Good Hope and then curve northeast to the South Africa-Mozambique border. The Drakensberg Range is part of the Great Escarpment. The range rises to more than 11,000 feet (3,353 m) and runs along the southern edge of South Africa. As the escarpment reaches Mozambique, it turns north to follow along Mozambique’s western border and on through Malawi. Because most of Mozambique lies outside of the Great Escarpment, its landscape is mainly made up of soft, rolling hills. Only in the northwestern interior of the

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country does the land rise above 600 feet (183 m).

The land inside the Great Escarpment is mostly hills and plateaus. A plateau, or “tableland,” is a stretch of flat land that is higher than its surroundings. The most striking part of the Southern African landscape is a plateau that is over a mile high. The Highveld, as it is called, sits more than 50 miles (80 km) from the coast. However, given its 6,000 foot (1,829 m) altitude, it is visible from a long distance.

The highest parts of Namibia and Angola are near the coast, along the Great Escarpment. Zimbabwe’s highest terrain is in the center of the country. Zambia’s high points are in the northeast, where they merge with Mozambique’s highlands along the Great Escarpment. In contrast, most of Botswana sits in a great basin. While still much higher than the coastal lands, it is lower than the surrounding landforms.

The landforms surrounding Botswana on the west into Namibia or northwest into Angola are once again hills and plateaus. This undulating terrain continues westward until it rises up over the Great Escarpment. It then drops down onto the narrow Atlantic coastal plain.

In a sense, the terrain of Madagascar is a smaller version of that on the mainland. The middle of the island, like the mainland, is a series of plateaus surrounded by an escarpment. Unlike the mainland, groups and masses of volcanoes are strewn among the Madagascar plateaus. Tsiafajavona, one of these volcanic peaks, is 8,671 feet (2,643 m) high.

In the north, the plateaus give way to volcanoes that slope down to the sea. The southern edges of the plateaus tower above the Indian Ocean. To the east and west are escarpments. The escarpments, some of which are impassable, separate the highlands from the lower areas on either side. The eastern part of the island is a narrow coastal strip, rather like the Atlantic coast of Southern Africa. The western side is more varied, with low plateaus and rolling hills.

Describing Where is the highest terrain in Southern Africa found?

Water Systems 

How do people harness the power of the subregion’s rivers? 

The Okavango River runs southeast from central Angola to northern Botswana. It starts on a plateau, and for a while it flows along the border between Angola and Namibia. Then it turns south and heads into Botswana. Most rivers empty into a lake or ocean, but the Okavango ends inland. The river just spreads wider and wider until it forms an inland delta and swamps.

The Orange River flows nearly from one side of Southern Africa to the other. It starts in Lesotho, on the Highveld, just over 100 miles (161 km) from the coast. It flows west across South Africa, then forms part of the border between South Africa and Namibia before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Zambezi River comes into contact with several countries along its course to the sea. Starting in eastern Angola, it flows south through western Zambia. It forms the border between Zambia and the countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Along the southern stretch of the border with Zimbabwe, the river suddenly drops straight down, forming Victoria Falls. Once it has cleared the northern tip of Zimbabwe, the Zambezi heads east through Mozambique, where it flows near the southern tip of Malawi before emptying into the Indian Ocean.

The Limpopo River begins in northern South Africa and flows north for a distance before it turns

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eastward and forms the border between South Africa and Botswana and the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Then it flows across Mozambique to the ocean.

None of these rivers are navigable, except for short stretches across the coastal plain. They originate in highlands and as they flow through the steep terrain, rapids and waterfalls mark their courses. These conditions are not suitable for transportation, but they are useful for generating electricity. Two of the largest hydroelectric dams in Africa—the Kariba Dam and the Cahora Bassa Dam—are located on the Zambezi River.

Aquatic wildlife such as hippopotamuses and crocodiles thrive in and along these rivers. The northeastern part of the Okavango Delta is set aside as the Moremi Game Reserve. Hundreds of species including lions, cheetahs, hippopotamuses, buffalo, wild dogs, and many types of birds and fish live there. Two wildlife areas on either side of the Limpopo, in South Africa and in Mozambique, recently joined with each other and with several sanctuaries in Zimbabwe to form the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. This extended preserve provides a safe haven for lions, leopards, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, and many other species.

Explaining What makes a river suitable for generating electricity?

Climates, Biomes, and Resources 

How do the climates of Southern Africa affect its biomes? 

Southern Africa is large with many different landforms. The result is a great variety of climates. These different climates and landforms create a number of different biomes with distinct characteristics.

Climate Regions and Biomes 

The coastal areas of Southern Africa have marine climates, which means they are greatly affected by weather conditions and systems that blow in from the open ocean. The Cape of Good Hope and the area to its immediate northeast have a Mediterranean climate similar to that of Greece and Italy. It is not typical of Southern Africa, however. Moving up the eastern coast to Mozambique, the climate becomes tropical wet/dry. The winters are warm and the summer rainy season stretches from November through March. The western coast up through Namibia and Angola has an arid, or desert, climate.

The interior of the subregion is generally hot, although temperatures can dip below freezing in the higher elevations. The eastern areas experience a fair amount of precipitation, but toward the west the rainfall drops off. The deserts of Botswana and Namibia receive very little rain.

The climate of Madagascar is determined by its central plateau and the warm, wet winds off the open ocean. The eastern coast of the island has a tropical wet climate, while the interior plateau has a highland climate. The western side is in a rain shadow, and much of it is desert.

Given the number of different climates in the subregion, Southern Africa has many different biomes. Much of the coastal plain along the Atlantic coast is a desert biome. On the Indian Ocean side, grassland biomes give way to forest as one moves north. In the interior of the continent, on the highlands inside the Great Escarpment, the vast majority of the land falls into one of two types, savanna or desert.

The north and the east are covered with savanna—vast grasslands dotted with small stands of trees. Many of the most recognized African mammals, such as giraffes, zebra, and jackals, live

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on the savanna. This biome is also home to animals known as the Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, Cape buffalo, and rhinoceroses. These animals became known as the Big Five because they were so dangerous and difficult to hunt. However, they are now the five species most tourists want to see while on safari.

The south and the west of the inland area are mostly desert biome. The Kalahari Desert occupies much of the Botswana basin. It stretches southwest to where Botswana meets Namibia and South Africa. Here, it blends into the Namib Desert. The Namib continues down to the coast, then runs north between the ocean and the Great Escarpment through all of Namibia and into southern Angola.

Most of the Namib Desert is quite arid. The southern parts are covered with seemingly endless sand dunes—brick red inland and yellow along the coast—some of which can be 800 feet (244 m) tall and 20 miles (32 km) long. Inland, bushes and tall grasses have adapted to grow in the sand dunes. Antelope and ostriches live here as well. Farther north in the interior desert, rivers can be found, and with them elephants, rhinoceroses, hyenas, and more.

The arm of the Namib Desert that runs along the coast is quite different. It is almost completely arid, with little or no plant life. Some reptiles and insects have adapted to this biome, but no larger animals live here. As in the interior portion, though, the most northern reaches have more water. Succulents grow here, and it is home to various marine birds, such as pelicans, flamingos, and even penguins.

In the southern part of the Kalahari, rain is scarce. Drought-tolerant grasses and scrub are all that can take root. Herds of antelope such as wildebeest and springbok roam the area. The central part of the Kalahari gets some rain, and shrubs can grow there. Acacia trees provide homes for birds, rodents, and insects. The northern Kalahari is hardly desertlike at all because of the rivers that flow through it. Many smaller animals, such as wild dogs, foxes, anteaters, and porcupines, live here. Plants such as pond lilies and reeds thrive here as well.

The most striking tree found in the northern Kalahari is the baobab. The baobab tree is often used as a symbol for all of Africa. Its thick trunk stretches high before splitting into a tangle of skinny branches, making the tree look as if it is upside-down with its roots in the air. Baobabs can live for hundreds of years and reach a diameter of 30 feet (9 m). The trunks can be hollowed out and used to collect rainwater or even as a shelter.

Natural Resources 

Southern Africa’s most important resource is its vast mineral wealth. Gold and copper are mined today, just as they were by ancient peoples. Coal, nickel, iron, cobalt, manganese, and uranium are found in abundance. Deposits of gemstones, especially diamonds, have drawn miners for several centuries. Additionally, Southern Africa’s mineral wealth made it attractive to countries for colonization.

Unfortunately, Southern Africa’s valuable resources are a source of controversy. In most cases, foreign companies own the mines that extract minerals and gemstones. They hire local workers and pay them very little money to work in dangerous conditions. The profits the foreign companies make are taken out of Southern Africa and do little to benefit the subregion. One major exception is found in Botswana. In 1978 the government formed a partnership with a multinational company called De Beers. The partnership, known as Debswana, mines and sells Botswana’s diamonds. The profits are split between the country and the company. This has given

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Botswana one of the healthiest, fastest-growing economies in all of Southern Africa.

The history of diamond mining can be seen in Kimberley, South Africa, at a site called the Big Hole. It was a hill until diamonds were discovered. From 1871 to 1914, 22.5 million tons (20.4 million t) of dirt and rock were removed, with picks and shovels. Today, the 700-foot-(213-m-) deep hole is a tourist destination.

Evaluating What types of biomes are found in Southern Africa?LESSON 2-Human Geography of Southern AfricaESSENTIAL QUESTION • How do human systems impact a place? 

Southern Africa’s human geography blends components from the very earliest humans, traditional African cultures, and European influences. Southern Africa today is full of contrasts—white and black, traditional and modern, wealth and poverty, urban and rural.   

History and Government 

What cultures have influenced life in Southern Africa? 

Fossils that predate those of modern humans can be found in Southern Africa. Fossils of the first true humans are found north of the subregion in the valleys of Tanzania and Kenya. The first people to live in Southern Africa were the San, who arrived more than 20,000 years ago. Today, their descendants live in Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

The Bantu peoples originated in central Africa, but began spreading across the continent some 3,500 years ago. The term Bantu refers to a group of about 500 related languages and to the various peoples who speak them. By about A.D. 300, Bantu peoples had migrated to Southern Africa.

One of the Bantu peoples, the Shona, established a city called Great Zimbabwe. By A.D. 1000, Great Zimbabwe had a population of between 12,000 and 20,000 people. The inhabitants farmed, raised cattle, and mined and traded gold. For 400 years, Great Zimbabwe was the center of a huge trading empire. Sometime in the 1400s, however, the city was abandoned. No one knows why. All that remains are ruins in southeastern Zimbabwe.

Madagascar’s population is also the result of migration. Around A.D. 800, a small group of people sailed in outrigger canoes from islands in Southeast Asia to Madagascar. These people were the Malagasy, and their descendants populated the entire island, later mixing with migrants from the African continent. DNA tests confirm the ancestry of Madagascar is evenly split between Indonesia and East Africa. Despite sharing ancestry, as well as the many political and economic ties to Africa, many Malagasy do not consider themselves to be African.

European Influences 

Great Zimbabwe had faded away by the time the first Europeans arrived in Southern Africa. In the 1480s, Portuguese explorers, priests, and traders sailed into the Kingdom of Kongo in what is now the northern tip of Angola. At first, relations between the Portuguese and Kongo were peaceful, but it did not last.

By the mid-1500s, an active slave trade was running throughout Southern Africa. Coastal African kings sent raiding parties inland to capture people. The captives were then traded to the

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Portuguese for firearms and other manufactured goods.

The Portuguese established slave and trading posts on both the east and west coasts of Southern Africa. They either traded or warred with the various kingdoms they encountered, and they shipped much gold, silver, and ivory back to Europe. In the 1600s, other European powers expanded into Africa, causing Portuguese power to wane. By the mid-1700s, Dutch, British, and local African forces had confined the Portuguese to Angola and Mozambique. Only small settlements near the coast remained subject to Portuguese control.

In 1652 the Dutch East India Company established a settlement on the Cape of Good Hope. Dutch settlers took more and more land from the local African inhabitants, expanding well beyond the influence of the Dutch East India Company.

The Dutch were aided in their expansion by disease. As in the Americas, the local population had no immunity to European diseases and many died. After a few generations, the Dutch settlers referred to themselves as Afrikaners, which means “Africans.” They were also called Boers, the Dutch word for “farmers.”

Most of the Boers used slave labor on their farms. At first, enslaved people were brought in from areas farther north, but later the Boers enslaved local people as well. In order to communicate, the Afrikaners and the Africans developed a pidgin dialect that eventually evolved into Afrikaans, a new language.

At the start of the 1800s, Cape Colony was home to 22,000 whites, 25,000 enslaved blacks, and tens of thousands of free blacks. In 1806 Great Britain seized control of Cape Colony. A year later, Britain outlawed the slave trade in all its colonies. This had a positive effect in that the British and Afrikaners were now prohibited from capturing and enslaving Africans. It did not benefit people already enslaved, who were not freed by the ending of the trade.

European contact with Madagascar was sporadic and varied. The Portuguese, British, and French tried to gain influence on the island. The French established a settlement in 1642, but it did not last. Trade continued, and both the French and the British allied themselves with various local groups and leaders. In 1896 Madagascar became a French colony.

In 1884 Germany’s new colonial goals led to the establishment of two colonies on the mainland of Africa. One, German East Africa, was farther north on the continent but did include some of what is today Mozambique. The other, German Southwest Africa, later became the country of Namibia. After losing World War I, Germany was stripped of all its African colonies. German East Africa was divided between Great Britain and Belgium. German Southwest Africa was renamed Southwest Africa, and it was placed under the control of South Africa.

Shaka 

One of the most important Africans in the history of Southern Africa was Shaka. He was the son of a Zulu chief and a Langeni princess. Shaka was raised by his mother among the Langeni and the Mthethwa. Both Shaka and his mother were treated cruelly and resented by both groups.

Shaka’s father died in 1816, when Shaka was about 30 years old. He took over the Zulu clan his father had led. He reorganized, rearmed, and retrained the Zulu army. He also instituted a draft system.

The new weapons and tactics were devastatingly effective against the other clans. Shaka’s army

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killed hundreds of thousands of other African people. Refugees fled inland and those who remained were incorporated into the Zulu empire.

After his assassination in 1828, the Zulu empire lived on, ruled by various relatives of Shaka. Over time, the Boers and the British began encroaching on Zulu territory. The Boers captured much of southern Zululand, but were forced to give it back. Then, in 1879, the British declared war. The Zulu army of 50,000 soldiers won the first battle in an enormous victory, but it prompted the British to send even more soldiers and supplies. The war ended with the division of the Zulu empire into 13 smaller territories. Even so, Zulu resistance to British rule continued until the first decade of the 1900s.

Cecil Rhodes 

One of the most important Europeans in the history of Southern Africa was Cecil Rhodes. He moved from England to Cape Colony (South Africa) in 1870, at the age of 17. He bought up gold and diamond mines throughout the area. By 1891, the company he started, De Beers, produced 90 percent of the world’s diamonds.

Rhodes was elected to the parliament of Cape Colony in 1881 and remained in government the rest of his life. He served as prime minister of the colony from 1890 to 1896. A committed imperialist, he used his wealth and power to further his dream of expanding British control to all of Africa.

Rhodes tried to reconcile the Dutch Boers and the British, but under British rule. He expanded British influence north into what is today Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The latter two were once combined as the colony of Rhodesia, which was named after Rhodes.

Rhodes’s life can be seen as a metaphor for European involvement in Africa. To him, Africa was a resource to be exploited and brought under “civilized” control. Local populations were dealt with ruthlessly—although, in Rhodes’s case, generally without violence—and then ignored. The land and riches Africans once controlled were taken over by Europeans.

Independence 

After World War I, unrest against colonial rule began to grow across Africa. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was created from four British colonies. Most other countries in Southern Africa were freed from European control in the 1960s and 1970s. Namibia became independent from South Africa in 1990.

Each country had a different road to independence. In Botswana, for example, independence was quick and peaceful. In Angola, however, guerrilla forces fought the Portuguese army for 14 years. Mozambique gained independence in 1976, but fought a civil war until 1992.

In some countries, problems continued after independence. Rhodesia divided into two parts. The northern part became Zambia in 1964 with a black African majority government. In Southern Rhodesia whites took control and declared an independent country in 1965. Black Africans living there did not win the right to vote or run for office until 1978. It came only after a long period of civil war. Once black majority rule was established, the country was renamed Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe became its first prime minister in 1980. His rule has become more brutal and repressive as political opposition to him has increased.

In South Africa, society had been segregated into blacks, whites, and South African coloured

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(mixed race) since colonial days. In 1948 the government established a policy called apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning “separateness.” Under apartheid, blacks and coloureds were required to live in specific places. They were allowed certain jobs, needed permits to leave their neighborhoods, and were prohibited from having social contact with whites. Civil protests and international boycotts during the 1970s and 1980s ended the policy of white minority rule and apartheid. In 1994 South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, was elected. In 1995 he established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to reveal the abuses that occurred under apartheid and provide restitution to its victims. South Africa had its first black majority government in modern times.

Listing How many different European powers established colonies in Southern Africa?

Population Patterns 

How have natural resources helped to determine the location of many settlements in Southern Africa? 

Parts of the Southern Africa subregion are heavily populated while others are practically uninhabited. In general, the population increases as one moves from west to east, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Madagascar follows the same pattern of a west-to-east increase. The explanation for most of the sparsely populated western areas is physical geography. Much of Botswana and Namibia is desert that can support few people.

Throughout history, major cities have often grown up along trade routes. Until the mid-1800s, trade routes mostly involved waterways. Since Southern Africa has almost no navigable rivers, the first trade centers were located along the coast.

A second factor that affected population distribution was natural resources. In 1886 the discovery of gold in the interior of Cape Colony led to a gold rush. One town that was established near the mines, Johannesburg, is now the largest and most important city in South Africa. Many settlements in the subregion were established due to the discovery of gold. Pretoria (Tshwane), the administrative capital of South Africa, was first settled by Boers who were attracted not to mineral wealth but to the fertile farmland in the valley and the favorable climate.

Like many other places, Southern Africa has been affected by urbanization. People hoping to better their lives migrate to cities in search of jobs. The most populated urban areas are Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Johannesburg in South Africa and Maputo in Mozambique. Some neighborhoods in these cities are wealthy and modern, with expensive homes and fashionable shopping areas. Others are very poor, and many people live without electricity or sanitation.

Explaining Why did Johannesburg develop and grow at its location?

Society and Culture Today  

How do traditions play a role in the lives of the peoples of the subregion? 

The effects of centuries of European influence are still felt in Southern Africa. Colonizing powers divided the continent among themselves with no regard for the traditional territories occupied by the local people. As a result, most of the major ethnic groups—Shona, San, Ambo, Makua, and Ndebele—are distributed in different countries with no defined national territories.

Hundreds of local languages are spoken. However, many countries use the European language of

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their colonizers to facilitate communication. As a result, French, German, and English are spoken in many places. In South Africa, white Afrikaners form an ethnic group. Their language, Afrikaans, is one of the country’s 11 official languages, along with English and nine local languages such as Zulu.

Christian missionaries worked throughout Africa during colonial times. As a result, Christianity is the most common religion in Southern Africa. Many people still practice traditional religions, however, which involve nature spirits, animal sacrifice and worship, and worshiping the spirits of one’s ancestors.

In urban areas, people attend movies, shop in malls, watch television, surf the Internet, and listen to music by African artists. Those living in poverty, both in urban and rural areas, do not have these opportunities. Their leisure activities center on the family and traditional activities such as games, singing, and dancing.

Poverty is an issue throughout the subregion. In Mozambique in 2008, protests against the high prices of necessities such as fuel led to deadly riots. The pattern repeated itself in 2010. When the price of bread rose by 30 percent, there was rioting, Thirteen people were killed and more than 400 were arrested.

Poverty also affects life expectancy, which has been decreasing for decades because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was severe in Africa. The situation is improving, however. In 2012, researchers announced that life expectancy in South Africa had increased by five years since 2005. The increase is due to the world’s largest drug treatment effort for people with HIV/AIDS.

Education also varies with income. Large cities have colleges and universities, and the children of wealthy families generally get a good education. However, the children of poor families attend school for only a few years, if at all, and often leave school early. Girls, in particular, usually get much less schooling than boys do.

The status of girls and women is an issue in many parts of Southern Africa. In rural areas, women generally do not have the same rights as men. For example, traditional laws often prohibit women from inheriting or even owning property. Most Southern African countries have laws that require gender equality, but traditional laws are often observed instead. To help women, local and international organizations have been working to improve the financial status of African women.

The organizations make small loans to help women set up small businesses, such as growing vegetables or making clothes. These loans are mostly made to women in rural areas, and often lead to women becoming the business leaders in a village or community.

Describing How does tradition affect women in Southern Africa?

Economic Activities 

What role does mining play in the economy of Southern Africa? 

Most people in Southern Africa are farmers. Over 80 percent of the residents of Angola and Mozambique are agricultural workers. Most of the farms are used for subsistence farming. With increased global markets, commercial farming has gained in importance. For example, sugar plantations dot the coasts of Angola, South Africa, and Mozambique, while oil palm, cacao, and peanuts are grown in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Fresh flowers and vegetables are grown on

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commercial farms and exported to European cities.

Control of farmland is a big issue in much of Africa. European colonists claimed much of the best land. A land reform program in Zimbabwe gave land owned by white farmers back to Africans. The result was chaos, violence, and corruption. The land reform led to the failure of Zimbabwe’s economy. Zimbabwe’s agricultural workforce includes about 50 percent of the country’s people.

Mining has always been important to the economy of Southern Africa. One section of the Highveld in South Africa, the Witwatersrand, has been mined since the 1880s. This area has produced about one-third of the gold ever mined in the world. Gold is also found in other parts of South Africa and in Zimbabwe. Most of the world’s diamonds come from mines near the Witwatersrand, Botswana, and along the coast near the Namibia-South Africa border. Copper and cobalt are mined in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Zambia.

Since the 1960s, many countries in Southern Africa have been trying to encourage and support manufacturing. Foreign loans have financed the development of manufacturing. Today, factories produce materials such as paper goods, cement, electric motors, and tractors. Compared to other developing regions, Southern Africa’s manufacturing sector is still small, but it is growing.

Explaining From what one area does much of the world’s gold come?

LESSON 3-People and Their Environment: Southern AfricaESSENTIAL QUESTION • How do physical systems and human systems shape a place? 

Southern Africa is a land of mineral wealth, great natural beauty, and many of the most awe-inspiring animal species on the planet. But if that is to be true a hundred years from now, the governments and people of Southern Africa must increase their focus on conservation and preservation of the environment. 

Managing Resources 

Why are many resources in Southern Africa not managed closely? 

In Southern Africa, as in other parts of the world, poverty is the underlying reason behind much of the failure to manage resources. Most of the people living in Southern Africa are subsistence farmers. In general, these people have little income, poor health care, and little education. The main concern for the people in this region is their families’ welfare, not conservation.

Habitat destruction occurs when people collect firewood. While collecting firewood contributes to deforestation, the people have no other choice. Outside of urban areas, people do not have gas or electric stoves, so they use wood for cooking. As the population increases, more pressure is put on forest resources.

Development is not necessarily the major cause of environmental degradation, however. Commercial logging is responsible for most of the deforestation in Southern Africa. The regulations that affect the logging industry have not been changed in 40 years. Furthermore, these regulations are usually ignored. When logging companies are cited, or summoned to appear in court, the fines they pay are tiny by today’s standards.

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Poaching, or illegal hunting, threatens some of Southern Africa’s most notable species. Elephant tusks are made of ivory, which is a precious commodity around the world. Many countries have outlawed the importation or sale of ivory, but an illegal market still exists. Rhinoceroses are another species that may soon be hunted to extinction. 

Many Asians believe that the horn of the rhinoceros has powerful medicinal properties, even though there is no scientific proof of this claim. In much of Southern Africa, hunting endangered animals, including elephants and rhinoceroses, is illegal. However, because economic conditions are difficult and because it is so profitable, poaching continues to threaten these species.

Access to clean water is another serious issue. In both rural and urban areas, many residents do not have running water in their homes. They either dig their own wells or walk—sometimes for many miles—to collect water from a river or stream. These water sources can be and often are contaminated. During the rainy season, water abounds. However, even unclean water can be difficult to find during winter or in times of drought. Lack of access to clean water has serious health consequences. Many diseases are spread by contaminated water.

In most developed countries, farmers attempt to prevent soil erosion and replenish the nutrients in their soil. Subsistence farmers in less developed countries often cannot and usually do not do this. The result is farmland that becomes unusable for growing crops after just a few years. For example, farmers on the volcanic islands of Comoros face loss of soil fertility and erosion where terraced farming is not practiced. 

Shortages of food and water put pressure on communities. What is more likely, though, is that pressure from shortages pushes groups that are already at odds into conflict. For example, both Mozambique and Angola suffered through decades of civil war. The fighting may be over, shortages of food, water, or other resources could easily drive them back into war.

Resources are not confined by political boundaries. In fact, many of the borders in Southern Africa are defined by rivers—important resources themselves. What starts as a conflict over resources can lead to larger wars between groups resulting in many casualties and destabilizing the societies and economies of countries where they occur. Resource shortages can thus have effects that extend far beyond the borders of the regions where they occur.

Explaining Why are rhinoceroses endangered?

Human Impact 

How has environmental degradation affected life in the subregion? 

Human activity is affecting Southern Africa’s environment in large and small ways. For example, many subsistence farmers engage in shifting cultivation. In this system, farmers cut and then burn brush and trees. After the land is cleared they plant crops in the ash-enriched soil. Once the soil is no longer productive, farmers clear a new plot. They return to the original plot once the fertility is restored. This method of agriculture works if the population is small enough to allow the land time to recover. However, rapid population growth is stressing the land because the land is not allowed enough time to rest. This method leaves depleted soil and empty fields in its wake, which can lead to soil erosion.

Deforestation causes habitat destruction on a large scale. Agricultural companies clearing fields and lumber companies collecting timber are cutting down the tropical forests. Madagascar, for example, has only 10 percent of its forests left. Zimbabwe is also hard hit, but for a different

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reason. Between 1990 and 2005, 21 percent of Zimbabwe’s forests were cut down. Since then, the rate has increased. Almost all of the cut trees are being used for firewood, both by individuals and by the country’s tobacco industry. Tobacco is cured over fire, and in Zimbabwe, firewood is cheaper than coal.

The Zambezi, Orange, and Okavango Rivers all flow through different regions and even different countries. When one town or village diverts some of the water, such as to irrigate its fields, all of the people downstream have less water to use. In Southern Africa, richer, more powerful groups often hoard natural resources such as water, leaving even less available to the poor and disenfranchised. On some occasions, arguments about access to water have led to violent conflict.

Most people in the countryside in Southern Africa do not live near a major river. They rely on wells to get the water they need. Since there is no management system in place, people simply tap into the groundwater wherever they can. Groundwater is water that lies underground and feeds wells and springs. The increasing use of groundwater in rural areas is reducing the amount of water available in the region. Furthermore, as the global climate changes and temperatures increase, groundwater may become even more limited.

In the past several decades, one of the major changes Southern Africa has experienced is urbanization. Many different factors have contributed to this trend. People in rural areas often perceive cities as having better housing conditions and better job opportunities. Climate change, exhausted farmland, or several consecutive years of bad crops may convince people to give up farming and to move to cities.

Sometimes the people’s need to leave rural areas is more pressing. During the late twentieth century in Angola and Mozambique, armed rebels involved in civil war took control of large sections of the countryside. Millions of people fled to the relative safety of urban areas.

Most of the cities in Southern Africa have not been able to keep up with this rapid population growth. The natural resources in these areas are nearly gone. Urban areas are increasingly polluted and sanitation is often nonexistent, leading to widespread disease. Clean water and even trash removal are simply not available in many areas.

Explaining What do farmers do when their farmland is depleted?

Addressing the Issues 

What steps are being taken to combat these environmental challenges? 

Many people realize that the environmental problems in Southern Africa must be addressed. Many countries are working to combat the problems the region is facing. International organizations, such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are also tackling these issues.

South Africa is one of only a handful of countries in the world that have environmental rights built into their constitutions. Section 24 of the country’s post-apartheid constitution says that “everyone has the right—(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and (b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures.”

South Africa recently adopted the National Strategy for Sustainable Development and Action Plan (NSSD1). The action plan describes more than 100 steps the government and private

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organizations can take to sustain the country’s resources and ecosystems, develop a green economy, build sustainable communities, and respond to climate change. The NSSD1 and its action plan are guidelines and suggestions, not laws. They do, however, show that the government recognizes that action is required.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Zimbabwe adopted a number of laws designed to reduce air and water pollution, protect wildlife and other natural resources, regulate hazardous materials, and promote land management. Some of these laws have had positive results. Others, such as the Forest Act, which was designed to prevent deforestation, are largely ignored.

In 2011 Angola’s president, José Eduardo dos Santos, signed two presidential decrees. One decree is on water quality, and the other requires any person or company that damages the environment to pay for repairing the damage. It remains to be seen how effective these decrees will be in reducing damage to the natural environment.

Southern Africa has many NGOs that work on environmental issues in the region as a whole. One such group is the Musokotwane Environment Resource Centre for Southern Africa, which is based in Zimbabwe. Its aim is to “inform, motivate, and empower” decision-makers to take positive action on issues such as water resource management, sanitation, and climate change. In 2012 the United Nations Environment Program created the Africa Adaptation Knowledge Network to collect and distribute data for research, information, and strategies for adapting to climate change.

The South Africa–based Southern African Development Community administers many programs, such as the Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC REEP), which develops environmental education materials for students and teachers from grade school to the college level. These materials are used in schools in Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zambia.

The Nature Conservancy, an international organization, has partnered in Southern Africa with a number of local and international organizations. For example, it has teamed with the Zambia Wildlife Authority to reverse the decline in wildlife populations in that country. It is also working with the World Wildlife Fund to protect coral reef ecosystems off Mozambique from climate change. The Conservancy has also partnered with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia to help save the black rhinoceros from extinction. These organizations and many more are working hard to protect Southern Africa’s resources and improve the lives of the people who live there. They face two major obstacles.

As discussed above, one of these obstacles is the region’s poverty; the other is corruption. In many Southern African countries, national and local governments are corrupt. Officials are more concerned with staying in power and enriching themselves and their friends than with improving conditions for their citizens and their country. Often, this means that help does not reach the people who need it.

As an example, suppose an NGO donates 10,000 propane cookstoves and propane bottles so that people in a rural area can stop cutting firewood. Now imagine that various government officials refuse to distribute the stoves unless they get payoffs from the NGO. Then suppose that 8,000 of the stoves disappear from the warehouse and are sold by friends of a local official. The NGO has spent far more money than it planned, and only 2,000 families got stoves.

Increasingly, NGOs are trying to work directly with the people they want to help, bypassing

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corrupt officials whenever possible. In addition, new methods and equipment are being developed that will be within the capabilities of even the poorest of people.

Listing What NGOs are working to protect the environment of Southern Africa?