The intricate mediators of the land reform in Zimbabwe

There are interactions between poverty, land degradation, desertification and the propensity for conflicts over the ownership and use of land resources particularly so when land is viewed as the principal and indispensable capital for economic development and poverty eradication. In the case of Zimbabwe, it is essential to understand the mediators between historical, socio-economic and environmental imperatives and the land ownership conflict that propelled the Fast Track Land Reform. From an observer perspective, Zimbabwe experienced increased risks of failure, on the back of what was considered as the government s inappropriate management of the land question. The authorities may have anticipated but appeared to have miscalculated the economic costs of the land reform. However, despite the problems, the land reform increased the quantity of land for the rural households bringing along prospects for sustained rural economic development and poverty eradication in the long term. Thus enhancing the understanding of these linkages by the international community is needed, and achieving it was an important element of this study.

Autorentext

Dr. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu is an Environmentalist with the UNCCD Secretariat based in Bonn, Germany. He has broad experience in programme implementation and monitoring and policy development in environmental management and rural development allied with experience in participatory natural resources management and poverty alleviation.