It’s time to walk the talk

properties depend on the time of year; in the dry season, grasses lose their quality and so animals at this time may lose weight and even die especially where the land has been overgrazed.

In Lobatse, there are no animals and so grasses that grow here are good. They include: Panicum maximum [ mphaga], Urochloa trichopus [ phoka], Eragrostis superba, Digitaria eriantha, Cenchrus ciliaris [ molekangwetsi].

In the hills around Lobatse there are some cattle. Since cattle are selective grazers, here they first eat the good grasses and so in time these decrease; hence they are called decreasers. Hence, these good grasses are now gradually being replaced by poorer grasses that cattle would not normally eat. These poorer grasses are called increasers and include: Aristida congesta [ seloka], Heteropogon contortus, Cymbopogon contortus and Hyparrhenia species. Therefore, in this area there is a mixture of good and poor quality grasses.

Molapowabojang, between Lobatse and Kanye, lies in a communal area which has been severely overgrazed [ as indicated by the large numbers of animals here] and hence poor quality grasses, such as Aristida congesta [ seloka], have replaced many of the good grasses. Also in some areas here even the poor grasses have been eaten up and the land is now very bare. This has led to bush encroachment – the spread of woody, invader plants that include thorn bushes such as Acacia tortilis [ mosunyane], Acacia mellifera [ mongana] and Dichrostachys cinera [ moselesele]

and, in sandy areas, Acacia hebeclada [ setshi].

In some places here all the grasses have been eaten and soil erosion has occurred. A cause of soil erosion is something that loosens the soil and makes it bare. For example, in areas of overgrazing, the hooves of the many animals may churn up and loosen the soil; also the large numbers of animals means that all the grasses will be eaten and so the land is bare. Hence overgrazing is a leading cause of soil erosion. Now when it rains, water will flow along the loose, bare ground and easily erode the soil. Hence, running water is an agent of erosion. An agent of erosion is something that removes the soil and transports it elsewhere; another agent is the wind. Signs of erosion here included plants growing on small mounds and dongas or gullies.

Around Moshupa, there is serious overstocking and overgrazing. Soil erosion has reached an advanced stage here with the development of large deep dongas several metres in depth. These dongas, when they flow with water, behave like rivers and erosion has taken place causing the dongas to become deeper and wider over time.

Overgrazing also leads to cattle that suffer from malnutrition and so have a low weight. Therefore, much to the dismay of local farmers, they will receive low prices at the BMC abattoir in Lobatse.

From our discussion, we have seen that our environment is very fragile and, if disturbed by human activities such as livestock rearing, it may not be easy to restore it to its original condition. In fact, the damage may be irreversible. Put another way, overstocking comes at a cost to the environment. And its effect on the environment will likely be aggravated in these days of

unwelcome climate change when scientists are warning us that the climate is becoming hotter and drier.