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Noel Oettlé and Siyabonga Myeza recently wrote a handbook for managing soil and water in a sustainable way: “A Practical Manual for the Conservation of Soil and Water” is now available on line, you can download it for free here. S&W Conservation Manual We have written this book to provide a simple and accessible guide to caring for the soil and the myriad plants and organisms that live in and depend on it.

Much of the practical experience that this book is based on is drawn from our work in the Suid Bokkeveld and on the Avontuur Nature Reserve in the North Bokkeveld, in the Nieuwoudtville area in the Northern Cape South Africa. It has also been enriched by previous experiences in Lesotho and KwaZulu Natal, and fertilised by the other practitioners who have contributed their experiences to the WOCAT (Wold Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) and to Ken Coetzee, whose advice and guidance in relation to the rehabilitation of degraded lands on Avontuur has provided invaluable.

In this book you will find easy to understand diagrams and links to other related resources.

A knowledge sharing short film on soil rehabilitation in the Bokkeveld, Northern Cape, South Africa. Through practical experimentation over the past six years on the Avontuur conservation property innovative methods of soil and water conservation have been developed with the support of UNDP’s GEF Small Grants Programme. The Hesselmans, a small-scale farming family were inspired by this work and decided to apply what they had learned on their land to improve their livelihoods. Film available on this link Healing the Land

EMG’s work with small-scale rooibos farmers in the Northern Cape has been highlighted in a chapter of a new book “Living Land” co-published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Tudor Rose for the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (2010-2020).

Vulnerability to land degradation on a global scale is driven by a combination of a changing climate and patterns of land use. Addressing climate change requires co-operation at a global scale. Ensuring appropriate land use requires local action.

According to the UNCCD, the new book is a powerful outreach tool for sensitizing the public about land degradation problems and the mobilizing efforts that are taking place around the world.

You can access the digital version of “Living Land” via this link to the publisher’s website

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