District Intergrated Land Use Plan - Ngwaketse Land Board

SOUTHERN DISTRICT INTEGRATED LAND USE PLAN
3 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND ITS
COMPONENT SYSTEM OF RESOURCES
3.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
3.1.1 The physical environment is a summation of climatic subsets of rainfall, temperature, wind,
evaporation and evapotranspiration, humidity, solar radiation and physical elements namely:
topography, hydrology, hydrogeology, geology and soils.
3.1.2 The state of the physical environment is an important determinant of the distribution of fauna
and flora in the district. It determines the land use activity system and the nature of
development activities being undertaken across the district. The physical environment
provides the land for land use activities to take place, it provides a set of resources to be
exploited and conserved, natural functions to be maintained and hazards to be avoided for
sustainable utilisation of land.
3.1.3 There is a higher population density and settlement development in the eastern part of
Southern District with a significant decrease in population density and sparse settlement
development to the west. This is as a result of the hospitable physical environment which
offers good conditions for human habitation, settlement development and exploitation of
natural resources in the eastern part of the district. On the other hand, the western part of the
district is less attractive to the population and settlement due to a less favourable physical
environment.
3.1.4 Southern District has a semi-arid sub-tropical climate with summer rainfall between November
and March. There is a high spatial variation of rainfall from east to west where a higher
average rainfall is received in the eastern part of the District. As a result, the eastern part is
suitable for most development activities with the result that there are more development
pressures, competition and conflicts between land use activities in the east.
3.1.5 Rainfall received in the District does not only have a high spatial variation, it results in the
accumulation of insignificant surface water resources and has limited distribution to
groundwater recharge. Subsequently, groundwater resources become an important source of
water supply necessitating that land use planning take cognizance of the need to preserve
and protect aquifers from pollution. At the same time limited groundwater recharge has
implications for the security of groundwater resources as a source of water supply in the long
term where there is more groundwater abstraction than replenishment.
3.1.6 The district has environmentally sensitive and fragile areas that require sustainable
exploitation and protection from the harmful effects of wanton resource utilisation. In
particular, settlement development and the discharge of pollutants such as from sanitation
facilities, constitute a threat to groundwater pollution considering that the District largely
depends on on-site sanitation systems. The rugged topography in the eastern part of the
District is particularly vulnerable to water erosion and when adequate environmental
protection measures are not put in place land degradation is likely to escalate. Wanton
destruction of vegetation through human activities and overgrazing is inclined to cause
material range and land degradation.
3.1.7 The physical environment provides opportunities for development such as in the eastern part
where there is higher rainfall and fertile soils. It may however, constitute a constraint to the
use of land as in areas with hilly terrain and steep slopes, rocky ground, collapsible and
24 REPORT OF SURVEY