Madimbo Corridor

Madimbo Corridor
Madimbo Corridor Show map of South Africa Madimbo Corridor Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 22°20′S 30°50′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Limpopo
District	Vhembe
Municipality	Musina
Established	1969
Area [1]
• Total	45,000 ha (111,000 acres)
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)

The Madimbo Corridor, is a northern military base in the Limpopo Province that borders Zimbabwe in South Africa, and is contiguous with the Matshakatini Nature Reserve.^[2] It is controlled by the South African National Defence Force and used as a military training zone^[3] and a cordon sanitaire.^[4]

History

Pre-20th century

In the 19th century, local residents began to encounter other groups of people in Africa, mainly commercial hunters. For a time, the hunters and settlers were able to coexist through trades of ivory and skin. However, these relations began to deteriorate with the increase of sport hunting and the introduction of land policies in the late 1890s.^[5]

Colonial expansion

Beginning in 1871, colonists sold land to cattle farmers as a means to expand their control of the area.^[6]

Establishment to Present day

In 1969, The base was established after the forced removal of villages in the area.^[7] During this time, the base served under the South African Defence Force as one of the country's protective barriers from attacks in neighboring countries.^[8] Additionally, in 1992, the corridor established the Matshakatini Nature Reserve, sharing borders with the area.^[9]

Beginning in 1994, at the end of South Africa's apartheid government, actions were taken to move relocated villages back to the corridor.^{[citation needed]}

Climate

The Madimbo Corridor experiences an arid to semi-arid climate, with extended dry seasons and shorter wet periods.^[10] Its annual maximum temperatures range from 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) to 44 °C (111 °F).^[11] Its annual rainfall averages to 450 mm (18 in) per year,^[12] with maximum precipitation of 460 mm (18 in) annually.^[13]

Agriculture

The Madimbo Corridor uses a semi-arid irrigation scheme.^[14]

References

Citations

1. Whande 2007, p. 9: "The northernmost section of the municipality comprises the Madimbo corridor (or Matshakatini Nature Reserve), incorporating approximately 45 000 hectares of land."
2. Shehab, May (May 8, 2011). "Tourism-Led Development in South Africa: a case study of the Makuleke partnership with Wilderness Safaris" (PDF). University of the Witwatersrand: 114. hdl:10539/11384. OCLC 5857550503. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
3. Whande, Webster; Suich, Helen (2009). "Transfrontier Conservation Initiatives in Southern Africa: Observations from the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area" (PDF). Evolution and Innovation in Wildlife Conservation. Earthscan: 384. ISBN 978-1-84407-634-5. LCCN 2008036281. OCLC 228374313. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
4. Turner, Robin L. (April 26, 2004). "Communities, Wildlife Conservation, and Tourism-based Development: Can Community-based Nature Tourism Live Up to Its Promise?". Breslauer Symposium on Natural Resource Issues in Africa. University of California, Berkeley: 11. OCLC 1367698862. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
5. Whande 2009, pp. 79–80.
6. Whande 2009, p. 81.
7. Whande 2007, pp. 7–8: "In 1969, local villages along the Limpopo River were forcibly moved to make way for the military occupation of a strip of land in the northernmost part of South Africa."
8. Whande 2009, pp. 90: "By the 1970s, the Madimbo corridor and Pafuri triangle were cleared of people with Pafuri being incorporated into the KNP and the corridor occupied by the then South Africa Defence Force (SADF)."
9. Whande 2009, pp. 91.
10. Mavhungu et al. 2021, p. 110.
11. Mavhungu et al. 2021, p. 109: "The annual maximum temperatures in Madimbo Corridor ranged from 38.1 °C to as high as 44.0 °C."
12. Whande 2009, p. 68.
13. Mavhungu et al. 2021, p. 108: "The Madimbo Corridor could be described as an arid low rainfall area with a maximum of 460mmpa."
14. Mavhungu, T. J.; Nesamvuni, A. E.; Tshikolomo, K. A.; Mpandeli, N. S.; Van Niekerk, J. (March 9, 2022). "Productivity and profitability of sweet potato (ipomoea batatas l.), dry bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) and maize (Zea mays l.) as selected field crops in irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprises (ISAEs) in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa" (PDF). Technium Social Sciences Journal. 29: 683–699. doi:10.47577/tssj.v29i1.5932. ISSN 2668-7798. OCLC 1145548118. Retrieved December 30, 2023.

Sources

• Mavhungu, T. J.; Nesamvuni, A. E.; Tshikolomo, K. A.; Raphulu, T.; Van Niekerk, J. A.; Mpandeli, N. S.; Nesamvuni, A. E. (December 9, 2021). "Characterization of women and youth smallholder agricultural entrepreneur's in rural irrigation schemes in Vhembe district, South Africa" (PDF). South African Journal of Agricultural Extension. 49 (3): 104–122. doi:10.17159/2413-3221/2021/v49n3a12848. eISSN 2413-3221. ISSN 0301-603X. OCLC 85810704. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
• Whande, Webster (August 2007). "Trans-boundary natural resources management in southern Africa: Local historical and livelihood realities within the Great Limpopo Trans-frontier Conservation Area" (PDF). Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies. University of the Western Cape. ISBN 978-1-86808-647-4. OCLC 1073812977. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
• Whande, Webster (2009). "Framing Biodiversity Conservation Discourses in South Africa: Emerging Realities and Conflicting Agendas within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area" (PDF). University of the Western Cape. OCLC 659717270. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.