A direct result of phase one is the project
management activity chart with core responsibilities. These responsibilities
will dictate the initial members of the project team.
Clear leadership must be established and usually
this function will be the responsibility of the owner, albeit only in the
future, the Local council.
The functioning of this project team is vital to the
successful establishment of a sustainable commonage product. This project team is, in fact, a dynamic body
that changes with time.
In the initial stages it is a project management
body responsible for the planning and implementing of the project. With time
the responsibility shifts to the user groups and their commitment through contracts
to assume responsibility of day to day management of the commonage. The project
team is then transformed into the management committee.
To assist the owners (TLC) it is suggested that
within the framework of the new Municipal Systems Bill and Municipal Structures
Act that the new District Municipalities become centers for information needed
for the management and running of commonages within their areas. The type of
information has been summarised as:
•
Resource
information (both economic and physical data such as; farm inputs and outputs,
climatic, soil, physiographic and hydrological characteristics. Sources are
on-farm surveys, banks, co-ops, local knowledge, research institutions, DoA,
DWAF, etc);
•
Land
use information - crop and animal production systems of an area. The source is
usually the DoA, research institutions, or local farm owners;
•
Title
deeds and cadastral maps – DLA;
•
Remote
sensing imagery (such as Arial photography, orthophotos, satellite imagery -
DLA and/or DoA);
•
Mosaics,
topographic and topocadastral maps (Topographic Services, DLA);
•
Irrigation
and water - potentials and limitations for the area (DWAF);
•
Biodiversity
(flora and fauna, specie composition (DoA, DWAF, research institutions);
•
Protected
areas - such as National Parks, Forest Reserves, Game Reserves etc., (National
and Provincial Parks Board, research institutions, etc);
•
Market
trends in the area;
•
Infrastructure;
and
•
Other
relevant information.
The
use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to capture the spatial dimension
as well as the attributes of its components is most appropriate for this
purpose. At least an easy reference system of where to get such information
will be required.