The Effect of Land Restitution on Poverty Reduction among the Khomani San “Bushmen” in South Africa

This paper looks at the impact of land restitution involving the Khomani San “bushmen” in the Kgalagadi area of South Africa. It seeks to investigate the effect of land restitution on poverty reduction among the beneficiaries. We run two‐stage least squares models of access to nature, per capita income and poverty status on the use of restituted land, among other variables. Our results suggest that the Khomani San beneficiaries have gotten more access to natural resources but that the use of restituted land has neither increased per capita income nor reduced poverty. In fact, the use of restituted land has contributed to increased poverty. Therefore, land restitution should become part of a broader, carefully crafted rural developmental strategy for it to be effective in reducing poverty. Otherwise, land restitution risks enabling indigenous communities to continue with their “traditional” way of life, and in fact thereby keep them poor.