Richtersveld
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How it came to be
The Richtersveld is about 160,000 ha of mountainous desert in the Northern Cape, in north-western South Africa. Summer temperatures can reach about 53 °C and water is scarce, so life depends on moisture from the early morning fog.
The land is owned and managed in common by the Nama, who move with their livestock between grazing grounds through the seasons. This way of life was once widespread in southern Africa and, according to UNESCO, may have lasted for up to two millennia. The Nama here are now the only people who still build haru om, portable houses roofed with rush mats. They gather medicinal plants and keep oral traditions tied to particular places in the landscape.
Nama grazing has protected the succulent Karoo vegetation. Unlike the neighbouring national park, the community conservancy is not mined for diamonds. Its declaration as a heritage area was completed in early 2007, and it was inscribed in June of that year.
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