PLAAS participated in a multi-disciplinary research project, in close collaboration with the National Botanical Institute (NBI). The project analysed the dynamic relationships between rangeland state and rural livelihoods and identified policy options and interventions that will optimise the welfare of range communities while maintaining rangeland productivity and ecological integrity. Research was carried out by multidisciplinary teams from both Southern African and European universities in field sites in Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa, over a three-year period. The South African field research was carried out in Paulshoek village in the Leliefontein area of Namaqualand, where the research was co-ordinated by the NBI. This project was funded by the European Union and completed in 2001. Occasional paper no. 17