Boteti, Botswana

Contact the Boteti study site team

2010-11-25T12:24:49Z

Institute full name:	University of Botswana
Institute acronym:	UB
Institute profile:	Located in Botswana’s seat of Government, Gaborone, the University of Botswana was established in 1982 by an Act of Parliament. It is presently the only public university in the country, although a second one will be opening soon some 300km north of Gaborone. The University is closely involved in the development process of Botswana through human resource development, basic and applied research and consultancies. The principal UB partner Department for DESIRE is the Department of Environmental Science, but the team includes collaborating researchers from the Okavango Research Institute and the Botswana College of Agriculture. The Department of Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary Department with experts in both the human and physical environment areas. The Department has been involved in two previous 3-year EU-funded research projects on subsistence livelihoods and policy options for the sustainable development of communal rangelands and communities in Southern Africa.
Website	www.ub.bw
Address	University of Botswana Corner of Mobutu & Notwane Roads Private Bag 0022 Gaborone Botswana
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Involved personnel

Name	Contact details	Key qualifications	Photo
Prof. Dr. Raban Chanda	Tel: +267 3552526 E-mail: chandar@mopipi.ub.bw Fax: +267 3552908	Sustainable rural livelihoods, poverty alleviation and local perspectives on environmental change analyst. UB DESIRE Coordinator
Prof. Dr. Michael B.K. Darkoh	Tel: +267 3554131 E-mail: darkohmb@mopipi.ub.bw	Rangeland degradation/desertification, agriculture and biodiversity specialist.
Dr. Jeremy Perkins	Tel: +267 3554131 E-mail: perkinsjs@moipi.ub.bw	Range ecologist and biosphere analyst	pending
Dr. Julius R. Atlhopheng	Tel: +267 3554131 E-mail: atlhope@mopipi.ub.bw	Geomorphologist and geochemistry expert
Dr. Lapo Magole	Tel: +267 6861833 E-mail: lmagole@orc.ub.bw	Environmental management policy and water resource management specialist (based at Okavango Research Institute)
Dr. Kutlwano Mulale	Tel: +267 3552540 E-mail: mulalek@mopipi.ub.bw	Community-based resource management specialist
Mr. Reuben Sebego	Tel: +267 3552518 E-mail: sebegorj@mopipi.ub.bw	Vegetation ecology, remote sensing and GIS expert
Dr. Wanda Mphinyane	Tel: +267 3552514 E-mail: mphinyanew@mopipi.ub.bw	Range ecologist
Mr. Lawrence Akanyang	Tel: +267 71772041 Email: lakanyan@bca.bw	Vegetation ecologist, remote sensing & GIS, fuelwood biomass analyst (based at the Botswana College of Agriculture)

Study site location & description

2008-01-15T15:06:49Z

The Boteti study site is located south-east of the city of Maun in central Botswana.

{mosgmap mapid=26|height=350px|zoomtype=small|showmaptype=true}

This site was the focus of Botswana's 1993 case study for the Intergovernmental Convention to Combat Desertification (INCD). It was picked then because it was one of the areas identified as desertification hotspots in the country and was also identified on the GLASNOD map as an area of extreme human induced wind erosion (Gov. of Botswana, 1994). The Boteti area has consequently been one of the foci of efforts to combat desertification and, between 2002 and 2007, was one of the sites for the Indigenous Vegetation Project (IVP), a five-year Botswana Government-GEF-funded pilot project for "community-driven rehabilitation of degraded rangelands" which could be replicated "throughout the arid zones of Africa" (IVP flyer). DESIRE was to build on these previous efforts, which were all in line with the recently adopted National Action Programme to Combat Desertification.

More details ... read the full study site description and an overview of all sites
	Read the full study site description
»Comparative overview of all study sites

Stakeholders and their sustainability goals

2011-11-08T14:07:53Z

The area and people
Land uses around mining area and nature reserve. People have lost lands to these uses.

Added value of DESIRE for stakeholders

Documentation of current practices
New technologies to explore
Exchange between professionals and farmers
With the project and building on previous projects
DESIRE project can help people to prepare and get ready for future central government planning who will come and ask what to implement for the next year
DESIRE empowers people through self-discovery and contribute to the planning; what and how to address

There is a high willingness to participate and community leaders were very supportive.

Study site stakeholder workshops

Community leaders of about 5000 people in villages
GBOs and NGOs

Limitations for spontaneous implementation of soil and water conservation practices

Lack of knowledge transfer on new technologies
Investment costs too high
Lack of access to credit
Perception of stakeholders

Stakeholder groups

The Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS - an environmental NGO),
The Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (implementers of the UNCCD)
The Ministry of Local Government (charged with local development)
The Ministry of Lands & Housing (charged with land administration)
Extension staff for agriculture
Extension staff for wildlife
The Sub-Land Board in Boteti
The Boteti Sub-District Council
Tribal Administration (the Chiefs and Kgotla – tribal assembly)
CBOs (e.g. Village Development Committees and the Mokopi Conservation Trust in Mopipi)
Community members (land users)

Sustainability goals

The Boteti area is confronted by problems that pose a challenge to the attainment of the three sustainable development goals of ecological (environmental) integrity, economic (livelihood) efficiency and social equity. Several indicators support this claim. Thus, sustainability goals for the Boteti relate to securing livelihoods and environmental protection aligned to poverty alleviation. In this regard, through WOCAT workshops, land users identified several interventions that had potential to meet sustainability goals in their area. These were game ranching, water harvesting, biogas production and utilization and solar power utilization. This report discusses the opportunities (and constraints) associated with these interventions, partly as revealed by WOCAT workshops (e.g. Boteti Stakeholder Report No. 2).

Goal 1	Securing livelihoods
Goal 2	Environmental protection
Goal 3	Poverty alleviation

Source: Stakeholder workshops.

More details ...

A more detailed analysis for this study site.

Botswana - Stakeholder analysis and sustainability goals (Annex) [566 kB]

»Stakeholders & their sustainability goals - overview

Drivers, policies and laws

2011-11-08T14:14:36Z

The reasons for desertification and land degradation occurring can be environmental (for example due to the climate or soil conditions), economic, due to the actions of people or, most often, due to a combination of factors. The resulting degradation may be temporary or permanent.

To help understand this complex picture it can be helpful to think in terms the dominant socio-economic and environmental forces that are driving the process of land degradation. These place pressures on the land which have particular impacts. Human society may have already made responses to those impacts, or may have knowledge about how they could respond. Decisions about which responses to make may also be governed by a range of international, national or local policy regulations and agreements.

In the Boteti study site, the same stakeholder workshop and questionnaires that were used to identify existing and potential response strategies (»Identifying strategies: Stakeholder workshop 1) also discussed and identified these driving forces; pressures; impacts; and the policy and regulation environment. This information was then used to inform the choice of »Field experiments, the scenarios used in »Simulated biophysical impact of remediation strategies and their financial viability, and context for the study site-specific »Policy brief recommendations.

Select main driver

Socio-economic drivers
Environmental drivers
Pressures
Impacts
Responses
Policies

More details ...

»Drivers and policy context for all study sites

Interviews with local residents

2009-11-04T14:03:42Z


Bashingi Boingotlo	Bantshelele C. Basaleng	Sidney Botlhokobotsile	Letebele Motlogelwa	Dorine G. Tobela	Mothoemang Sebetwane

Local residents of the villages of Rakops, Mopipi and Mokoboxane talk about the environmental problems they are currently facing and their hopes for how the DESIRE project will help them.

NB If you cannot see the video above this caption, make sure you have downloaded the latest version of Adobe Flash Player

Gender-related issues

2011-03-03T14:19:15Z

More details ... download the poster
	Gender-related issues: Boteti [51 kB]

Land degradation and conservation maps

2009-06-08T13:01:07Z

The WOCAT tool for mapping land degradation and sustainable land management has been used in the Boteti study site. Using the tool, an interdisciplinary team of specialists has recorded observations of land degradation, sustainable land management and recommendations for further prevention or mitigation on a land use base map.

Select map type

Comments

Map version: 4Oct11

More details ...

»Assessment and mapping methodology; summary results from all study sites

Evaluating the desertification risk assessment tool with local experimental results

2013-09-30T12:13:38Z

Author: Victor Jetten

Introduction
The Boteti study area has overgrazing as the degradation challenge. The extent of overgrazing in pastures, woodland and settlements is fragile to critical. Firewood collection adds to the range degradation, thus alternative energy in the form of biogas has been proposed by the stakeholders. Firewood is the main source of energy, not only in common households but also in schools and communal centers. Since cattle is one of the main sources of income, biogass might be a valuable alternative. The generated gas is expected to reduce heavy firewood use and even promote socio-economic activities which will reduce poverty – perceived to be one of the main drivers of land degradation other than droughts.

Desertification indices
The desertification risk analyzed here is overgrazing. Using the parameters for a flat poorly vegetated area with deep soil, the overgrazing risk is considered very high (4.76). The two main factors here are however to do with farm size. Since there are no farms but communal grazing areas the selected variables are larger than 100 ha and low fragmentation 1-4. If these variables are not included the overgrazing drops respectively to low (2.41). Biogas cannot be done directly. The only thing that can be assumed is that the cover increases, but this has little influence.

Conclusion
The communal razing cannot be correctly identified in Botswana, overgrazing is classified as high risk but for the wrong apparent reasons (farm size), which overrule other changes in the desertification risk assessment tool (vegetation related).

More details ... general conclusions and results from other study sites

»Evaluating the Desertification Risk Assessment Tool with experimental results

Identifying strategies: Stakeholder Workshop 1

2008-10-31T13:46:36Z

A report on the results of the first DESIRE stakeholder workshop on "Land degradation and desertification - existing and potential prevention and mitigation strategies" held in Mopipi, Botswana, 25-28 February 2008.

Authors: Dr. L. Magole, Dr. J. R. Atlhopheng, Prof. Chanda

Main degradation issues or problems in the area

Water shortage
Drought (prolonged periods of low rainfall)
Poverty
High livestock mortality
Loss of vegetation cover

List of Currently Applied Strategies

List of Potential Strategies

1. Water harvesting
2. Water mining (boreholes)
3. Dam building
4. Harvest storage
5. Government drought relief programmes
6. Relocating
7. Supplementary feeding for livestock
8. Engage in crafts making and other informal
activities
9. Rely on Government aid
10. Depend on veld fruits
11. Plough anyway

1.Build more dams to capture rain water
2.Recycle water
3.Conserve water
4.Use recycled water for irrigation
5.Learn and apply new water efficient irrigation
strategies
6.Build community harvest storage facilities
7.Diversify into wildlife farming
8.Set and adhere to appropriate stocking rates
9.Diversify into commercial farming
10.Build e to appropriate stocking rates
11.Rear livestock breeds which are drought
resistant
12.Involve all stakeholders in policy development
and implementation
13.Use biogas

Overall Strategy	Top Five Strategies
Poverty alleviation	1. Use of biogas as energy source 2. Diversify into wildlife farming 3. Irrigation 4. Commercial farming 5. Intensify dam building

Conclusions: Strengths and Weaknesses

Community willingness to participate in the project activities
Local leadership support for the project initiative
High participation and interest of literate youth
An appreciable level of awareness regarding livelihood related environmental conservation issues in the area
Low capacity to implement remediation strategies
Non participation of Government extension officers in the workshop

More details ... download the full report and poster and see results and general conclusions from other study sites
	English: WP3.1 Stakeholder Workshop 1: Botswana (report) (1.35 MB) Setswana: WP3.1 Stakeholder Workshop 1: Botswana (programme)_BW (402.33 kB) Setswana: WP3.1 Stakeholder Workshop 1: Botswana (report)_BW (563.69 kB)
	English: WP3.1 Stakeholder Workshop 1: Botswana (results poster) (448.05 kB)
»Identifying strategies: Stakeholder Workshop 1 methodology and summary results from all study sites

Evaluating strategies: technologies and approaches documented

2011-02-22T14:02:37Z

Stakeholder Workshop 1 identified a number of existing or potential strategies to combat desertification and land degradation in the Boteti study site. In the months following the workshop these strategies (technologies or approaches) were documented and evaluated in a structured and standardised way and their descriptions were entered in the WOCAT Technologies and Approaches databases in order to share the information with other DESIRE sites as well as globally.

For details of all Technologies and Approaches documented in the WOCAT Database (from the DESIRE study sites and from other sites worldwide), see

For those relating to this study site, click on the Name of technology or Name of approach to go directly to the descriptions in the database.

WOCAT Technologies Database

Country	Code	Name of technology	Author
Botswana	BOT04	»Roof rainwater harvesting system »Récolte d’eau pluviale en toiture	Atlhopheng Julius, University of Botswana
Botswana	BOT05	»Biogas	Sebego Reuben, University of Botswana
Botswana	BOT06	»Solar cooker	Mulale Kutlwano, University of Botswana
Botswana	BOT07	»Game ranching	Mphinyane Wanda N, University of Botswana