| Botswana | ||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Landlocked plateau in the middle of southern Africa, bordered by South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||
| National websites | The Official Botswana Website | |||||||||||||||
| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | Embassy
of the Republic of Botswana
3400 International Drive, NW Suite 7M Washington, DC 20008 Telephone: (202) 244-4990/1 |
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| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | Ministry
of Agriculture
P/Bag 003 Gaborone Telephone: (267) 350-603 Also see Ministry of Minerals, Energy, and Water Affairs |
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| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Article on NGOs influence in Botswana | |||||||||||||||
| Major Natural Resources | Botswana is mostly dry savannah with grasslands and thornbushes and semi-desert, with some true deserts. The forests in the northwest include acacia, bloodwood, and rhodesian teak trees. Because of such dry conditions, the majority of Botswana's land is unsuitable for crop production though 80 percent of the population must depend on agriculture. Land is mainly used for pastoralism with wealth being measured traditionally in cattle onwership. Diamonds are also a major resource for Botswana, which ranked third in world value in the early 1990s. Diamonds contribute about 67% of the total export value and make up half of the government's income. Copper and nickel are also important resources, with the copper and nickel mining industry located on Selebi-Phikwe. Salt and soda ash can be found at Sua Pan, Makgadikgadi in the northeast. In addition, the country has large coal reserves, estimated at 17,000m tons. | |||||||||||||||
| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Some of Botswana's major environmental issues include overgrazing, caused by the expansion of the cattle production, desertification, and a limited amount of freshwater resources. From 1996 to 1997, there was controversy over the removal of human settlements from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (52,000 sq km). The area has been traditionally the home to the Basarwa, one of the largest remaining communities of the San hunter-gatherers. The government wants to move the Basarwa so as to encourage the people to adopt alternative means of living (such as pastoral activity) in lieu of hunting. The government also plans to implement anti-poaching measures to protect wildlife and cattle. Also, in June 1997, CITES allowed Botswana (along with Namibia and Zimbabwe) to resume ivory sales, after a ban of eight years. Out of Botswana's 30 ton stockpile, 25.3 tons will be sold to Japan. International wildlife advocates contend that such sales will spark an illegal ivory trade. However, Botswana has an elephant population of 80,000 and would like to reduce that number to 50,000. The government believes that 50,000 is a prime number to balance elephant sustainability with the protection of vegetation and other kinds of wildlife. In addition, Botswana has fenced the Caprivi Strip in order to prevent the spread of cattle disease and control buffalo and elephant migration. However, there is growing concern that these fences are preventing animal migrations to water holes, causing animals to die of thirst near the fenced areas. | |||||||||||||||
| Statistics | Information Sources | |||||||||||||||
| Land area | 585,370 sq km | CIA World Factbook | ||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | 14,262 ha (1990) | WRI: World Resources Institute | ||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | 15,000 sq km | WRI: World Resources Institute | ||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | None, landlocked | CIA World Factbook | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 1,448,454 (July 1998 est.) | CIA World Factbook | ||||||||||||||
| Population Density | 2.5 persons per sq km | |||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels | 10,663,000 ha | WRI: World Resources Institute | ||||||||||||||
| Fraction of land area protected (%) | 18.3% | WRI: World Resources Institute | ||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas |
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| Endemic Species |
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| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | ||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | ||||||||||||||
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Appendix I |
CITES-listed Species Database | |||||||||||||||
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Appendix II |
CITES-listed Species Database | |||||||||||||||
| Legislation | ||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | Botswana has laws protecting its endangered and threatened species, but they generally pertain only to vertebrates (except fish). | |||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | One of the aims of the National Policy on Tribal Grazing Land and Land Use Planning Projects is to prevent overgrazing and degradation of the ranges. | |||||||||||||||
| Signatory to CITES | Ratified, 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | Ratified, 1997 | |||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | Ratified, 1995 | |||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | No | |||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | No | |||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, Desertification, Nuclear Test Ban, and Ozone Layer Protection | |||||||||||||||
| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | |||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | From 1991 to 1993, the average annual freshwater catch was 1,900 metric tons, a 41 percent change from the period 1981 to 1983. From 1990 to 1992, the total per capita annual food supply from fish and seafood 4.2 kilograms, a 21.2 percent change since the period 1980 to 1982. |
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| Forestry / deforestation | From 1980 to 1990, natural forest deforestation occurred at a rate of 77 ha per year. The average roundwood production for 1993 was 1,492,000 cubic meters, with 90.5 percent used as fuel and charcoal. |
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| Ecotourism | Tourism has a big role in Botswana's economy. 17% of its land is protected national parks and attracts tourists with the diversity of its wildlife and habitats. Game sport and bird watching are two big tourist activities and wildlife and rock paintings are also major attractions. |
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| Trade in wildlife products | CITES has allowed Botswana to resume the ivory trade in order to sell its ivory tusk stockpiles. Most of the trae will be conducted with Japan. |
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| Hunting | Hunting is a big tourist activity with several parks and game reserves. In the Kalahari, hunting is restricted to game ranches due to a government moratorium. Hunting in the Okavango Delta can be done only by vehicle or canoe. |
The Fight for Survival: Four Decades of Conserving Africa’s Rhinos |
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| Other uses of natural resources | Botswana's main industries are in mining, meat processing, sorghum, maize, pulses, and millet. |
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| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | |||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | The major sources of air pollution in Botswana are the Selibe Phikwe mining town and motor vehicles. Copper-nickel smelters release sulphur dioxide into the air, forming sulphuric acid when combined with rainwater. This acid kills vegetation. The high density of motor vehicles also emits unclean air into the major towns, causing acute respiratory infections like TB and bronchitis. | Environmental
Education Policy and Planning in Botswana: The basis for
environmental quality and sustainable development. |
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| Water pollution | Groundwater sources in Botswana, particularly in southeastern Botswana or areas with high population densities, are threatened by pollution. An analysis done on samples taken from 2,000 boreholes found the nitrate levels higher than the recommended government levels. |
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| Development activities | There are several development programs in the works. The Arable Land Development Program aims to increase food production, improve incomes of farmers, and create jobs to reduce the rural-urban migrations. The National Settlement Policy aims to improve the water supply and create schools. The Communal First Development Area Rural Development Strategy is a move towards intergrating rural development. Sanitation programs and programs to examine the water, the effects of toxic substances, and the effects of agricultural and industrial chemicals are being planned as well. | Environmental
Education Policy and Planning in Botswana: The basis for
environmental quality and sustainable development. |
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| Introduced species | Some of the introduced species are fish, introduced either for weed conrol or for sport/angling. There are three fishes listed and there are either no ecological or socioeconomic effects or they are unknown. |
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| Legislation addressing these issues | (1)
The Agricultural Resource Conservation Act
(2) The Atmospheric Pollution (Prevention) Act (3) Borehole Act (4) Public Health Act (5) Mines and Minerals Act |
Environmental
Education Policy and Planning in Botswana: The basis for
environmental quality and sustainable development. |
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| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | |||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | Botswana is trying to develop wetland policies in order to conserve their wetlands. They recently joined the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. |
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| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | Organizations like Conservation International are focusing on the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta and major habitat. CI is working withh the Botswana government to preserve and protect the biological diversity of the delta through policy development. |
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Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by (Katherine Jane Verano as part of a class project in H90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA