Botswana

Botswana is a completely landlocked country in the centre of Southern Africa. One of Southern Africa’s longest rivers, the Okavango, flows into the north-western part of the country, forming the UNESCO World Heritage Site Okavango Delta. Botswana shares borders with South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The country covers an area of about 582,000 sq.km² and is relatively flat, at roughly 900 metres above sea level, with gentle undulations and occasional rocky outcrops. The Kalahari Desert occupies more than 70 % of the country, with valleys and pans etched across the landscape. The eastern part of Botswana contains the highest (1,500 metres) and the lowest (500 metres) points of elevation, with hills and deep valleys, whereas the flat vast western portion of the country is semi-arid with rocky outcrops.

The wet seasons occur with significant inter-annual variation, with frequent periods of severe drought. Rainfall is erratic, ranging from 250 mm per year in the south west to over 600mm in the north east. Winters are dry with temperatures dropping to an extreme of about minus 7 degrees Celsius, more commonly though they are nearer zero, with July being the coldest month. Summer months can be very hot, but mean temperatures seldom rise above 39 degrees Celsius.

Gaborone is the capital city and is located in the south east of Botswana.  Other major towns include Francistown, Lobatse, Selebi-Phikwe and Jwaneng. There are sixteen Administrative Districts and associated Councils. The Central Government is represented in each District by the Department of District Administration, headed by a District Commissioner.

The total population size and density as per the 2011 Census are 2,024,904 and 3.5 persons per square kilometre respectively. The population is concentrated in the eastern parts of the country. These are better suited for arable production due to relatively favourable climatic and soil conditions.

Setswana is the national language, while English is the official language used in business and most Government affairs. There are also some indigenous languages which includes several ethnic groups dominated by those who are Setswana speaking, all of which are known as Batswana. Christianity is the main religion and there are a number if indigenous religions throughout the country.

The mining sector, and in particular diamond mining, is the major contributor to the export base, and government policy endeavours to reduce the vulnerability arising from the heavy dependence on diamonds.The livestock industry contributes about 80 % of agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Beef processing accounts for about 80 % of the livestock industry, and over 95 % of beef production is exported.Tourism continues to play an increasingly significant role in the diversification of the economy. Botswana’s impressive economic performance over the past four decades is mainly due to the success of its export sector.

Botswana is a multi-party democracy, with elections held every five years. The president is the Head of State.

The country’s wildlife resources are the foundation on which the tourism industry has been built. Botswana’s most famous wildlife habitat is the Okavango Delta, which covers some 16,800 km², and is a unique area of lagoons, reed-fringed waterways and islands. Other major attractions of Botswana’s pristine beauty can be found in the Kalahari Game Reserve, the Makgadikgadi Pans, the Chobe National Park, the Tuli block and the Tsodilo Hills Monument, a World Heritage Site with its collection of pre-historic art.

Botswana's International Airport: Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (airport code: GBE) is located at the capital, Gaborone. International flights include Air Botswana (to/from Harare, Johannesburg, Lusaka, Nairobi, Victoria Falls, and Windhoek), Air Zimbabwe and South African Airways. You can also take a long-distance bus from several South African towns/cities as well as to and from Zimbabwe.

Botswana Community & Conservation Initiative

In recognition of the Traditional Authorities of Northern Botswana, the Botswana Community and Conservation Initiative (BCCI) acknowledges the critical importance of incorporating traditional governance and knowledge into community-based land-use practices. This initiative recognizes that Northern Botswana's ecological viability and its communities' well-being are inextricably linked.

Monitoring and Evaluation Support Programme

1) Develop the KAZA Indicator Framework, 2) Technical assistance to the KAZA Secretariat, 3) Development of the online tool, 4) Online tool maintenance, 5) Socio-economic survey planning

Botswana Sustainable Miombo-Mopane Landscape Management Project

The project has the following three components:
Component 1- Strengthening the enabling environment for the sustainable management of the targeted Mopane/Miombo ecoregion;
Component 2 - Scaling up SLM and SFM best practices at landscape level and with a transboundary focus to benefit people and ecosystems;
Component 3 - Effective knowledge management, monitoring, and linkages with other Miombo and Mopane countries.

Support to the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area for sustainable wildlife management (ACT-KAZA)

The project promotes a model of "Community Conservancies" as a means to ensure ecological connectivity and socio-economic sustainability. The core elements of the model are maintenance of the ecological connectivity within the KAZA landscape and sustainable use of wildlife and supply of legally and sustainably harvested game meat. It is assumed that the supply of wild meat to local communities and nearby towns is currently based on illegal hunting and this is putting wildlife and habitat under severe strain. Under this project, this primary source of protein will be protected.

Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme, WildCRU

1)    Provide baseline information on lion population dynamics, ecology and behaviour to guide conservation actions and management of Hwange’s lion population, and serve as a reference point for conservation actions and management of lions elsewhere in Africa
2)    Extensive camera trap surveys to estimate lion and other large carnivore numbers using spatially-explicit capture recapture methods. 
3)    Collaring and monitoring dispersing males from resident prides in core protected areas to identify used corridors between protected areas

Combating Wildlife Crime in Namibia and Kavango Zambezi Area Project (CWCP)

The Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia and Kavango Zambezi Area Project, hereafter referred to as the CWCP (Combatting Wildlife Crime Project), seeks to counter growing threats from transnational wildlife crime to globally important populations of rhino and elephant found in northwest Namibia and project sites in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). CWCP is a multi-country, multi-partner initiative being implemented by a Consortium of 11 organizations, with WWF in Namibia providing the lead management and coordination role.

Africa's Coexistence Landscapes

The project has developed a stakeholder knowledge-driven, quantitative model of the dynamics of various sectors - agriculture, forestry, local communities, tourism, water and wildlife - in the landscape. A user-friendly interface is being developed to allow stakeholders and decision makers to interact with the model, interrogate it and test different policies.

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