Botswana: From Overgrazing to Extinction

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Botswana From Overgrazing to Extinction

• Katy McCarthy
• Jessie Williamson
• Kerstin Holster
• Holly Drennen

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Historian

• Compiled By Katy McCarthy

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Environmental issues

• Cattle Overgrazing
• -Deforestation
• -Desertification
• -Erosion of land
• Drought
• Diamond/Mineral Mining gt air pollution
• Water Pollution

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Take Action! What can be done?

• Educate!
• Government Reinforcement
• Removal of Fences
• Water Irrigation
• Sustainable Farming
• Monitor and limit Mining Industry

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Environmentally SpeakingUS vs. Botswana

• U.S
• Enviro. Agreements
• NEPA
• More funding
• gt new technology
• educated
• Contributes more pollution

• Botswana
• less agreements
• NCSA
• Policies
• -wildlife, -agricultural, -forestry
• Wildlife parks biodiversity
• Less funds, poorer
• Less education

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Humans more or less hospitable to environment?

• Clean up Day
• Government reinforcement
• More Policies
• More education of things like overgrazing

• Trash
• Pollution
• Adaptation to littering
• Human excrement pollution
• Increase in overgrazing
• Increase animal endangerment

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Endangered Species

• Black Rhino
• African Wild Dog
• African Elephant
• African Mountain Zebra
• Cheetah

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And the effect on the food web

• Wild dog cheetah carnivores predators
• No predators spike of primary consumers
• Gazelle, zebras
• Too many primary consumers overgrazing
• Overgrazing desertification
• Or, without the Primary consumers, secondary
  consumers die out.

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Changes in the Ecosystem

• Climate
• Human activity
• Introduction of nonnative species
• Changes in population size.

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Environmental and Human Sustainability Counselor

• Compiled By Jessie Williamson

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Human Dynamics

• Republic
• Nationality Batswana/Motswana
• Tswana 79, Kalanga 11, Basarwa 3, other and
  white 7
• Death rate/birth rate
• Christianity and Bodimo

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Environmental Policies in Botswana

• National Conservation Strategy
• Wildlife Policy
• Tourism Policy

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Environmental Solutions

• Kyoto Protocol
• The Endangered Species Act
• Solar Energy

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Organization Promoting Environmental
Sustainability

• Earth Pledge
• EnviroLink
• Blue Ventures
• EcoTeach
• Earth Day Network

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Ecological Effects of Biodiversity Reduction

• Population as a leading factor
• Population growth habitat destruction
• Human pollution
• Global warming, rising temperatures

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Botswanas Biodiversity

• Railway system rapid population growth
• Strained ecosystems in Eastern Botswana
• Effects of cattle fences

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Environmental Stances of Neighboring countries

• Namibia
• Hydroelectric dam at Popa falls
• Hererocattle breeding people
• South Africa
• Large environmental organization challenged
  South African government
• The end of leaded gasoline
• Zimbabwe
• Electric fences to keep out Zimbabweans

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Environmental Problems

• Biodiversity Reduction due to population growth
• Fossil Fuels

Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air

• Environmental Degradation

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Environmental Scientist
Compiled by Kerstin Holster
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Biomes in Botswana

• Grassland
• Savannah
• Desert

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Botswanas Environmental Issues

• Deforestation
• Urbanization
• Rapid population growth
• Air pollution
• Farming
• Over-use of renewable resources
• Biodiversity

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Solving Environmental Problems

• STOP using Non-natural resources
• Animals that are affected

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Environmental Concerns, and the Problems They
Cause

• Farming
• Cars/fossil fuels
• To many consumers
• Not enough producers

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Environmental Economist/Geography Specialist
Compiled by Holly Drennen
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Economic History

• Diamond mining
• Decline in cattle ranching industry

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Debt and Deficit

• Debt
• Growth

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Environment and its Role in Economics

• Droughts
• Farming
• Irrigation
• Livestock

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Environmental Expenditures

• Money

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Educational and Military Funding

• Educational
• Military

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Geography

• Land
• Climate

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Energy Pyramid
Top Level Consumers
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
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What are we going to do to fix the problem?
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Botswanas Solution

• As part of our solution, we propose the removal
  of areas of unused cattle fences.
• As it is, the fences contribute to
• Disruption in wildlife migration
• Extinction
• Unnecessary stressing of animals
• Increased human-wildlife conflict
• Habitat destruction

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Solution (Contd.)

• In addition to the removal of fences we would
  also like to see progress in
• Limiting each herdsman to ten cattle. If this
  happened, we believe this would drastically
  reduce the amount of overgrazing, as well as
  support the removal of fences.
• Any Batswana herdsman who wanted more than ten
  cattle, could pay a special tax enforced by the
  government, enabling him to exceed this amount.

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Eco-chain
Cattle deplete and/or trample vegetation
(producers)
Primary Consumers move, die.
Secondary consumers gt deplete in number without
prey (primary consumers)
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Solution (contd.)
By decreasing cattle production, Botswana would
be losing money from one of its central areas of
profit. Because of this, we ask for

• An increase in the countrys irrigation system
• A more intensive tourism program

45 of profits would be used to create jobs and
fund the new irrigation system
15 of profits would go towards farmers who
remove their unused fences
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Solution (Contd.)

• In regards to the environment, we would like to
  see
• Stricter laws on diamond mining

Any land used for mining would be taxed
This would contribute to and be funded by money
used for environmental conservation