40% of Land Set Aside for Wildlife in Botswana

KASANE - Botswana is one of the few countries in the world that still have abundant and diverse wildlife and forest resources, says Chobes District Commissioner Gaewetse Koketso.

Koketso was officiating at a two-day workshop for stakeholders consultative eco-tourism in Kasane recently.

He said almost 40 per cent of the total land area has been set aside for conservation and sustainable utilisation of the resources in recognition of their importance.

He said before the establishment of forest reserves in the Chobe area, forest resource studies were conducted in 1934 and 1966 which resulted in discussions and recommendations regarding the best possible land use in the Chobe District.

He said during one of the discussions between the then forestry department and game department the forestry department wished to apply multiple land use (i.e. game and forestry) in the forest areas but this was rejected by the game department.

Koketso said there were also differences in policy concerning burning forests as a management tool.

He said the forestry department was in favour of early burning while the game department preferred late burning for different reasons.

The District Commissioner said this matter was eventually resolved by a decision to declare the bulk of the then Chobe Game Reserve as a national park that precluded exploitation, adding that it was followed by the declaration of Kasane Forest Reserve and later other forest reserves that allowed timber concessions.

Koketso said as a result forest reserves have come to be viewed as a source of nothing else but timber.

He said in 1991 and 1992 the Ministry of Agriculture conducted a comprehensive forest reserve inventory in all the gazetted forest areas.

He said the study evaluated different possibilities, including combining sustained forest production and environmental conservation with other forms of land use.

Koketso said the resultant management plans aimed at contributing to improve social economic conditions in the Chobe through multiple use and sustained yield management based in public participation.

He said tourism is an important employment generator that attracts revenue through the provision of diverse sources such as accommodation, transport, nature centred entertainment and financial services.

He added that Chobe District was a popular tourist destination and this was so because of the abundance of fauna and flora, which are not common in other countries.

The objectives of the workshop, among others, were to examine ways and means of enhancing participation of the local community, tour operators, and other stakeholders in promoting sustainability of forest practices in forest reserves.

The other aim was to promote collaboration between the government and stakeholders so as to ensure sound administration and development of eco-tourism in the forest reserve.