31 Mar 2016

An average of 256 hectares of forest were lost in Ngamiland and Chobe districts between 2001 and 2012, states a 2015 report on the Consultancy to Identify Forest Areas in Communal areas in the Central, North and North Western Botswana commissioned by Forest Conservation Botswana.

According to the report, this amounted to a total of 3 079 hectares of forest lost in both districts during the period with the highest losses occurring in 2001, 2004 and 2005 when the loss exceeded 400 hectares a year.

A press release from Forest Conservation Botswana states that the two districts recorded the highest loss compared to the Central District, which lost an average of 90 hectares per year, followed by the North East District at an average loss of 22 hectares per year.

The report indicates that veld fires, elephants, infrastructure development and clearance for dryland farming, commercial agricultural expansion, range degradation and fuel wood clearance as the major contributors to forest loss in Botswana.

It highlights that in Ngamiland, seasonal burn areas can range from 10-20 per cent of the entire district, threatening biodiversity and livelihoods, resulting in the loss of timber, veld products and wildlife.

However, elephants, fuel-wood harvesting, arable farming, overharvesting of veld products, overstocking of livestock, drought, mining and infrastructure development have also been identified as the main threats to forest cover in communal areas in the Central, Chobe and North West Botswana.

On the other hand, the report highlights that climate change is likely to put increased pressure on forest resources and exacerbate the threats from fire, elephants, fuel wood and veld product harvesting and arable land expansion for dryland farming.

It further states that the perception that the forest resources are plentiful has also led to a steady depletion of forest resource base through clearance, with the real situation of increasing scarcity and decline resulting in deteriorating poverty profiles and reduced livelihood options.

Following the completion of the conservation strategy in 2013, the release states that Forest Conservation Botswana identified the need for baseline data on forest areas in the communal areas in the North, North-Western and Central Botswana.

The report states that the study focused on the forest areas on communal land in North, North-West and Central Botswana on the basis of their species composition, structure, biodiversity and their potential for supporting livelihoods of communities living near them.

The Government Botswana in 2007 established a special fund known as the Tropical Forest Conservation Fund (TFCF) aiming at promoting activities designed to conserve, maintain and restore the forests of Botswana.

The release states that earlier in October 2006, the USA Government and Botswana signed the first TFCF agreement in Africa and the agreement culminated in the formation of a company called Forest Conservation Botswana (FCB) which is a non-profit making entity. BOPA