24 Jun 2018

The deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Ms Goitseone Madikwe says desertification has a negative impact on communities and may lead to wide spread poverty, hunger and migration of the population.

Ms Madikwe said this during the official opening of the world day to combat desertification which was commemorated under the Slogan; ‘Land has true value invest in it', in Ntlhantlhe recently.

She said the fact that Botswana was affected by land degradation called for the implementation of the provisions of the convention to combat desertification.

Ms Madikwe noted that the impact on grazing lands and forest resources caused by the expansion of livestock and wildlife herds and exacerbated by the continual occurrence of droughts, were significant rural development planning issues.

She also stated that they were aware of the challenges associated with efforts to combat desertification in the country especially in areas where desertification was severe.

She said rural communities who depended largely on farming, cultivation, hunting wildlife and the collection of Veld products had little to fall back on and are the hardest hit, adding that they are compelled to further increase resource pressure to support a decent standard of living, and thus accelerate desertification and poverty.

Moreover, Ms Madikwe said efforts to sensitise stakeholders and the public on land degradation and desertification continue through government supported initiatives under various programmes.

Ms Madikwe said Botswana took an initiative to develop appropriate policies to guide her to better manage natural resources, upon realising the magnitude of the problem of unsustainable exploitation of natural resources that lead to land degradation.

Kgosi Malepa Orekeng urged the public to plant trees because they were of great significance in the prevention of desertification.

Mr Orekeng said the fact that their village was on a steep slope therefore badly affected by soil erosion particularly during rainy season required for tree planting.

He also said that government should consider engaging dikgosi on forest conservation workshops so that they may in turn encourage their subjects to do the same. ENDS