04 Jul 2023

Land restoration has been identified as a key intervention to reverse degradation of land habitats and restore ecosystem health.

Professor Joyce Lepetu of the Botswana office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) made the observation during a national land restoration strategy stakeholder consultation workshop held in Letlhakane recently.

Professor Lepetu explained that the objective of land restoration was to initiate and accelerate recovery of land. She stated that increasing pressure on resources resulted in rapid depletion and scarcity of wood products around large settlements.
Professor Lepetu said the reasons behind natural resource depletion and biodiversity loss included growth in population, land needs, overharvesting of natural resources and climate change. As part of the process of land restoration, she said, forest and landscape restoration opportunity assessments would be conducted, as well as identification of specific priority areas at national or sub-national level.

Another FAO official, Mr Lesika Basulumi observed that land degradation had increased in severity and extent in many parts of Botswana, impacting on the livelihoods of many people through decreased food production, prolonged droughts, biodiversity loss, and a decline in the quantity and quality of forest and range resources, as well as fresh water. Among the drivers of land degradation, Mr Basulumi identified unsustainable grazing, cultivation, fuel-wood harvest, and uncontrolled wild fires.

He stated that since climate change was likely to worsen land degradation, it was imperative for countries to devise mitigation and adaptation measures, pointing out that the government of Botswana had joined the global community in the effort to address land degradation.
One of the workshop’s attendants, Kgosi Barontshi Kegapetswe suggested that in light of the emerging challenges, Batswana should consider a different way of burying the dead and also proposed that old graveyards which were no longer in use should be considered for land restoration.

A former councillor for Mokubilo/Mmeya, Mr Jackson Chebani proposed a declaration of forest reserves and public education to address overexploitation of some threatened tree species such as morukuru.
Other participants suggested planting of indigenous grass and tree species to reclaim degraded land in the pans in areas like Mmatshumo, Mmeya, Mopipi and Kedia as a move to control strong winds and floods. Participants also suggested the culling of elephants and stockpiling of tusks for future sales to address overpopulation of elephants in Khumaga area. Ends