AGRICULTURE, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT IN BOTSWANA: A PROBLEM OF POLICY

In many countries, an increasing amount of attention is being paid to the economic and environmental repercussions of mineral resources development, and in particular to the problems of industrialisation of an agricultural society. In Botswana, the discovery of and planning for the development of nickel deposits is an important element of national policy. However, often overlooked is the basic and continuing role that has to be provided by the agricultural sector. The pressure of people and of livestock on the land, and the extension of cultivation into increasingly fragile environments where the availability of water is a critical constraint, pose serious problems for policy makers. The author examines the dilemma in a case study of Botswana, showing how changes in the agricultural sector have precipitated problems of water supply and of environmental stress. The need for inter-disciplinary approaches to policy making is underscored, together with detailed and integrated studies of the dimensions of these inter-related problems. The problem of the availability of water in adequate quantities and of appropriate quality has become a serious policy concern. Later this year the United Nations Conference on Desertification will address the broad scope of the relationships between man, land and water. This article examines one example of these changing relationships.