Ephemeral River Basins project news

HOORC's Library has received the latest issue of the Ephemeral Rivers Basins Newsletter, with stories about the use of reeds in the Fish River, award of Botswana's National Vision 2016 prize to a resident of the Boteti River basin, and development of an integrated water resources plan for Namibia. The newsletter also has lists of upcoming events for the ERB Project's final year. You can find the newsletter in HOORC's Library.

HOORC seminars: palm conservation and stakeholder communication

Hyphaene petersiana

Two presentations were made by HOORC staff in the HOORC seminar series this past week: Impacts of palm wine tapping on Hyphaene petersiana population in Shorobe by Bongani Sethebe and Relative effects of visualized and verbal presentation methods in communicating environmental information among stakeholders: Okavango Delta, Botswana by Olekae Thakadu. Mr Sethebe, Herbarium Assistant, is proposing to look at the offtake from palm trees due to wine tapping and to explore sustainable methods for harvesting the trees, which are also used for basket making in the Ngamiland area.

Mr Thakadu, a Research Scholar in the area of environmental communication and education, is exploring communication and information diffusion processes among community stakeholders in the Okavango Delta. Guided by communication theoretical frameworks and processes, his research is assessing effective communication approaches and factors necessary to promote environmental knowledge sharing behaviors among Okavango Delta stakeholders.

Biokavango-Grass Identification Course

Last week, the HOORC Herbarium, funded by BIOKAVANGO, hosted a grass identification course on capacity building for biodiversity conservation in the Okavango Delta. Topics covered included, the importance of grass, how to identify different types of grasses, introduction to veld management, grazing management and grazing capacity, the importance of veld management, soil erosion and veld rehabilitation. Participants were drawn from the National Museum, the Department of Agricultural Research, Veld Products and Research Development, HOORC and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Traditional healers workshop followup

A followup to the workshop for traditional healers, Sharing Our Knowledge -- Using our Natural Resources for the Management of HIV/AIDS, held in Maun on 23 September 2008, will be held in Maun next Thursday, 23 April 2009. The meeting will allow the University of Botswana's Office of Research and Development and CESRIKI to report back some results on testing of medicinal plants provided by the healers for various bioactivities, to receive feed-back from healers about plant testing, to discuss some issues raised in interviews and to suggest further steps on collaboration. For more details, contact Dr Barbara Ngwenya, HOORC at 681-7226.

New in HOORC's Library: Vegetable oils of tropical Africa

Vegetable oils of tropical Africa : conclusions and recommendations based on PROTA 14 : vegetable oils, produced by the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA) Programme, is a summary of knowledge consolidated through the PROTA programme's review of nearly 250 African plant species known to yield vegetable oil. Aimed at rural development agencies, vocational training centres, entrepreneurs, researchers, students and policy makers, the report provides tables that describe the most promising plants and extraction technologies, development and research gaps (including possible thesis topics), conservation needs and related policy issues. You can find the report, and more PROTA publications, in HOORC's Library.

Kuru ethnobotany database workshop

Members of the Kuru Family of Organizations from the Shakawe and Ghanzi areas attended a three day workshop about the use of databases in ethnobotany at HOORC early this week. Facilitated by plantsandpeopleafrica's Roger and Alison Heath, the workshop participants designed a database for collection of local beliefs and uses of plants and animals among San bushmen. The group will use the new tool to produce a book about bushveld food and medicines.

Natural resources for HIV/AIDS

Workshop participants

HOORC livelihoods specialist Dr Barbara Ngwenya, Dr M. Leteane, a virologist, of the University of Botswana's Dept. of Biological Sciences and Dr K. Marobela, a cell biologist working with the Centre for Scientific Research, Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation (CESRIKI) at UB, ran a workshop for traditional healers, Sharing Our Knowledge -- Using our Natural Resources for the Management of HIV/AIDS in Maun on 23 September 2008. Approximately 60 traditional health practitioners, including herbalists and community health extension workers from Ngamiland District, shared their knowledge of local plants and learned how biologists evaluate the efficacy of natural medicines through testing of samples brought by the participants. Sixty-five samples of plants used by the traditional healers were collected for further testing: results will be shared with participants at another workshop to be held in early 2009. The workshops are sponsored by the University of Botswana's Office of Research and Development and CESRIKI.
Samples of herbal products brought to the workshop

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

Jatropha from the Protabase

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA), an international not-for-profit foundation is synthesizing dispersed information about the approximately 7,000 useful plants of tropical Africa and providing wide access to the information through its web site and publications. Target groups for PROTA information are decision-makers in government, private sector, research, education and rural development, whose decisions affect people depending for their livelihood on plant resources. The organization's web site, hosted by Wageningen University in the Netherlands, provides access to Protabase -- its searchable database of plants, and a list of its commodity groups publications, links to partner organizations and other plant databases, and a news section that recently reported work of the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU).

New in HOORC's Library: Khwe medicinal plants

The Khwe of the Okavango Panhandle : the use of veld plants for food and medicine, is the third in a series of booklets of San peoples' oral testimonies produced by the Kuru Family of Organizations. The booklet, compiled by the Letloa Trust, provides full page descriptions and colour photographs of plants found around the Okavango River, and their uses by the Khwe people. You can order the book from Kuru, and find it in HOORC's Library.

BIOKAVANGO consultancy: veldt products utilization

The BIOKAVANGO Project is seeking a consultant or a team of consultants to develop participatory adaptive management approaches for veldt products harvesting/utilization in the Tubu/NG 25 Pilot Site. For tender documents and submissions contact The Secretary, Tender Committee, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana. Tel. (00267) 355-2086. Fax (00267) 390 1523. Bid submission deadline is the 2nd May 2008 at 1200 hours.

Government notices of interest to the Okavango community

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLV, no. 82, 21 December 2007

Tender: Republic of Botswana: Ministry of Works and Transport. Preparation of the environmental and social management framework (ESMF) and resettlement policy framework (RPF) for output and performance based long term road contracts (OPRC)
6754

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLV, no. 83, 28 December 2007

Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Act, 2007
A.141-A.143
Electricity Supply (Amendment) Act, 2007
A.145-A.151
Plant Protection Act, 2007
A.153-A.A.178
Tourism Act: Tourism (Reservation of Tourist Enterprises for Citizens) (Revocation) Regulations, 2007
A.1407
Agricultural Resources Conservation Act: Agricultural Resources Conservation (Utilization of Veld Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 2007
C.1408

Tender announcements and documents may also be found on the Government of Botswana web site. The entire issue of the Government Gazette may be read in HOORC’s Library.

Livelihoods and natural resources study

HOORC researcher Joseph Mbaiwa is back in Maun from Texas A&M University where he is a PhD candidate. He will be working in the Okavango Delta for the next six months on his research project, Tourism Development, Rural Livelihoods and Conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. The study will analyse changes in livelihoods and in the use of three specific species – lions, the Hyphaene petersiana palm and Hyparrhenia hirta thatching grass – in relation to development of tourism activities.

Presentation at HOORC: womens' participation in Namibian conservancies

Photo courtesy of Rachel Demotts

Today at HOORC, Research Fellow Dr Rachel Demotts presented her study of craftswomen from the Caprivi region of Namibia, Gendered Nature? Women’s Participation in Conservancies. Dr Demotts' study revealed that basketmaking and other crafts, mainly the province of women in Caprivi, provide significant benefits beyond the purely economic, increasing access to education, building social networks, developing leadership capacity and preserving cultural heritage. Conservancies focus largely on conservation and management of wildlife resources, which can create problems of access to resources for craftmakers, and may lead to decline of this livelihood activity.

Botswana Government notices of interest to the Okavango community

Tender announcements and documents may also be found on the Government of Botswana web site.
The entire issue of the Government Gazette may be read in HOORC’s Library.

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLIV, no. 86, 24 November 2006

Tender: Republic of Botswana: Requirement analysis and supervision for the development and implementation of Botswana road management system (BRMS) in Department of Roads
6025
Tender: Republic of Botswana: Feasibility study for the protection and use of biofuels in Botswana
6081
Tender: North West District Council: Construction of Maun sanitary landfill site: quotation for various equipment
6088, 6089, 6090, 6091, 6092

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLIV, no. 88, 1 December 2006

Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act: appointment of members of the Kasane District Tender Committee
6125
Tender: Republic of Botswana: Expression of interest: consultancy for undertaking an environmental impact assessment for prefeasibility on utilisation of the water resources of the Chobe/Zambezi River
6134
Tender: Republic of Botswana: Feasibility study for the production and use of biofuels in Botswana
6141
Tender: North West District Council: construction of Maun sanitary landfill site: quotation for various equipment
6148-6152
Tender: Republic of Botswana: construction of sewerage reticulation system at Itekeng CJSS at Ghanzi
6199
Statutory Instrument no. 89 of 2006: Agricultural Resources Conservation Act: Agricultural Resources Conservation (Utilization of Veld Products) Regulations
C.529

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLIV, no. 90, 8 December 2006

Tender: Republic of Botswana: Provision of information communications technology strategy for Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (second publication)
6260
Tawana Land Board: prequalification notice: development, management and operation of the current Camp Okuti in Moremi Game Reserve
6325

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLIV, no. 92,15 December 2006

Tender: Republic of Botswana: GIS software upgrade and maintenance for Central Statistics Office
6377
Tawana Land Board: prequalification notice: development, management and operation of the current Camp Okuti in Moremi Game Reserve (second publication)
6389
Tender: North West District Council: supply and delivery of ELSTER/TELBIT B900 prepaid water meters and training of personnel
6442

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLIV, no. 95, 29 December 2006

Tender: Chobe District Council: re-gravelling of Satau-Parakarungu roads (12 km) (second publication)
6599
Tender: Chobe District Council: re-gravelling of Kachikau-Satau- road (22 km) (second publication)
6599
Tender: Kgaligadi District Council: supply and delivery of skips for solid waste material
6642

From the Botswana Government Gazette, Vol. XLV, no. 1, 5 January 2007

Tender: Kgaligadi District Council: supply and delivery of skips for solid waste material (second publication)
28

Honey trade conference

The African Honey Trade Workshop will be held in Uganda from the 10th to 13th of October 2006 , organized by Bees for Development and sponsored by the South and East African Honey Trade Forum. The workshop plans to address perceived barriers to successful beekeeping and honey marketing operations such as tough market criteria, potential exporters' lack of connections and exposure to the global marketplace, inefficient intermediate trading among producers, traders and exporters, low level of organization amongst producers, and buyers' lack of wide appreciation of the special qualities of African honey.

In Botswana, the NGO, Veld Products Research & Development works on beekeeping projects and you can find statistics about the Botswana industry from the Virtual Beekeeping Gallery. In HOORC's Library you can find NGO strategy on the environment 2002 - 2007 including strategic plans for forestry & veld products, Okavango Delta, urban environment and wildlife and Final report on the potential for commercial utilization of veld products.

Mopane for firewood

Mopane seeds from Botswana Tourism's Flora and Fauna site

The online magazine, Science in Africa, reports on a master's thesis by Rudzani Makhado at the Dept. of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo, a study of mopane woodland utilisation and management in the savanna biome in the northeastern part of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Makhado found mopane a tree of choice for firewood, collected and traded on a large scale. At village level, Makhado's study showed that the mean amount of wood used per day by a household of 5-8 people for cooking porridge is 7.5 kg or 2.7 tons per year.

The mopane tree, common on the fringes of the Okavango Delta, has been the subject of much study. In HOORC's Library you can find HOORC researcher Dr Donald Kgathi's studies of fuel wood in Botswana.

Okavango reeds

Photo from Aquarap 2000 project, Lani Asato

The value of reeds

HOORC researcher Gagiotseope Mmopelwa’s study of river reed as an economic resource appears in Volume 79 of the Journal of Environmental Management. The reed, Phragmites australis, is used to make fences, walls and ceilings in local villages. Mmopelwa’s survey shows that the low enterprise cost of reed harvesting results in higher net direct use values that help sustain the livelihoods of people living in and around the Okavango Delta. The direct use value of reeds is one of the many opportunity costs that can be associated with the economic conversion of the Okavango wetlands. You can find Economic and financial analysis of harvesting and utilization of river reed in the Okavango Delta in HOORC’s Library.

Non-timber forest products report

The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) has released the report of a DFID sponsored project that has been looking at commercialization of non-timber forest products. The WCMC web site provides online access to both the report and background files, including the CEPFOR Decision Support Tool, a software tool designed to support the process of decision-making when selecting non-timber forest products for potential development. The tool is designed for use by anyone involved in commercialization of these resources, but is specifically aimed at supporting individuals or organisations working with communities and wanting to improve existing commercialization initiatives or establish new programmes of work. In HOORC’s Library you can find the IUCN supported report, NGO strategy on the environment 2002 - 2007 including strategic plans for forestry & veld products, Okavango Delta, urban environment and wildlife.