Funding shortage holds back research in culture: Dr Susan Keitumetse

In an interview done with Research Africa concerning anthropology funding, ORI Research Scholar, Dr. Susan Keitumetse, cited lack of funding as making anthropology research a nightmare for scientists. According to her, "the field is not yet regarded as a priority by funding bodies. This is more prevalent in Africa where there is a lack of awareness of its potential to contribute to poverty alleviation (Botswana included).” Topics researched by African anthropologists include the use of cultural heritage to promote the growth of tourism. Leslie Aiello, president of the US based Wenner-Gren Foundation , maintains that the lack of funding is not confined to Africa.“Anthropology does not enjoy the level of funding characteristic of many other disciplines. The great majority of funding that is available is government funding that supports academics in their own countries,” she says. However, funding for projects is critical for raising awareness and interest in the discipline in Africa, Keitumetse says. The question is where to get the money. Most funding in the field is for training. But there are some research funders. The Wenner-Gren Foundation, which specifically funds academic anthropology, spent about US$600,000 on research and conferences in Africa last year. The programme includes the Wadsworth African Fellowships and Research Grants.

UNESCO promotes stronger links between World Heritage and Tourism

At the recently held Roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova underlined the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism, adding that cultural heritage is a powerful driver of social and economic development for local communities. She also highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to heritage preservation in its various forms, be it natural, cultural or intangible, in order to educate younger generations to the need to preserve it, not just as a historical legacy but as a living and fundamental component of our lives and of the lives of many communities around the world.

Working together to conserve vultures in Botswana

In this article, Peter Hancock from Birdlife Botswana maintains that the seven vulture species found in Botswana are under serious threat from poisoning. Recent incidents of this poisoning have been reported in place like Lesoma, Gumare, Tonota and Gweta-to name just a few places. In some cases, according to the author, the birds are being poisoned unintentionally when livestock farmers unlawfully put poison into the carcase of an animal killed by a problem predator. By doing so, the farmers hope to kill the predator but instead annihilate large numbers of vultures who arrive at the poisoned carcase long before the predators. In other instances, poachers of wildlife deliberately target vultures with poison because of their ability to detect any wild animals. Lastly, some also try to poison vultures for traditional medicine. In conclusion, the author concludes says that vultures not only do vultures have an important role in the ecosystem (, in that they clean up carcases of dead animals and thereby limit the spread of diseases), but they are an integral part of the the Tswana culture and tradition.

UNDP and OSISA collaborate to promote Social and Environmental Accountability in the Extractive Industry

The Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) through its Southern African Resource Watch (SARW) and economic justice Programme is to undertake a 3 year project , "promoting social and environmental accountability in the Southern African mining sector. The aim of the project is to provide a clear understanding of the potential biodiversity risks associated with mining development in the SADC region. The project will help SARW and key partners in the SADC region to identify biodiversity areas and heritage sites which are at risk from mining activities. The project will focus primarily on seven countries(Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC, Mozambique, South Africa and Angola) and eventually cover the entire SADC region.

Sustainable tourism and natural World Heritage : priorities for action

The aim of the study is to examine the gaps in our understanding of how tourism development affects natural World Heritage Sites in order to support the development of sustainable tourism in these sites. The study also hopes to encourage tourism development that while protecting the integrity of the site, it also brings income generation opportunities for local communities associated with World Heritage Sites, offers financial and other support for the conservation of the sites, and contributes to visitors’ awareness about the values of nature. Full report available on the IUCN site.

Dr.Heinz Slide Collection Launch

Yesterday evening, the ORI Library held a launch of the work of Dr. Hans Joachim Heinz, under the theme: Documenting and interpreting the !Xo San culture. The lauch was held at the Nhabe Museum Maun. Guests included the Head of San Centre from University of Botswana, ORI researchers, members of the San community from Bere, friends and family of the late Dr. Heinz and members of the public. The exhibition continues for the next two days at the same venue.

Birdlife's World Bird Festival in Botswana

The Birdlife Botswana (BLB) celebrated World Bird Festival with more than 70 pupils and five teachers at primary schools in Mogobane and Otse Villages. These schools are located in the surrounding important Bird Area (BA). Since 1993, the World Bird Festival has been celebrated biennially by the Birdlife African Partners. It is an important event for the Birdlife Africa Partnership to raise awareness and educate the general public about birds and their cultural, economic and ecological values and these activities are planned to help people realise their connection between birds and their lives. Activities were based around IBAs and other sites valuable for biodiversity, which support major ecological systems that sustain people's lives.

UNESCO's world heritage sites: a danger list in danger

In its care for precious places, UNESCO is torn between its own principles and its members' wishes and the principles are losing ground. The article examines how politics is infecting danger lists and inscribing sites in the first place. At a recent meeting in Brasilia, some 21 new sites were added to the heritage list-even though the expert advice suggested only 10 were eligible. Some have speculated that UNESCO lacks the resources to monitor its ever growing list of places whilst some see these problems of the heritage list as symptomatic of wider problems. The article is available in the latest issue of the Economist in the HOORC Library.

Reviving our culture, Mapping our future

The story of a special gathering in Venda, South Africa, and a community process in eco-cultural mapping. Indigenous leaders from Altai (Russia) and the Colombian Amazon, and NGO representatives from South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia, accompany Tshidvizhe community as they explore a simple yet powerful way to express the past and present of their territory and livelihoods onto hand-drawn maps. The maps highlight the importance of their culture, sacred sites and territory, and empower them to map the future they need to strive for.This is a joint effort of the Gaia Foundation, African Biodiversity Network (ABN), Mupo Foundation and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA).

Tsodilo Hills:copper bracelet of the evening

The Botswana Society's new website features an article by authority on Tsodilo and renowned African rock art expert, Alec Campbell with colleagues Larry Robbins and Michael Taylor in which they give an insight into the wondrous and mysterious Botswana's only World Heritage Site, piercing together its long and intriguing history. Also featured on the page is the forthcoming cultural San Musical Festival which is to be held on the 1st August at D’Kar, where San communities from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa will converge on this village for three days of musical. For more events and interesting article please visit the Botswana Society 's new website:http://www.Botswanabeckons.com

UNESCO Symposium: Funding Culture, Managing the Risk

As part of its commitment to studying and promoting the critical relationship between culture and development, UNESCO is organizing a two-day symposium to analyse and challenge the perception of risk in funding the cultural and creative sectors in the developing economies.ConceptDespite culture’s great potential for socio-economic development and poverty reduction, it remains marginalized in development policies and programmes. Furthermore, the sector suffers from a lack of access to funding, especially in developing countries, due to the perception, often based on false premises, that such investments are more risk-prone. For more on the report visit the UNESCO portal.

State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples contribute tremendously to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge. With over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, the living conditions of these people is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately compared to non-indigenous peoples. Besides facing systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; indigenous people continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate and the destitute. They are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival. For more on this report you can see:
http://www.un.org//esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/SOWIP_web.pdf

Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is a collaborative effort between Planeta and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP with the generous support of the Heidehof Foundation. The award is presented to indigenous tourism operations for their websites that promotes sustainable practices and educates visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation.The award is aimed at private tourism services, owned and operated by indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles, and its main objectives are to motivate candidates to improve their online communication on biological and cultural diversity, to highlight their best practices in managing tourism in a biodiversity-friendly way and to raise operators and public’s awareness on biodiversity. Visit
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/awardsitbw.html

Global Partnership for sustainable tourism

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Partnership) is a coalition of over 40 organizations to help increase understanding of sustainable tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles.The Partnership, initiated by Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), launched the Sustainable Tourism Criteria at the World Conservation Congress in October 2008. These criteria will be the minimum standard that any tourism business should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation. For full report, you can visit: http://www.sustainabletourismcriteria.org/

PCCP and UNESCO-IHE short course on water and conflict management

PCCP and UNESCO-IHE will offer for the second year a short course on water and conflict management. The short course is part of a joint MSc in Water Management – specialization Water Conflict Management, LLM in Water Governance and Conflict Resolution. The course is composed of two modules: Negotiation skills for the anticipation, prevention and resolution of water conflicts and Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques applied to water issues. Renowned trainers will be drawn from around the world and the course aims to assist participants to understand, design and facilitate negotiation, mediation, consensus building, trust building, public participation and other processes that are useful for the management of water conflicts. It will also cover the main legal, cultural and spiritual challenges that negotiators can face in the management of shared water resources. Software programmes and role plays will be used for actual practice and skills development. The course is designed for current and future water managers, decision makers and others involved in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). For more information contact:

c.schutter-brakel@unesco-ihe.org.

Launching of the database and community of practice on water and cultural diversity

Launching of the database and Community of Practice on Water and Cultural Diversity Waterandculturaldiversity.org is an informative and interactive database and community of practice around the topic of water and cultural diversity. The database acts as an information resource on the topic of water and cultural diversity and will contribute to increasing awareness on the importance of cultural factors in water management and decision making. The database contains four main sections: library, directory of experts and institutions, events calendar, and image gallery. The concept of a CoP refers to a group of people who have a common interest and share information and ideas to find solutions and recommendations for a certain topic or problem. The interactive space provided on this website enables information and opinions to be shared among members and users. The CoP will act as a platform through which members of the group can exchange technical information and experiences. Visit Waterandculturaldiversity.org today, and participate in enriching the content of this website.

HOORC Seminar Series

In their paper titled, Potential impacts of the production of liquid biofuels on food security, Prof Kgathi and Dr. K.Mfundisi, confirmed an earlier study done in 2003, that there is potential in growing biofuel crops in Botswana. According to them, it is imperative that the country finalises its biofuel policy and proceed with the implementation of the production of fuels. The second paper, Potential impacts on the production of liquid biofuels on ecosystems and social sustainability : the case of Botswana , also by Kgathi and Mfundisi, cited some of the advantages in the production of biofuels for Botswana.These include, access to energy in remote areas outside the electric grid, enhancement of agricultural production and the restoration of degraded areas as drought resistant crops are grown on these lands. Lesego Stone in her presentation, The successes and challenges of community based tourism enterprises, Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust (KRST), remarked that community based tourism enterprises generally expand tourism activities and boost the informal sector in both goods and services . Lately, however, they have been dogged by poor management skills, marketing and lack of community involvement and participation.

University of Guelph visit to HOORC

This week a group of 12 people (one faculty and eleven students) from the University of Guelph visited HOORC as part of their field course. In the Library, they were taken through the digitisation work done on the legacy collections. Of particular interest to them ,was Doc Heinz's colour slides of bushman life. Later, Mieke Vanderpost gave a presentation on the San people, chronicling their history, unique cultural practices, and their dialect easily identifiable by the click sounds. It was in keeping with the preservation of their culture and to assist them integrate into society that the Kuru Development Trust was established in 1985, for which Meike Vanderpost has been a part of since its establishment. Part of the Trust's activities include the organisation of yearly art cultural music festivals which attract the various San groups. However, she lamented the gradual disappearance of the San culture, notably their rock paintings, for which they are renowed for.

Pete Smith's Delta: memorial and herbarium launch

Residents of Maun gathered at the site of Pete Smith's former home on the banks of the Thamalakane in Maun on Saturday to take part in unveiling of a new sculpted memorial for the pioneering Okavango researcher who died ten years ago last week. Owned by the Maun Catholic Mission, the site's trees and natural vegetation are kept much as they were when Pete Smith lived there. The ceremony included Tharientsho Storytellers' songs from The Seed Children stage production and Mieke and Helena's Scottish airs for flute and fiddle, and remarks by HOORC's Director Professor Susan Ringrose and the University of Botswana's Director of Public Affairs Mhitshane Reetsang. Father Anton of the Maun Catholic Mission officiated.

After the unveiling ceremony, people moved on to HOORC, where the new Natural Collections building containing the Pete Smith Herbarium was officially launched.

The week of events, that included an exhibition of digitized versions of Pete Smith's annotated maps of the Okavango, was sponsored by HOORC's BIOKAVANGO Project.

Pete Smith commemorative events

Pete Smith, 1980s

Next week marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of pioneering Okavango researcher Pete Smith. HOORC's Library, GIS Laboratory and Natural Collections unit, and UB Library Services Archives, supported by the BIOKAVANGO Project, are organizing several events to acknowledge the contribution Pete made to the knowledge of the Delta. Digitized versions of his annotated maps will be launched at an exhibition that will run for the week at African Art and Images in Maun. On May 23rd there will be an unveiling of a memorial at Pete's former home, followed by the official opening of HOORC's new Natural Collections building that houses Pete's herbarium collection. All are welcome: contact Olebogeng Suwe or Anastacia Makati for more details at 681-7241.