http://hdl.handle.net/10311/27 ORI was formerly known as HOORC. 2026-07-11T06:36:19Z http://hdl.handle.net/10311/2550 Water implications of biofuel development in semi-arid Sub-saharan Africa: case studies of four countries Kgathi, Donald L.; Mazonde, Isaac; Murray-Hudson, Michael Biofuel production may have considerable impacts on water resources. To analyze the implications of biofuel development on water resources in the semi-arid parts of Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Mali, case studies were elaborated. In all four countries plans are under way to develop comprehensive biofuel policies. Botswana and Mali have similarities since they are water scarce countries with high dependency on imported food and energy. Whilst large areas of Mali and Botswana are semi-arid, the semi-arid parts in Zambia and Tanzania are of smaller size and have relatively suitable conditions for biofuel production. In Zambia and Tanzania, there are sugarcane and jatropha-based biofuel projects, whereas in Botswana and Mali biofuel production is mainly based on jatropha. It is shown that the expansion of biofuel projects in all four countries may adversely affect water resources. It is therefore recommended that water scarce countries such as Botswana and Mali should engage in biofuel projects which do not require much irrigation. The production model of integrating biofuel production with food crop production as practised in Mali provides useful lessons for Botswana and other countries. Whilst in Zambia and Tanzania large-scale projects based on contract farming could be expanded to reach the full potential of these countries, it is crucial to carefully monitor their impacts on water resources. Book chapter 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10311/2548 Assessing long-term conservation impacts on adaptive capacity in a flagship community-based natural resources management area in Botswana Cassidy, Lin; Pricope, Narcisa, G.; Stevens, Forrest, R.; Salerno, Jonathan; Parry, David, C.; Murray-Hudson, Michael; Hartter, Joel; Gaughan, Andrea, E. Over the past three decades community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) has sought to address the concurrent needs of economic development and ecological protection at the local level, but there is often strong divergence between development and conservation interests and successes. In particular, CBNRM has not always led to expected socioeconomic outcomes, while information of its impact on human well-being at household level is sparse. In Botswana, most communities do not disburse benefits from CBNRM ventures to households. This leads to an inherent scale mismatch that arises because the costs of living with wildlife are felt at the household level, while the benefits are paid out at the community or village level. We use longitudinal data from two household surveys conducted 22 years apart to assess if benefits from the Botswana model of CBNRM have increased household level adaptive capacity for those living with wildlife. We take a livelihoods capital approach to develop indicators of adaptive capacity and measure how livelihood diversity, inequality, and adaptive capacity have changed in five communities in northern Botswana between 1995 and 2017. Our analyses confirm the findings of qualitative reviews and suggest that CBNRM is under-performing in its contribution to improved household-level adaptive capacity. CBNRM cannot be said to benefit communities if the majority of community members do not experience increased well-being. We therefore recommend restructuring the governance models of CBNRM and other community conservation approaches to ensure that benefits are more directly targeted to actively participating households. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10311/2547 An assessment of the extent to which agricultural farms meet the requirements for sustainable agritourism in Zimbabwe Baipai, Rudorwashe; Chikuta, Oliver; Gandiwa, Edson; Mutanga, Chiedza, N. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which agricultural farms meet the requirements for sustainable agritourism in Zimbabwe. This study was motivated by the realisation that despite that the country is agro-based and has great potential to become an agritourism destination, the country is still lagging in agritourism development. The conceptual framework for understanding agritourism and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted with thirty-four (34) farmers who were purposively selected from the Manicaland and Mashonaland provinces of Zimbabwe. Data collection was conducted from October 2020 to June 2021. Thematic content analysis aided by Nvivo 12 software was used to analyse the data. The results revealed that the sampled farms meet at least one of the requirements for sustainable agritourism. However, there is a lack of diversity in both core and peripheral agritourism activities on the farms. The farmers are recommended to increase agritourism activities through sustainable utilization of the existing farm resources. The study provides the relevant stakeholders with information on areas of improvement for agritourism growth in the country and a baseline for future investigations into the prospects of agritourism in Zimbabwe. The main limitation of this study was the use of a framework for understanding agritourism that was developed in a developed world context. Development of a framework for understanding agritourism in a developing world context is recommended for future research. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10311/2546 Agrotourism as peripheral and ultraperipheral community livelihoods diversification strategy: insights from the Okavango Delta, Botswana Kolawole, Oluwatoyin, Dare; Hambira, Wame, Lucretia; Gondo, Reniko The potential of agrotourism for livelihoods diversification in remote (peripheral) and extremely remote (ultraperipheral) traditional, agrarian communities is indeed a testament of its uniqueness to enhance rural entrepreneurship development, employment creation and poverty alleviation. In an arid environment such as Botswana’s where traditional agricultural concerns are generally impeded by inclement weather conditions exacerbated by climate variability and change scenarios, identifying opportunities in challenges associated with livelihood activities might provide a better pathway for improving rural socio-economic wellbeing and development.Semi-structured interviews and a literature review were used to document the current status and evolution of agrotourism in rural Botswana; and identify the associated constraints and opportunities, which the subsector might offer emerging entrepreneurs. Major findings reveal that agrotourism activities are relatively new and still fledgling in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. While 4.8 percent of the initiatives investigated accounts for agrotourism initiatives that are fully and currently operational in the area, another 4.8 percent constitutes the business initiatives, which are still not fully operational. Findings also revealed that most agrotourism businesses in the Okavango Delta were challenged by inadequate capital outlays constituting an impediment to running a successful business. While bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with registering agrotourism projects is a challenge for some entrepreneurs, a few others are bedeviled by lack of market for their products. The relatively fledgling status of agrotourism in the area might offer a good business opportunity for potential entrepreneurs and the government to fully exploit the socio-economic benefits of the subsector and push a more sustainable environmental conservation agenda, respectively. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z