The importance of MANAGED sustainable conservation. Uncontrolled elephant herds are destructive.

The Conservation Imperative.
· 4 November ·

CATTLE RANCHING, NORTHERN BOTSWANA.
CATTLE RANCHING, NORTHERN BOTSWANA.

Over the past 35 years, Botswana’s rural population has declined considerably, due mostly to the economic lure of urban life.

However, around 50% of the country’s total still lives in rural areas and arable farming is the major source of income.

80% of Botswana’s 582,000 km2 land area is covered by the Kalahari Desert but only 5% is suitable for arable agriculture and less than 1% is under cultivation.

Agriculture comprises a mere 2.4% of GDP, but it is vital to the livelihoods of the country’s rural populace. The livestock industry has been supported for many years by subsidies from the European Union in order to access that market, but certain conditions, including disease control, have to be met.

This short video looks at the trials and tribulations that stock farmers in Northern Botswana face.

https://www.facebook.com/theconservationimperative/videos/2236573876449269/