The ‘shrinking commons’ in the Lake Ngami grasslands, Botswana: the impact of national rangeland policy

Figures & data

Figure 1: Map of Botswana showing the study area

Figure 2: Implementation of the TGLP and the National Agricultural Development Policy in Ngamiland District

Table 1: Groups with interests on the range in Lake Ngami, Ngamiland

Group	Position in political economy	Source of power	Interest/aims with regards to rangeland	Direct means to reach aims
Dikgosi (Chiefs)	Traditional leaders of different ethnic groups	Powers diminished, but still powerful and influential at local level	Grazing, exclusive rights to land, land management powers	Support government policy
Big farmers	Ruling elite, includes politicians, top government officers and wealthy individuals	Political, economic and administrative	Grazing, exclusive rights to land, larger herds	Making or supporting policy; budget allocation, campaigns
Small farmers	Poor rural dwellers with few livestock-rearing for subsistence, often with no other source of income	Largely powerless, but part of community with access to communal land	Grazing and water, larger herds, veld products	Apathy, oppose or support government policy. Stay within community
Herders/Basarwa	Mainly Basarwa (bushmen), provide labour in cattle posts	Powerless, landless. Few livestock, or none	Employment, residence, hunting (illegal) and gathering, and water	Stay employed, move to villages. Poaching
Land Board members	Land authority since 1970	Tribal Land Act, policy, administrative, government support	Employment/income, access to information and land/ranches	Support and implement government policy
Politicians	Legislators, policy-makers, responsible for financial and human resources allocation	Political, economic, access to information	Larger herds, exclusive rights to land, sustaining the beef industry and good prices	Legislation, policy, budget allocations
Top government officers	Responsible for policy development, advice legislators	Administrative, and government support, able to access important information	Employment/income, land/ranches, increased livestock	Policy, administrative practices including budget allocations
Note: Tabular technique adapted from Abel and Blaikie (1986).

Figure 3: Lake Ngami cattle numbers, 1993–2002

Table 2: The shrinking commons: amount of land available for communal use in Ngamiland District, 1964–2008

Year	Land available for communal use (km^2)	% of total District land	Reason for reduction of communal land
1964	111 650	100	All land under communal use
1981	102 423	92	Protected areas established: Moremi, Chobe, Nxai-Pan, Makgadikgadi
1991	58 508	52	Wildlife management areas and commercial ranches established (TGLP)
2001	58 508	52	No change from the 1991 status
2008	45 870	41	More commercial ranches and wildlife management areas established (1991 agricultural development policy)
Source: Vanderpost (2006) and Tawana Land Board (2008).

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