the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

5.2.7 Pressure on the Land
In most parts of Botswana pressure on the land resource is primarily due to the
expansion of human activities which are spawned by rapid population growth, poor
productive capacity of most of the land and institutional arrangements. These factors
interact to generate impacts that vary from area to area depending on the levels at
which they interact (Republic of Botswana Environmental Statistics, 2000).
Persistent pressure on land can lead to land degradation, which is a situation that
constitutes the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity of that
land. According to the National Settlement Policy's Final Report (June, 1998), issues
of concern under land use and tenure in Botswana include the mismanagement of
grazing land particularly in communal areas, the unwarranted change of limited
fertile arable land to other uses, and land use conflicts.
5.2.8 Agriculture
Botswana's agricultural sector employed an estimated 44 percent of the
economically active population in April 2003, a level that has changed little for more
than a decade. Composed partly of semi-desert and savannah areas, with erratic
rainfall and relatively poor soils, the country is more suited to grazing than to arable
production, with only about five percent of the land being arable (Van Buren, 2004).
Low and erratic rainfall, endemic droughts and the uneven distribution of land
resources severely hamper rainfed farming, while at the same time, irrigated
agriculture is constrained by uncertain and scattered water resources, low yields and
stiff competition for water from other sectors. These natural conditions clearly
hamper the ability of the agricultural sector to meet the national objectives of food
security, alleviation of poverty, increased agricultural output and productivity, the
creation of employment opportunities, and the effective utilisation of land, water and
human resources within a sustainable environment (Republic of Botswana National
Master Plan for Agricultural Development, 2000).
At the time of independence in 1966, agriculture contributed approximately 40
percent to Botswana's GDP, a large percentage of which was accounted for by
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