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5.4 Use of natural resources
This section describes the use of natural resources within the study area, the degree to which rural
households are involved in harvesting and processing these resources, estimates of quantities of
harvests and production of natural resource products, and their value. Natural resources are
presented roughly in ‘taxonomic’ order (order of organism complexity). The use and value of each of
these products is explained and discussed in detail in the following sections. Quantities and values
are presented in this section at the level of the user or producer household in each area, the
aggregate for the zone, and for the study area as a whole.
5.4.1 Participation in natural resource use
Several natural resources are harvested in the study area, many of which are used or processed by a
high proportion of households in the study area (Table 5-17).
Table 5-17. Percentage of households engaged in different natural resource-related activities (household survey
data).
Activity Panhandle West South West South East Central
Pottery 3 0 2 1 0
Wetland grasses 61 21 2 5 18
Upland grasses 8 12 18 16 35
Reeds 69 33 7 18 22
Papyrus 10 1 0 1 12
Palm leaves 12 42 7 29 41
Wild foods 57 53 64 57 65
Medicinal plants 12 12 19 16 10
Firewood 77 86 98 85 96
Timber 1 1 0 1 0
Poles & withies 49 28 34 28 47
Fish 34 6 4 6 20
Honey 2 1 1 2 2
Hunting* 36 49 43 42 61
*assuming a 10% reporting rate
Several laws regulate the use of natural resources in Botswana. Apart from gazetted forest reserves,
which are governed by the Forest Act, and which do not occur in the study area, veld products such
as thatching grass, reeds and fuel wood are managed by local communities. However, these
management systems have become weak as a result of loss of power of traditional leadership as well
as increasing subsistence and commercial demand for resources. Hunting is a licensed activity
regulated by the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act, and penalties are strictly enforced in
Botswana. Fishery resources are regulated by the Fish Protection Act.
Despite this, there is concern that many of the natural resources of the study area are being
overexploited. This is at least partly due to the fact that the poor households in this district have a
high dependency on natural resources. The supply of resources has also been affected by reduction
in the duration and intensity of flooding over the past two decades (TLB 2006, Kgathi et al. 2004).
5.4.2 Clay and pottery
Clay is usually collected from termite mounds around villages, and used in construction or production
of pottery. However, the availability and use of clay is extremely limited in the study area, with only
1.4% of households involved in this activity. A similar trend was reported in Caprivi, where the
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