ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS ON COMMUNITIES’ VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION CAPACITY TO DROUGHT IN KGATLENG DISTRICT, EASTERN BOTSWANA Kevin Kamau Gichangi And Elisha N. Toteng Department of Environmental Science Faculty of Science University of Botswana

Vulnerability and Adaptation Capacity to DROUGHT : Impact of Policy and Institutional Frameworks KGATLENG BOBIRWA SUB_DISTRICT NORTH EAST DISTRICT Case Studies SOME KEY QUESTIONS  What are the institutions?  How do these affect communities’ vulnerability and adaptation capacity to drought?  What are the policies?  How do these affect communities vulnerability and adaptation capacity to drought?  Future directions in policy and institutional reform: what could be done to ensure policies address vulnerability and adaptation to drought in Botswana?

Climate Change Extreme events (Natural Hazards) (Disasters) CLIMATIC  drought (prevalent in Botswana)  floods  storms -hurricanes -typhoons -tornadoes  bush fires  heat waves  cold spells GEOMORPHIC /GEOLOGICAL  earthquakes  volcanic eruptions  tsunamis (tidal waves)  landslides  avalanches BIOLOGICAL  floral (poisonous plants)  fungal diseases (Dutch elm)  faunal diseases (malaria)  Infestations (locusts) Adapted from Waugh (2000) CLIMATE CHANGE, VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION

MEAN AND PREDICTED RAINFALL FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA

OBJECTIVES  To assess how the existing policy framework in Botswana affects vulnerability and adaptation capacity to drought among local communities in eastern Botswana  To examine how the existing institutional framework affects vulnerability and adaptation capacity to drought in eastern Botswana

Study Area Admin Central Chobe Ghanzi Kgalagadi Kgatleng Kweneng Ngamiland North East South East Southern Kilometers N EW S Botswana

PUBLIC POLICY REVIEW 1)OVERARCHING POLICIES: Policies pertinent to rural development and rural livelihoods 2)SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES: Policies that strive at improving communities’ standards of living 3)AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION SUPPORT POLICIES: Policies mainly concerned with food security 4)NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICIES: Policies concerned with the sustainable use and management of natural resources 5)INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION SUPPORT POLICIES: Policies aimed at providing economic security

OVERARCHING POLICIES  Promote rural development and rural livelihoods (rural population most vulnerable to drought)  Self reliance and community participation  Community should perform the dominant roles of: identifying needs, formulating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development  State and local government should only facilitate, support and monitor development

The Elite Model of Public Policy Elite Officials and Administrators Mass

SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES  Aim for the redistributive transfer of opportunities towards the poorer members of society  Drought affects the most vulnerable groups (such as the poor, remote area dwellers, the elderly and the destitute)  The poor (most vulnerable) are concentrated in rural areas  Income transfers generate positive multiplier effects on the rural economy

IMPACT OF SOME SOCIAL WELFARE POLCIES DROUGHT RELIEF PROGRAMME 14,152 WORKERS IN 2001/2002 DROUGHT YEAR REMOTE AREA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 38 PROJECTS BETWEEN NATIONAL POLICY ON DESTITUTE PERSONS 655 BENEFICIARIES IN THE 2002/2003 FINANCIAL YEAR OLD AGE PENSION SCHEME 1,134 BENEFICIARIES IN THE 2002/2003 FINANCIAL YEAR

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION SUPPORT POLICIES  Recurrent drought and land pressure threatens the agricultural sector in Botswana  Agricultural sector guided by the overall objective of food security at household level  Agriculture a vital source of livelihood for majority of the people, particularly in rural areas of Botswana

EXAMPLES OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION SUPPORT POLICIES  ALDEP – introduced improved farming methods and techniques to improve the income of the small-scale farmer  ARAP – Benefited a total of 46,348 people in the Kgatleng district of Botswana (1986 – 1990)  NAMPAAD – Expected to improve rural incomes by making arable and dairy farming profitable and more attractive to farmers

LIMITATIONS OF THE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION SUPPORT POLICIES  Agriculture is the most vulnerable of all economic activities to drought  Better to provide a community with alternative sources of income (as adaptation strategies) in order to be less vulnerable to drought

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICIES  Some of these policies have potential to provide adaptation strategies to drought -WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT POLICY: Communities adjacent to parks could benefit -GAME RANCHING POLICY – Communities can engage in game farming and ranching to improve their income -TOURISM POLICY – Can provide local communities with direct and indirect benefits from tourism activities such as employment

INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION SUPPORT POLICIES  Vital in achieving economic security which cushions communities against income shocks associated with drought  Majority of the rural population engage in subsistence agriculture which is vulnerable to drought – these policies provide alternative means of livelihood  However, these policies are not easily accessible to the drought vulnerable rural population

INSTITUTIONS TARGETED  COMMUNITY LEVEL INSTITUTIONS VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: Village level institution responsible for the coordination, planning and implementation of development activities on behalf of the community COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATIONS NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS CHIEFTAINSHIP

INSTITUTIONS TARGETED (CONT..)  LOCAL/RERGIONAL/DISTRICT INSTITUTIONS  DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION: An institution that represents central government at the district level  DISTRICT COUNCIL: Concerned with development activities at district level and general administration of the district  TRIBAL ADMINISTRATION: Botswana divided into eight major tribal authorities each headed by a chief, the senior tribal authority  LAND BOARD: An institution charged with the responsibility of land allocation and management

WAY FORWARD FOR INSTITUTIONS  CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – A change in the role of the state and local government officers to one of facilitation, support and monitoring  DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION – Should enhance its important role of being the link between the community and central government  DISRICT COUNCIL – Should be involved in activities that could promote local economies  TRIBAL ADMINISTRATION – the Kgotla (the traditional village assembly) should be used to incorporate villagers into the decision making process

WAY FORWARD FOR INSTITUTIONS (CONTINUED)  LAND BOARDS  Should address the problem associated with dual grazing  Unplanned changes of land use from agriculture to other uses should be halted  Address the problem of land long allocated but unused which impedes rural development

WAY FORWARD FOR INSTITUTIONS (CONTINUED)  VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES (VDCs)  Should depend on locally generated resources for the implementation of development activities rather than government funding  Should develop their ability to consult with the community

WAY FORWARD FOR INSITUTIONS (CONTINUED)  NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS  Government should enter into formal arrangements with NGOs to provide services in the area of community building, disaster relief, and representation of community concerns and interests  NGOs important because they work with the community. Government tends to be too domineering

CONCLUSION  A wide range of policies and institutions exists, though most of these are not climate variability and climate change specific  Drought has not been taken into account as a cross-cutting issue in the policymaking process in Botswana  Drought should be seen as an important aspect in the formulation of policies, particularly those relating to agricultural production and natural resource management  Poverty most important cause of high vulnerability to drought

Hoped that this study assists in the development of effective policy and institutional frameworks in countries with similar environments