MadisonNelson

FinalCountryReport
Erbes,Discussion
4May2016
BotswanasFuture:ClimateChangeandtheEconomy
The people of Botswana do not fear rising sea levels or more extreme
storms blowing in off the oceans. They do, however, fear desertification. Due
to climate change, rainfall in Botswana has slowed dramatically, coming less
and less frequently to the already arid land. WiththeKalahariDesertlocatedlargely
withinthebordersofBotswana,thecountryisalreadyatriskfordroughtandlimitedfarming
landorpastureland(RainfallVariability).Asdroughtthreatsintensifyandthedesertcontinuesto
spread,thecountrywillnotbeabletoproduceadequateamountsoffoodforthepeopleliving
there.Thiswillinevitablyleadtomoreimports,puttingevenmorestrainonthecountrysmost
profitableexport,diamonds.Eventually,liketheland,thediamondmineswillrundry.Thisis
nottheonlysectoroftheeconomythatwillbeaffectedbyclimatechange.Anotherlargeportion
ofBotswanaseconomyistourism.TheOkavangoDelta,locatedintheKalahariDesertand
withinBotswanasborders,isknownasAfricasLastEden.TheOkavangoDeltarelieson
seasonalflooding,whichallowsanimalstomigratetothisarea.Safarisdrawmanytouriststothe
countrybringinginalargeportionofrevenueforBotswana(OkavangoDelta).Extended
droughtswillheavilyaffectthewildlifethatreliesonthisriverdelta.Lackofwaternotonly
endangersthewildlifethatlivesandmigratestotheOkavangoDelta,italsochangesthe
livelihoodofthepeoplelivinginthisregion.Waterisessentialtohumansurvivalandwithout
water,thepeoplelivingherewillnotbeabletogroworcookfood.
InDecember2011,theRepublicofBotswanasubmittedtheirSecondNational
CommunicationtotheUNFCCinregardstotheimpactsofclimatechangeinBotswana.Inthe
forewordofthedocument,writtenbytheTshekediKhama,MinisterofEnvironment,Wildlife
andTourismofBotswana,Khamaaddressestheissueofscarcityofwaterinhiscountryaswell
asthestrainclimatechangehasputontourism,health,energy,agriculture,rangelandsand
forestry.Asclimatechangecontinuestoworsen,thestrainwillonlyincreaseontheseresources
andtheoverallwayoflife.TheplanoutlinedintheSecondNationalCommunicationdocument

touchesonhowtheBotswanagovernmentwillinvestin,developmentandtransferof
technology,financeandknowledge,andpromoteeducationandpublicawarenessofclimate
issues(UNDP).TheoverallgoaloftheSecondNationalCommunicationdocumentwasto
establishtoguidecurrentandfutureclimateinBotswanaandtocoordinatewithinternational
organizationssuchastheUnitedNations.
Rapidurbanizationandpopulationdevelopmenthasledtoasignificantdecreaseinwater
availabilityaswell.AccordingtoIPCC,aridandsemiaridlandinAfricaisexpectedtoincrease
by5to8%overthenext65years(IPCC).Thespreadingdesertdecreasesvegetationandwater
sources.RiversinthesouthernAfricanregionarealreadyrapidlyreducinginsizeaccordingto
theUNDP.In2010,Botswanaformallycommittedtoreducingoverallemissionsby15%by
2030(UNFCC).Theyaretargetingthethreemajorcontributorstogreenhousegases:carbon
dioxide,methaneandnitrousoxide.TheyhavesetinmotionplanstomakeClimateSmart
Agricultureapriority.Thiswillincludeavarietyofnewfarmingtechniquesequippedforcutting
emissionswhilestillproducingsignificantcropyield.Overthenext20years,thecountrywill
spendanestimated18.4billionUSDinordertocompletetheirgoalofcutting15%ofoverall
domesticgreenhousegasemissions.
NotonlywillclimatechangedrasticallyaffectthelandscapeofBotswana,itwillstunt
thegrowthoftheirseeminglyprosperingeconomy.Asmentionedearlier,theeconomyrelies
heavilyonbothdiamondexportsandtourism.First,thechanginglandscapewillmakeitdifficult
tosustainahighleveloftourism.AstheanimalsandlushvegetationsurroundingtheOkavango
Deltadieoff,tourismwillmostlikelyslowtoacompletehalt.Then,facedwiththeresource
curseofexportingdiamonds,theeconomyisfacedwiththedifficultyofkeepingupwitha
continuouslyfluctuatingglobalmarket.Thediamondswilleventuallyrunout,andwithouta
somewhatsustainableindustrysuchastourismtofallbackon,morethanlikelyBotswanas
economywillsuffergreatly.Thelittleprogressthecountryhasmadeinthelastseveraldecades
willbefornaughtasclimatechangeanddesertificationtakeawaytheonebackupincome
resourcethecountryhad.

Work Cited
"TheOkavangoDeltaAfrica'sLastEden."OkavangoDelta.N.p.,n.d.Web.03May2016.
"BotswanaEmbarksonAmbitiousPlantoTackleClimateChange."UNDPinBotswana.N.p.,
n.d.Web.03May2016.
"IPCCIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange."IPCCIntergovernmentalPanelon
ClimateChange.N.p.,n.d.Web.03May2016.
"RainfallVariabilityandTrendsinSemiaridBotswana:ImplicationsforClimateChange
AdaptationPolicy."RainfallVariabilityandTrendsinSemiaridBotswana:Implications
forClimateChangeAdaptationPolicy.N.p.,n.d.Web.03May2016.