📋 Tender Overview
Country:Botswana
Area Of Work:Land Degradation
Grant Amount:US$ 49,177.92
Co-Financing Cash:
Co-Financing in-Kind:US$ 4,500.00
Project Number:BOT/SGP/OP7/Y4/CORE/GGW/2023/02 Status:Currently under execution
Context: Kweneng District, situated within the heart of Botswana, represents a region of notable ecological diversity and cultural significance. Despite its distinct attributes, Kweneng grapples with a complex spectrum of environmental challenges, with a particularly urgent concern surrounding land degradation and unsustainable forest utilization especially harvest of wild fruits. These environmental issues require immediate attention and comprehensive intervention to safeguard the district's ecological equilibrium, resilience to climate change, and the socio-economic well-being of its communities. In particular, the concern is the conservation and preservation of the Thotayamarula forest which is 192 hectares located in Matsheng Community villages namely, Lephepe, Boatlename, Sojwe, Shadishadi and Loologane, approximately 100-120 Kilometers North of Molepolole, and the villages fall within the Molepolole/Lentsweletau Administrative Authority. A community-based trust called MatshengCommunity Development Trust (MCDT) set up in 2006 has plans to produce Marula cooking Oil and various other by products from Marula fruits to be harvested from the forest and to be processed in Shadishadi village where the processing factory has been put up. Humana People to People Botswana will provide managerial, oversight and technical support to a team of 10 people constituting the MCDT Board of Trustees drawn from the five villages. 100 people, 20 per village, will receive capacity training to work and run the factory. Over 1,500 people (women, men and youths inclusive) from the community will benefit from the operations of the factory in terms of employment creation such as collecting morula fruits, working at the marula tree nursery replication center, and planting and caring for morula fruit trees in the forest.
Environmental Challenges: A prominent challenge within Kweneng is the pervasive issue of land degradation, driven by irregular rainfall patterns and unsustainable land management practices, including agricultural practices, deforestation, and sand and gravel harvesting. The consequential impacts extend beyond agriculture, affecting river and dam sedimentation. Widespread deforestation, predominantly prompted by the demand for firewood and land clearance for agriculture and settlements, has resulted in a pronounced loss of critical vegetation cover. This, in turn, heightens the district's susceptibility to soil erosion. In addition, the Matsheng Community Development Trust that has set up a marula value chain center (cooking oil and other by-products) in the area, has the potential of creating a risk of over-exploitation of Marula trees, which might not be replanted and/or replicated thereby threatening extinction of the Marula Forest. A
