An Ethical Investigation into the Impact of Mophane Worm Depletion on the Environment in the North-Eastern Part of Botswana: A Case Study of Gungwe and Mbalambi Villages

Abstract

Mophane worm is a name given to caterpillars hosted by the Mophane tree. The
 mophane worm is harvested as food supplement in most of the Southern African
 countries. For the past few years, there have been some reports indicating that the
 worm has disappeared in some parts of Botswana. Hence, the aim of this research
 study has been to investigate from an ethical perspective the impact of mophane
 worm depletion on the environment. A qualitative approach was used in this study
 and data was collected from the following target groups of people: villagers, headmen
 of the stated two villages and the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism
 (MEWT) officers both at local and national level. The theoretical framework involved
 traditional theories (i.e., Value Theory and Utilitarianism) and environmental ethical
 theories (i.e., Social Ecology, Environmental and Intergenerational Justice).
 The research instruments employed were individual interview schedules, focus
 group discussions and observation. A fourfold model of analysis was used focusing
 on the biological, economical, social and political dimensions. From the findings
 of the study, it emerged that both natural and anthropogenic factors contributed to
 mophane worm depletion. The natural factors were drought and predation while the
 anthropogenic factors included massive usage of the host tree, destructive methods of
 harvesting and demand for more land for agricultural and residential purposes. It also
 emerged that mophane worm depletion had both negative and positive impacts on
 the environment. These included lack of money by the local people to buy their daily
 needs, lack of relish and poor livelihoods, loss of wildlife that fed on mophane worm
 and tension between government and local people over the regulation of the resource.
 Ethical evaluation revealed that the dominant value for the local people was utility
 value to the almost total lack of explicit awareness of intrinsic and inherent value,
 and that on utilitarian grounds, the overall evil that depletion of the mophane worm
 brought about outweighed its overall good effects. With regard to justice issues, the
 findings revealed that unjust social structures and injustices resulting from the unequal
 distribution of benefits and burdens as well as from the lack of adequate participation
 by the local communities in decision-making had a greater negative than positive
 impact. Finally, recommendations were made emphasising the utmost importance of
 government intervention to mitigate, if not, stop the depletion of the mophane worm.