Development and Dispossession: Impacts of Land Reform in Botswana

Abstract

This chapter considers changes in land tenure over time in Botswana, looking at the processes of change in land distribution and land tenure reform. Two general processes of change in land tenure are considered: (1) the establishment of freehold areas under the colonial government, and (2) the post-independence land reforms in the tribal lands. The chapter also considers the various factors that led to dispossession of sizable numbers of poor people in Botswana. Particular emphasis is placed on the processes of dispossession of some of the poorest people in Botswana, the San, or, the Basarwa. The issue that remains to be solved is what rights local people will have to ensure that they benefit from the presence of commercial cattle ranches, private hunting concessions or mining operations on the lands which they have fought so hard to retain. Keywords:Botswana land reform; land tenure; post-colonial period; post-independence land reforms; private hunting; San