Husbandry and Herding: A Community-Based Approach to Addressing Illegal Wildlife Trade in Northern Botswana

Ben Heermans,John Mcnutt,Matthew Lewis,Jacques Van Rooyen,Richard Fynn,Duan Biggs

doi:10.3389/fcosc.2021.675493

Abstract

Illegal bushmeat hunting is a major driver of wildlife population declines in Northern Botswana. Such declines raise concerns about the principles and integrity of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) and regional economic stability which is heavily reliant on wildlife-based tourism. The KAZA landscape between Northern Botswana's protected areas consists of non-state land utilized communally by small agropastoralist communities. These communities are economically challenged by international beef trade policies, restricted access to grazing in nearby wildlife management areas and high conflict costs from living in close proximity to wildlife; some of the key factors identified as drivers of bushmeat hunting in the region. Here we describe how a model called Herding for Health (H4H) could address these drivers. We discuss strategies using a socio-economic centered Theory of Change (ToC) model to identify the role agropastoral communities can have in addressing illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The ToC conceptual framework was developed with input from a resource team consisting of scientific and implementation experts in H4H, wildlife conservation, illegal wildlife trade and livelihood development between September and December 2018, and with a validation workshop in March 2019 with government representatives from relevant ministries, NGO's, community-based organizations and private sector participants. We identify three pathways deriving from the ToC driven by community level actions to address IWT in the region. These include: increasing institutions for local enforcement, developing incentives for ecosystem stewardship and decreasing the costs of living alongside wildlife. The success of these pathways depends on underlying enabling actions: support for the development of institutional frameworks; building community capacity to facilitate informed best farming practices; and strengthening commitments to sustainable resource management to increase resilience to climatic and economic shocks.

Highlights

The Okavango Delta in northern Botswana is a key region for biodiversity conservation and economic development in Botswana and is currently facing immediate and long-term threats including oil and gas exploration, climate change and wildlife population declines resulting from illegal wildlife trade (IWT) [Burg, 2007; Magole and Magole, 2009; Rogan et al, 2015; Herding for Health (H4H), 2019; Richardson, 2021]
We developed a Theory of Change (ToC) to guide a novel community approach centered on husbandry to explore the potential to address illegal bushmeat hunting through the core community livelihood of livestock production
Major assumptions for strengthening ecosystem stewardship incentives are: (1) That the target communities are on board with the Herding 4 Health (H4H) program, (2) That communities are willing to acquire new skill sets, (3) That the activities of improved livestock management and rangeland restoration can demonstrate positive outputs that are comparable to illicit means of livelihood enhancement, (4) That better farming practices will result in increased benefits for the farmers, and (5) That the community awareness of the H4H protocol or approach instills acceptance of a wildlife-livestock coexistence strategy

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The Okavango Delta (hereafter referred to as, the Delta) in northern Botswana is a key region for biodiversity conservation and economic development in Botswana and is currently facing immediate and long-term threats including oil and gas exploration, climate change and wildlife population declines resulting from illegal wildlife trade (IWT) [Burg, 2007; Magole and Magole, 2009; Rogan et al, 2015; Herding for Health (H4H), 2019; Richardson, 2021]. Pathway B is founded on the principles of decisionmaking rights over, and benefits from natural resources through local community institutions, developed through decades of global research on the factors that enable robust institutions (Murphree, 2009; Ostrom, 2009) These actions include training and strengthening community capacity for livestock management (community institutions) and securing sustainable market access through mechanisms that encourage wildlife friendly practices. Major assumptions for strengthening ecosystem stewardship incentives are: (1) That the target communities are on board with the H4H program, (2) That communities are willing to acquire new skill sets, (3) That the activities of improved livestock management and rangeland restoration can demonstrate positive outputs that are comparable to illicit means of livelihood enhancement, (4) That better farming practices will result in increased benefits for the farmers, and (5) That the community awareness of the H4H protocol or approach instills acceptance of a wildlife-livestock coexistence strategy. This can take conservation strategy into a new multi-dimensional era beyond the one-dimensional tourism income approach that renders conservation vulnerable to global shocks that jeopardize tourism income, while improving local community attitudes to conservation by increasing benefits to local communities of enhanced access to resources and participation in management of wildlife

CONCLUSIONS

Findings

ETHICS STATEMENT