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Botswana

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Submitted By robbiet
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Pages 3
Robert Thorne
Mr. Ivey
English ll/1st
30 November 2012
Environmental Issues in Botswana Botswana is an incredibly venerable in terms of this countries environmental problems. This country has been faced with major challenges to its environment in recent years due to climate change, population growth, increased resource consumption and overstocking making the ecosystems more vulnerable. This has caused Botswana to be susceptible to major environmental issues. I will discuss some of the major environment issues this country is currently facing today such desertification, water scarcity, and biodiversity. One major concern Botswana is facing is desertification problems that predominantly stem from the severe times of drought in the country. Due to the drought, 75% of the country’s human and animal populations are dependent on groundwater. Groundwater use has eased the effects of drought, but has left a toll on the land. Groundwater is retrieved through drilling deep boreholes, which leads to the erosion of the land. Surface water is very scarce in Botswana and less than 5% of the agriculture in the country is sustainable by rainfall. Due to this 95% of the country raises cattle and livestock as a means for an income. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see that 71% of the country’s land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause for the desertification of the country. Since raising livestock has proven to be profitable for the people of Botswana, the land is continuing to be exploited. The animal populations have continued to dramatically increase. Desertification is regarded as the reduction in land productivity as a result of overstocking and overgrazing. Desertification is exacerbated by the effects of drought and climate change (“Environmental Issues in Botswana”). Another major concern Botswana is facing is water Scarcity.

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