Botswana

The African elephant is the largest living land mammal. It once inhabited most of the continent, from the Mediterranean coast down to its south tip. This picture of elephant range today is one of scattered, fragmented populations south of the Sahara Desert. Estimates suggested that elephant populations had more than halved in several areas between 1981-87.

This report is based on a 3-month project assessing business and environment in Botswana. The project concentrated on an assessment of the interests, needs, concerns and constraints of the business community in environmental and resouce management. Top managers and environmental officers in key production and service companies, government departments, NGOs and local authorities were approached for their opinions. A reference group was also established to provide guidance.

The bodiversity of southern Africa depends on water as does the regional economy. Water flows through every economic sector: agriculture, energy, industry, mining, tourism, and fisheries. However, this vital resource is under threat from environmental degradation due to population growth, poverty, climate change and pollution.

A series of regional reviews of multi-sectoral strategies for sustainability at the national, provincial, and local levels, complementing the volume on "Strategies for national sustainable development". This volume summarizes the status of strategies in the region, reviews and analyses case studies to provide an analytical history and status report on each strategy.