99 / 148
85
cattle stock has been noted from 2002 to 2008
(Government of Botswana 2009), adding a total
of 500 000 cattle to an already large national
herd, as shown in Figure 4.9.
Some forest cover is lost to fuelwood that
supplies 98 per cent of domestic energy in
rural areas and 79 per cent in urban areas
(Government of Botswana 2009), but timber
operations have been banned since 1992,
due to the poor forest resources base (SADC/
SARDC and others 2008). Figure 4.10 shows the
reduction in forest cover.
Botswana’s per capita carbon emissions levels
are shown to be the highest in the region,
as presented by the African Development
Bank, but have not been a significant part of
environmental monitoring at local level to date.
Figure 4.11 shows carbon emissions levels for
Botswana.
Figure 4.9
Figure 4.11
Figure 4.10
Change in proportion of land area
covered by forests in Botswana
25
20
15
10
5
0
1995
1990
2000
2005
2010
Percentage
Source: FAO 2010
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2006 2007
2005
2008
Metric Tonnes
Carbon dioxide emissions in Botswana
Source: AfDB 2010
3 000
2 500
2 000
1 500
1 000
500
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Thousand head
Source: FAO 2010
Cattle stocks in Botswana
Agriculture makes up about 2.3 per cent of Botswana’s
GDP, and out of this contribution cattle production
makes up 70–80 per cent.
© SARDC
© P. Johnson, SARDC