Local Project

In terms of desertification, Botswana is one of the most seriously affected countries in Southern Africa.

Land provides valuable ecosystem services for human well-being, but land degradation leads to a reduction in the provision of these services with significant social and economic costs to the country. The decline of ecosystem services can take different forms, including decline in food availability, soil fertility, carbon sequestration capacity, wood production, groundwater recharge, among others

Land degradation is the result of human-induced actions which exploit land, causing its utility, biodiversity, soil fertility, and overall health to decline as explained by UNCCD. It is simply the deterioration of the economic productivity of the land – such as the ability to farm the land for commercial or subsistence purposes.

Although it takes a long time to restore degraded land, it is essential to start now. A recent global assessment on land degradation shows that for Botswana the returns on taking action against land degradation versus inaction are estimated at 6 USD for every dollar invested in reverting degraded land,'” underlining the economic solid incentives for bold actions on achieving LDN