Makgadikgadi Pans National Park lies in north 

 central Botswana. The fence along the Boteti 

 River, on the park's western border, was com- 

 pleted in 2004. Because of years of drought, how- 

 ever, most of the water in the Boteti channel lies 

 underground. Thus thousands of zebras in the 

 park that migrate during the dry season can no 

 longer drink from the river, but the fence also vir- 

 tually seals them off from any other water sources 

 to its west. When the rains come, the zebras re- 

 turn east. The Botswana government plans to ex- 

 tend the fence to the park's eastern border. 



BOTSWANA 



tswana: like much of the rest of Africa, a land of so- 

 cial and economic contrasts. Since gaining its inde- 

 pendence from the U.K. in 1966, the country has 

 maintained one of the highest rates of economic 

 growth in the world, as well as soaring rates of pover- 

 ty and unemployment. The economy is largely based 

 on diamond mining, tourism, and cattle farming, 

 which is itself a source of great inequality. Large cat- 

 tle producers — the "beef barons" — account for only 

 1 5 percent of the farmers in Botswana, yet they own 

 75 percent of the country's estimated 3 million head 

 of cattle. Even for subsistence farmers, however, live- 

 stock are a source of social prestige. Although beef 

 brings in just 3 percent of the gross domestic product 

 (CA)\ y ), it remains a critical industry because cattle 

 farming is a traditional way of life in Botswana. 



The controversial history of fence-building in 

 Botswana is closely tied to the nation's beef industry. 

 In 1972, when exports were becoming an important 



part of that industry, the European Union 

 offered large subsidies to the beef exporters. 

 There was just one condition on the ex- 

 ports: the beef had to be certified free of 

 foot-and-mouth disease. 



Some people argued that the disease can 

 jump from wildlife to livestock — though 

 to this day there is no conclusive proof that 

 it does. Nevertheless, to meet the require- 

 ments of the E.U, the Botswana govern- 

 ment decided to erect fences to segregate 

 livestock from wildlife. Whatever its mer- 

 its in disease control, fencing has clearly 

 paid off in reassuring European beef buy- 

 ers. Today, Botswana receives a tariff break 

 of as much as 92 percent on beef exports 

 to the European market. 



But beef exporting and cattle farming 

 are not the only keys to the Botswana 

 economy. Botswana's new engine of growth 

 is tourism, a wildlife-based industry. 



Tourism brings $240 million a 

 year into the economy, ac- 

 counting for almost 12 percent 

 of GDP. It is also the country's 

 fastest growing sector. And the 

 interests of tourism are running 

 smack into conflict with the in- 

 terests of the beef industry. 



At the heart of the conflict 

 are the fences, which have 

 turned Botswana into a jigsaw 

 puzzle of isolated land frag- 

 ments that neither cattle nor 

 wildlife can navigate freely. And of all the fences that 

 adversely affect wildlife, the ones proving most harm- 

 ful are undoubtedly the fences that interfere with mi- 

 grating species. One notorious incident in 1983 

 dwarfs the zebra debacles of 2004 and 2005. A severe 

 drought in the Kalahari game reserve in central 

 Botswana prompted a massive migration of wilde- 

 beest. The animals were following an ancient route 

 to water when they were stopped by the Kuke fence 

 on the eastern border of the reserve. Some 65,000 

 wildebeest piled up dead in heaps against the fence. 



The conflict over fences presents a nasty dilemma 

 for the government because Botswana has deliber- 

 ately nurtured its lucrative tourism industry: it is 

 known for its policy of low-impact tourism, favor- 

 ing small tourist groups because they are less harm- 

 ful to the country's delicate ecosystems. Yet in the 

 past few decades hundreds of thousands of animals 

 have died of thirst and exhaustion while trying to 

 get around the seemingly endless fences. And the 



WXAI PAN 

 AND 

 MAKGADI KGAPl 

 PANS NATIONAL 

 PARKS 



NAMIBIA 



ZIMBABWE 



N AT UK A I- HISTORY June 2006 



