Community perceptions on land and water acquisitions in the Okavango Delta : implications for rural livelihoods

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Phonchi-Tshekiso, Nametso Dorothy
dc.contributor.author Slingsby, Jasper A.
dc.contributor.author Selomane, Odirilwe
dc.date.accessioned 2024-09-20T07:07:39Z
dc.date.available 2024-09-20T07:07:39Z
dc.date.issued 2024
dc.description.abstract Large-scale land acquisitions in Africa are increasing, reported often as the transfers of land for food and biofuel crop production. Only reporting agricultural acquisitions underplays potential impacts of other forms of acquisitions like tourism and conservation, which are new engines for economic growth in Southern Africa. While this shift has complex social-ecological implications, there is limited evidence of the multiple ways that land acquisitions unfold in wetland ecosystems, and implications for people and nature. This study aims to investigate local perceptions of implications of land and water acquisitions on local livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, using in-depth interviews with 116 local respondents in Etsha 6, Khwai and Tubu villages. Findings revealed that the primary drivers of land acquisitions in the Okavango Delta were tourism and subsistence agriculture, and a new and unique land exchange (we termed land borrowing) was prevalent in Tubu, involving the borrowing of farmland in flood recessions between locals. Concessions, borrowings, and rentals were key perceived land acquisition types. Both positive and negative impacts of land acquisitions on livelihoods surfaced. The diversity of cultural grouping influenced locals’ intricate connection with riparian waters and affected how land was exchanged and governed. The disparities in benefits from land resources have negative implications for equitable resource distribution and natural resource governance, in policy and practice. This research highlights the importance of an expanded view of acquisitions and associated impacts with closer attention to power dynamics which can facilitate more nuanced implementation of targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity framework. en_US
dc.description.department Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2024 en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-01:No poverty en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-02:Zero Hunger en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-11:Sustainable cities and communities en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-15:Life on land en_US
dc.description.sponsorship The United States Agency for International Development Resilient Waters Program. en_US
dc.description.uri https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tbsm22 en_US
dc.identifier.citation Nametso Dorothy Phonchi-Tshekiso, Nadia Sitas & Odirilwe Selomane (2024) Community perceptions on land and water acquisitions in the Okavango Delta: implications for rural livelihoods, Ecosystems and People, 20:1, 2374756, DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2024.2374756. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 2639-5908 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2639-5916 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1080/26395916.2024.2374756
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/98344
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Taylor and Francis en_US
dc.rights © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). en_US
dc.subject Conservation en_US
dc.subject Green grabs en_US
dc.subject Equity en_US
dc.subject Land grabs en_US
dc.subject Local livelihoods en_US
dc.subject Political ecology en_US
dc.subject Social-ecological systems (SES) en_US
dc.subject SDG-01: No poverty en_US
dc.subject SDG-02: Zero hunger en_US
dc.subject SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities en_US
dc.subject SDG-15: Life on land en_US
dc.title Community perceptions on land and water acquisitions in the Okavango Delta : implications for rural livelihoods en_US
dc.type Article en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record