Page 18 - Meetings Botswana 2024 FINAL

18 Meetings Botswana 2024
economic trajectory was forever altered, ushering in a
future of endless imaginations and fortunes.
The prudent exploration of these and other minerals
soon proved to be the much-needed capital to develop
other viable sectors such as tourism.
Teaming with a spectacle of wildlife and world renowned
heritage sites, the tourism sector soon bore fruit and
today, it is the second largest contributor to the country’s
economy after minerals. The country is also blessed with
pristine and largely unchartered wilderness, thanks in part
to Government successes at keeping numbers of visitors
low through relatively higher tariffs and other interventions
to control environmental degradation often caused by high
human traffic and settlements.
Overall, an astonishing 30 percent of the 581,730
square kilometres of Botswana’s land is taken up by game
reserves and national parks, a testimony to the country’s
commitment to adequate wildlife management. The
availability of large open spaces have attracted, among
others, the largest elephant populations in the world,
totalling to around 130,000 by the end of 2023. For
comparison, some 293,000 of approximately 415,000
African elephants are found in the whole of southern Africa,
according to the World Wildlife Foundation. Visitors have
the choice to view these gentle giants on game drives and
safaris, from the air or to watch from the terrace of a camp
or luxury hotel.
Game wardens strictly control the number of visitors,
their movements, and hours of visitation inside these
areas. This high value, low-impact approach coupled with
firm environmental protection laws have paid dividends
towards Botswana’s claim as Africa’s best kept secret and is
the ideal destination for those who care about the future of
the planet and themselves.
Vast Savannah Grasslands and Near Perfect
Wildlife Sanctuary
Botswana’s natural fortunes appear to be in part anchored
on huge contrasts and what may appear to be stark
contradictions to the timid eye. Modern developments
and larger administrative centres are situated along the
eastern border regions in settlements along the railway
streak running between the two cities of Francistown
and the capital Gaborone from the North-East to the
South. Otherwise, much of the country is taken up by
the seemingly desolate Kalahari Desert easily accessible
from Gaborone through the large sprawling village of
Molepolole. Interestingly, this is where many of the
country’s gems are mined from deep under the dry
Kgalagadi sands. The word ‘kgalagadi’, from the Tswana
verb ‘kgala’ or ‘evaporate’ is indeed a fitting description to
this vast waterless place of immense potential.
On the surface, the vast savannah grasslands support
cattle farming which drives the lucrative beef industry that
has made the country famous as an exporter of the world’s
finest beef. The hot dry desert conditions keep animal pests
under check, especially the disease carrying heartwater tick.
About 200 kilometres further inland from Molepolole
to the North-West is the Khutse Game Reserve, the second
after the Moremi Game Reserve to be established on tribal
land. The reserve forms part of an ancient river system
T H E W O W F A C T O R
Below: Botswana’s
protection policies create
sanctuary for viable
populations of endangered
wildlife such as Lions. In
turn, protected areas attract
visitors to see them in
their wild habitat. Image by
Steven Stockhall.