Airboats causing major disturbance on Thamalakane river

Environmentalists are up in arms about the effects Botswana Defence force craft are having on birdlife along the Thamalakane River.
The river is part of the of the Maun bird sanctuary which extends along the river from the junction with the Boro to the Shashe.
“Airboat activities of the BDF impact negatively on birds in this area,” Peter Hancock, Conservation Officer for Birdlife Botswana in Maun said this week.
“Waterbird counts conducted by Birdlife Botswana during January show that the Thamalakane River is second only to Lake Ngami in terms of importance for waterfowl due to the fact that is it is relatively rich in nutrients and is well well-vegetated.”
He suggested that flooded stretches of the Boteti River, which are free of vegetation and have few waterbirds, would be a better testing ground for the airboats.
Residents along the river are also concerned about the noise generated by the boats. The noise can be heard more than kilometre from the river.
Tim Liversedge, one of the world's top wildlife cameramen and an expert on airboats, said: “While I am concerned about the disturbance factor to people living along the river, particularly in the early mornings and on
Sundays, I have also noted that airboat operators are not using ear muffs. Testing of the boats will undoubtedly have impaired their hearing.”
Liversedge had also received complaints from others who thought it was his personal airboat that was causing a disturbance.
The Maun bird Sanctuary was gazetted more than 20 years ago and is clearly marked on government maps of the Maun area.
“Similarly, basic health and safety precautions are being ignored. Let's hope that the powers that powers that be at the BDF are not going to ride roughshod over the views of the people of Maun,” Hancock said.
A request for comment has been sent to the BDF

The malaria season in Botswana is on with a vengeance.

The National Malaria Control Programme is working hard to ensure that there is maximum reduction of transmission, proper diagnosis, treatment and appropriate management and referral of persons with malaria from households to health facilities.Malaria is a public health problem with transmission being highest in the northern part of the country in five sub-districts of Okavango, Chobe, Ngami , Boteti and Tutume. Significant progress has however been made in reducing the incidence of malaria in the country with the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) reporting a reduction in the number of unconfirmed cases from 71 555 in 2000 to 16 983 in 2007, while confirmed cases reduced from 8 056 to 464 during the same period.
This has largely been due to the high level of political commitment towards the control of malaria, an effective health system as well as the low incidence rates.
Life saving interventions to prevent illness and deaths from malaria exist and they are effective. One such intervention involves the use of mosquito net treated with insecticide to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes and the nets can reduce child deaths from malaria by nearly 40%.
Another method used to prevent the transmission of malaria is indoor residual spraying which involves the spraying of the walls of houses with insecticide.
In order to achieve effective control of malaria the World Health Organization recommends that at least 80% of the households at risk should be regularly sleeping under mosquito nets and coverage for indoor residual spraying should be at least 80%. Currently in Botswana , the national indoor coverage is 74% but nets coverage is still very low with only 9.4% of households surveyed owning a net.

Hunters look forward to good season

Botswana 's hunting industry expects it will be business as usual during this year's hunting season despite the global financial crisis.
The industry will also attempt to evade any downscaling of operations as a result of the crisis.
As in the past, industry members have been to the United States to seek opportunities for the new season, and participated at the Dallas Safari Club, Houston Safari Club and Safari Club International conventions.
Earlier, hunters had been apprehensive as to how the economic slowdown would affect bookings for the 2009/2010 hunting seasons but members of the Botswana Wildlife Management Association (BWMA) have returned this week fully booked for the 2009 season.
Members said that even though the American media was aggressively advising Americans how bad the economy was, there were excellent attendance figures at these conventions.
Throughout the world hunters have always supported conservation through the philosophy that hunting activities assist in paying for conservation. This commitment was once again evident in the attendance of these conventions and the continued support of this conservation effort in Africa by booking hunts at the conventions.
Hunting is a nature based activity and is a vital sector of the eco-tourism industry in Botswana and with the anticipated global downturn in tourism arrivals in Africa and Botswana in particular, the apparent resilience of the hunting industry to the impending global recession will greatly assist in supporting the local economy, the BWMA said.

Helicopter cops trap warthog poacher

Lions, giraffe, elephants and plainsgame can breath a sigh of relief – the warthog poacher is no longer after game of any size.
Police , Botswana defence Force soldiers, Wildlife scouts and many Batswana have been hunting for a unique poacher in the Matsebeng area near the buffalo fence.
They followed a man and his dogs by helicopter into part of the area where hunting is not allowed but has been visited by poachers in the past and found his dogs had killed a warthog bull and two other smaller warthogs.
An Herero, he is regarded by villagers as “a great hunter” as he commonly used his dogs to bring down antelope.
When the helicopter landed and he was told he was under arrest, all he asked for in Herero was a cigarette ( tupuwe omaka ).
He had been tracked from the air the moment he crossed illegally into a concession area, the same area where other men were apprehended recently for having poached giraffe and other game.
The man was taken to Maun and referred for medical tests. As a result of the tests, he was released on the grounds of illness and has returned to the Matsebeng cattle post near Toteng.

It's festival time in Maun!

The Maun carnival has given way to a three-day Maun Festival which will be the biggest ever to be held in north-western Botswana .

Desmond Green, the organiser, said the festival will be offering live entertainment from music through to poetry, theatre and dance and “will be a celebration of music, culture and crafts in the tourism capital of Botswana .” Green said the event – to be staged from April 30 to May 2 – will reflect on all communities in the north-west, and be a major drawcard for tourists as well as talent. There will be an official opening on April 30, followed the next day by a motorcade and a parade of floats through the streets. Green said that government departments, communities and organisations had thrown their weight behind the event. The Maun carnival was revived last year by Green after being discontinued for several years – “Maun is now ready to host a major event and the Maun Festival is the vehicle with which to do so,” Green said.