Desiccation of the Gomoti River: Biophysical process and indigenous resource management in Northern Botswana

Bernard, Thomas; Moetapele, N.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.02.001

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Cases of direct anthropogenic intermittence are common and increasing in frequency (e.g. Fu et al, 2004;Bernard & Moetapele, 2005;Qi & Luo, 2005;Hao et al, 2008). These cases are characterised by relatively abrupt changes from perennial to intermittent flow regimes.…”

Section: Intermittence Climate Change and Human Appropriation Of Rivmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging concepts in temporary‐river ecology

Datry²,

et al. 2010

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SUMMARY1. Temporary rivers and streams are among the most common and most hydrologically dynamic freshwater ecosystems. The number of temporary rivers and the severity of flow intermittence may be increasing in regions affected by climatic drying trends or water abstraction. Despite their abundance, temporary rivers have been historically neglected by ecologists. A recent increase in temporary-river research needs to be supported by new models that generate hypotheses and stimulate further research. In this article, we present three conceptual models that address spatial and temporal patterns in temporary-river biodiversity and biogeochemistry. 2. Temporary rivers are characterised by the repeated onset and cessation of flow, and by complex hydrological dynamics in the longitudinal dimension. Longitudinal dynamics, such as advancing and retreating wetted fronts, hydrological connections and disconnections, and gradients in flow permanence, influence biotic communities and nutrient and organic matter processing. 3. The first conceptual model concerns connectivity between habitat patches. Variable connectivity suggests that the metacommunity and metapopulation concepts are applicable in temporary rivers. We predict that aggregations of local communities in the isolated water bodies of temporary rivers function as metacommunities. These metacommunities may become longitudinally nested due to interspecific differences in dispersal and mortality. The metapopulation concept applies to some temporary river species, but not all. In stable metapopulations, rates of local extinction are balanced by recolonisation. However, extinction and recolonisation in many temporary-river species are decoupled by frequent disturbances, and populations of these species are usually expanding or contracting. 4. The second conceptual model predicts that large-scale biodiversity varies as a function of aquatic and terrestrial patch dynamics and water-level fluctuations. Habitat mosaics in temporary rivers change in composition and configuration in response to inundation and drying, and these changes elicit a range of biotic responses. In the model, aquatic biodiversity initially increases directly with water level due to increasing abundance of aquatic patches. When most of the channel is inundated and most aquatic patches are connected, further increases in aquatic habitat and connectivity cause aquatic biodiversity to decline due to community homogenisation and reduced habitat diversity. The predicted responses of terrestrial biodiversity to changes in water level are the inverse of aquatic biodiversity responses. 5. The third conceptual model represents temporary rivers as longitudinal, punctuated biogeochemical reactors. Advancing fronts carry water, solutes and particulate organic matter downstream; subsequent flow recessions and drying result in deposition of transported material in reserves such as pools and bar tops. Material processing is rapid during inundated periods and slower during dry periods. The efficiency of material proc...

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Section: Intermittence Climate Change and Human Appropriation Of Rivmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging concepts in temporary‐river ecology

Datry²,

et al. 2010

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“…The Santantadibe last flowed to the Thamalakane in the 1980s, and the flow of the Gomoti has been sporadic since the 1950s. The desiccation of these rivers is attributed partly to the blockage of the Mboroga River, which has affected the flow of the water to the Gomoti and Santantadibe River channels 296 DL Kgathi et al (Bernard & Moetapele, 2003), and partly to the general decline of flood extent observed between the 1970s and 1990s .…”

Section: Desiccation Of River Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shocks and rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Kgathi¹,

Ngwenya²,

Wilk

2007

Development Southern Africa

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This paper describes the impacts that three shocks in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, have had on rural livelihoods: the desiccation of river channels, animal diseases, and HIV/AIDS. Primary data was collected from five study areas, using formal questionnaire interviews and focus group discussions. The paper reveals the adverse effects on rural livelihoods. It describes the way households have been exposed to poverty and vulnerability and the various ways they have coped or adapted, such as by re-allocating their labour, liquidating their assets to cover medical expenses and funeral costs, reducing the area ploughed for crops, hiring labour, digging wells and switching from flood recession agriculture to dryland farming. The Botswana government has provided safety nets to help households cope, but this paper recommends that people's responses to these shocks should be taken into account in future policy and programme formulation.

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“…The extent and duration of flooding is determined by climatic and environmental variability and creates a dynamic, interlinked aquatic‐terrestrial system with high biological productivity and diversity. Subsequently, local populations around the Okavango Delta have adopted livelihood strategies to optimize their utilization of resources from this dynamic system (Bernard and Moetapele, 2005). The Okavango Delta is the main source of fishing activity in Botswana (Mosepele, 2001) and supports a small scale fishery (SSF) that is the source of food (Mosepele, et al ., 2006; Ngwenya and Mosepele, 2008; Mmopelwa et al ., 2009; Mosepele and Ngwenya, 2010) and nutrition (Nnyepi et al ., 2007) security for riparian communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A case for gender equity in governance of the Okavango Delta fisheries in Botswana

Ngwenya

Mosepele

Magole

2012

Natural Resources Forum

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Fish is a major source of livelihood for the majority of people living around the Okavango Delta in northwestern Botswana. Gender dynamics and governance regimes determine differential access to, and control of, resources between women and men in the area. The purpose of this case study is to critically assess the embeddedness of gendered inequities in the governance of Okavango Delta fishery. Primary data was collected through focus group discussions and face‐to‐face interviews of 96 basket fishers from five villages along the Panhandle area of the Okavango River. The study found that past and present Okavango Delta fishery policy and programme interventions tended to entrench rather than minimize gendered disparities between women and men fishers' access to and control over fish resources, asset accumulation and employment opportunities. Basket fishers have intimate knowledge of flood variability, fish migration and habitat and use this knowledge to make decisions about when and where to harvest what fish species. Women fishers' ecological knowledge, interests and concerns however, have been excluded from current zoning and closed season regulations and co‐management structures. The paper concludes that past and current development interventions as well as the regulatory framework continue to entrench pre‐existing gender relations in the fishery sector which excludes, disempowers and marginalizes women fishers. We recommend innovative co‐management and local based structures which recognize the diversity of interests and interest groups.

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Desiccation of the Gomoti River: Biophysical process and indigenous resource management in Northern Botswana

Cited by 16 publications

References 26 publications

Emerging concepts in temporary‐river ecology

Emerging concepts in temporary‐river ecology

Shocks and rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

A case for gender equity in governance of the Okavango Delta fisheries in Botswana

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