Drought Already Devastating Ngamiland

Boniface Keakabetse | Monday February 15, 2016 16:14

 

Ngamiland District Commissioner (DC), Chabongwa Matseka revealed to The Monitor that 15,485 cattle have been killed by drought. She said 14,000 cattle died in the Maun administrative area while 1,485 perished in the Okavango sub-district. Matseka warned that the number may be higher as some farmers did not report their dead cattle to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ngamiland, which houses forests, water and wildlife resources, is susceptible to changes in unreliable rainfall and warm temperatures currently engulfing the country. The El Nino phenomenon attributed to global warming found Ngamiland already reeling from serious environmental threats due to cattle overpopulation. First, Foot and Mouth Disease limited the  market access for farmers hence cattle population had grown beyond the district’s carrying capacity of 250, 000 to more than 500, 000 putting pressure on the depleted grazing pastures in communal areas.

United Nations Development Programme was spurred to action, as they started funding a multi million pula project to restore the district.  Matseka said there is fear for a potential famine as people did not plough while those farmers who defied the harsh El Nino may produce low yields due to lack of rainfall. Moreover, lakes and river levels which produce certain food staffs such as fish have plummeted igniting fears of hunger and thirst.

The DC explained that government has come up with drought coping interventions such as increasing livestock subsidy from 25 percent to 50 percent. She also explained that government also took a decision to feed all the under five years children, adding that this has already started in the Okavango. She explained that the drought assessment team will be visiting the district starting today as part of the national exercise to assess the impact of the drought.

The hydrological data recorded by the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) shows that the 2015/16 hydrological year of the Okavango River which feeds water bodies in the district has low water flows compared to the previous five years since the 2010/11 season. The data shows that from river inflow at Mohembo, Angola was 8,000 cubic metres showing a significant decline from 13,900 cubic metres which was the highest recorded during the last five-year cycle.  DWA  Maun  station manager, Kutlo Kgobera, explained that already the Thamalakane river which provides Maun with drinking water has stopped flowing and may remain so until the water arrives around April. Kgobera said the Okavango Water levels have also plummeted. In Maun, Water Utilities Corporation last week conducted public addresses warning residents to brace for a thirsty spell as the Thamalakane river has stopped flowing. The shortage has already been hardest felt in wards such as Boseja and Disana. The drying of the Delta is also a bad omen for mokoro (canoe) tour operators who have been badly hit. Kgobera revealed that the hydrological drought conditions are anticipated to prevail for a long spell  due to the low inflow coming into Botswana from Angola. Coordinator of the Ngami Heath Team, Dr Christopher Chembe expressed concern that the drought may increase cases of under five children malnourishment in the district. Chembe said however they are in the process of undertaking direct feeding of such children.