Botswana to develop policy to protect traditional knowledge

Development of the policy will involve identifying, documenting and gathering local traditional knowledge practices from areas including agriculture, health, culture and religious beliefs, and then feeding them into a legislative framework. The project, which started in February but was formally launched in June, has received nearly US$1 million (P6.6 million) from the government.

"The initiative is intended to bring economic empowerment through benefit-sharing and [providing] royalties to communities rich in indigenous knowledge," said Oabona Monngakgotla, the project's manager. He said that Botswana has realised the importance of indigenous knowledge, such as using traditional herbal medicines to improve health and generate income.