KalahariLog

Botswana is a land-locked country in Southern Africa, bordering Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, and South Africa (in counter-clockwise order). Botswana is the roughly the size of France but with much, much smaller population. It is one of the most thinly populated countries in the world with about 3 people per square kilometer (5 per square mile). For contrast, the UK has about 250 people per square kilometer. Overall, there are a little over a million Batswana (this is how the citizens of Botswana are known). One reason for the low population density is that over 80 percent of the country is covered by the Kalahari Desert. Here is the home of the world’s largest inland delta, the Okavango delta, where the only perennial river forms marshlands in the middle of the desert.

Botswana was a British protectorate until 1966 when it gained independence (the 40th Anniversary is coming up in September and celebrations are planned). As luck would have it, one year after independence DeBeers discovered diamonds. By value, Botswana and its governmentally owned company Debswana (joint with DeBeers) is the largest diamond producer in the world. This helps explain how Botswana went from one of the poorest countries in the world during the 60th, to the 2nd wealthiest in Africa today. This all sounds wonderful until one finds out about the HIV/AIDS problems here and in Southern Africa, in general. Exact numbers are hard to find but most experts estimate that 30-35% of the population are HIV-positive. On the other hand, I’ve been told that Botswana is the only country in the world that provides free Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to all who need it.

With 20% of the land protected as national parks or wildlife management areas, Botswana seems interested in conservation and high-end tourism. One-week all-inclusive trips to the Okavango Delta start at $5,000 per person. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find something cheaper or do our own exploring. The Kalahari is also the traditional home of the “bushmen” or San peoples. Like most native populations elsewhere, they have suffered a great deal and most surviving groups live in reservations similar to those in the US southwest.