Boreholes Rescue Makgadikgadi Pans Wildlife
Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
9 November 2009


The provision of 12 boreholes and artificial watering pans for the wildlife at a national park in the vast Makgadikgadi Pans is expected to improve the quality of wildlife and tourism activities in the area.

Last year the Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS), started construction of 12 solar pumped boreholes in the area to provide for the wildlife during the dry season.

The project, co-sponsored by the government of Botswana and Tiffany Foundation comes at a time when the demands on water in the area have also grown with increased population of elephants and other wildlife species, as well as growth in tourism.

KCS chief executive officer (CEO) Felix Monggae says the pans contain large numbers of wildlife that migrate between the grasslands to the east during the rainy season and the Boteti River on the western boundary in the dry season. "The only dry season water lies along the Boteti River onto which water dependent species congregate.

The provision of wildlife water supplies was fundamental to the survival of the national park," he told the Monitor.

Monggae says historically the Boteti River was the main source of surface water for wildlife during dry spells but the river dried up in 1991, threatening wildlife resources in the pans.

He said during the 2004-6 the eastern boundary of the Park along the Boteti River was fenced thus severely limiting the sources of water available to wildlife. "More recently the remaining pools of surface water within the Boteti have deteriorated in quality and the survival of the migratory ungulates was being undermined. The aim of the project is to develop artificial watering points in order to provide water for wildlife in the pans during the dry season," Monggae explained to the Monitor.

The KCS project involved the development of 10 new boreholes, two new river extraction points as well as the enhancement of two existing river extraction points adjacent to the Boteti River:

Twelve solar-powered pumps, as well as 12 artificially enhanced watering points were also installed for the new water abstraction points.


Large ungulates occurring at Makgadikgadi include zebra, wildebeest, elephant, springbok, gemsbok, giraffe, kudu, steenbok, duiker, hartebeest and ostrich. Hippos were found in a pool in the Boteti River.

The large zebra and wildebeest migration is seen as one of the most important ecological processes in the park. Buffaloes were common along the Boteti but these were removed and the last herd of 41 animals was relocated into the Delta as part of disease control measures in 1999 , according to the KCS boss.

"It is a unique and fragile ecosystem, which supports some of the country's last truly migratory wildlife, notably the zebra and wildebeest. Predators such as lions and brown hyena inhabit the region along with a rich array of bird life, including the rare Wattled Crane."

quote:

Monggae says historically the Boteti River was the main source of surface water for wildlife during dry spells but the river dried up in 1991, threatening wildlife resources in the pans.

He said during the 2004-6 the eastern boundary of the Park along the Boteti River was fenced thus severely limiting the sources of water available to wildlife. "More recently the remaining pools of surface water within the Boteti have deteriorated in quality and the survival of the migratory ungulates was being undermined. The aim of the project is to develop artificial watering points in order to provide water for wildlife in the pans during the dry season," Monggae explained to the Monitor.

In the original proposal for the fencing , the fence was supposed to "zigzag" across the river providing access to the river from both sides, then as the project went underway the powers that be decided that was too costly so they just built the fence in favour of the cattle , the next zebra migration arrived and died at the fence... great conservation ... this is the same government that cut back the already very very low quotas in hunting areas in the name of conservation!!!!!

Water, Less Irritation for Kalahari Wildlife
Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
6 November 2009


It is about 2:30pm in the wildlife-rich wilderness of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) on this hot Tuesday.

The soaring desert temperatures are taking their toll on the group of visitors to this spot, forcing everyone to use their handkerchiefs time and again to wipe off the buckets of sweat.

Under the thorny bushes tens of well-fed springboks can be seen cooling themselves, a stone's throw away from a water hole known only as Sunday Pan,-one of the few artificial waterholes able to hold water for the entire dry season keeping the desert wildlife happy throughout this dry spell. Here a variety of wildlife includes lions, cheetahs, leopards, gemsboks and springboks, according to Ntshebe, the park manager in the CKGR.

The waterhole has not been operational since 2001, when its diesel operated borehole dried up. The new facility, according to a report by the Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS), will reduce mortalities of migratory species along the fence, especially during the dry season as they attempt to move towards the Boteti River in search of water. The borehole is in a prime area used by migratory water dependent species like wildebeest and hartebeest. This area is also a prime tourist game viewing area and lack of water has resulted in negative comments from tourists, says the KCS report in part.

There is something special about this waterhole of late that has attracted VIP visitors from Gaborone, amongst them KCS chairman Joe Matome, and the president of Tiffany, a jewellery manufacturer from New York, United States of America (US). It is one of the new models whose boreholes do not use diesel pumps, whereby the engine roars polluting the environment with its noise, and possibly polluting the water source with its diesel, in cases of spillage, that is.

Water from this particular waterhole is pumped using solar energy. No engine noise to irritate the wildlife. No possibility of the water or the surrounding being polluted by diesel fuel. The solar panels have been placed atop well-raised structures to keep it away from any destructive elements like baboons and thieves.

The waterhole has become the centre of attraction on this day. Here the animals would no longer have to go for days without water just because the borehole has run out of diesel, or because the engine has to be repaired. KCS chief executive officer (CEO), Felix Monggae, says in the past, the wildlife would suffer as it took long to fix the engine or to get the diesel and transport it to the boreholes. Now those hassles are a thing of the past.

In fact, over eight boreholes in the CKGR have not been operational for decades because the engines needed repairs, while some ran out of water completely. This model of borehole just requires the sun, to pump the water for the wildlife, and there is no place as hot as the CKGR to provide the required amount of sunlight. Interestingly though, when the sun gets covered by the clouds, or night time approaches, the borehole immediately stops pumping water, until there is enough sunlight to get the solar panels running. Monggae says this solar activity also helps conserves water as the rare commodity is not just pumped on and on, resulting in wastage.

A similar facility was being finalised at another location in the CKGR on the same day. The Passarge Pan, about 50km west of the Sunday Pan, was undergoing refurbishment when the borehole stopped working in 2001. A new borehole has been drilled, and equipped pump water into the pan, originally a natural drinking hole for the wildlife. It has also been equipped with solar panels too. According to the consultants, this enhanced waterhole would be ready by next week, watering the wildlife in the desert.

Since last year 10 boreholes and waterholes of this type have been constructed in the CKGR thanks to a P14 million funding from the Botswana government, and a further $US 500, 000 from Tiffany, a New York based jewellery manufacturer.

Monggae says besides the 10 boreholes in the CKGR, four more boreholes and waterholes have been constructed at Khutse Game Reserve, while a further 13 are already operational at Makgadikgadi Pans. KCS are managing the project for the government. The CKGR project involved the rehabilitation of eight boreholes long abandoned by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, as well as the drilling of six new ones, in the CKGR and Khutse Parks. The already existing boreholes in both the CKGR and Khutse have also been installed with solar operated pumps, to replace the diesel engines.

Tiffany president, Fernando Kellogg, was in the CKGR for two days to see for herself the conservation project funded by her company. " I think water is precious. We are giving the wildlife the most precious thing, water. There is nothing more important we can do than help wildlife get water.

"Tiffany is a jewellery company and we understand precious and we think water is precious, and what a wonderful gift Tiffany money can make to provide water to wildlife,"she said on her first-ever visit to Botswana.She was also in Chobe the previous day, where she witnessed another conservation project Tiffany is supporting.

She tells Mmegi that in the Chobe, her company has released $US 250, 000 to help reduce conflicts between communities and wildlife, especially elephants and lions. The project, she says, would see the farming communities enabling elephants and lions to roam freely across the Zambezi into Zambia and back, without any human disturbance. The cooperation by the communities would enable the wildlife to find proper crossing on the river and safe places to.


The project entails putting in place agreements with local communities in the Chobe and Zambia sides of the borders, as well as increased staffing of wildlife department with 20 new scouts, starting on the Botswana side, according to Kellogg.

The Tiffany president says she also supports a related programme in Sierra Leone, where abandoned diamond mines are being rehabilitated and turned into agricultural fields. The Sierra Leone project, also started two years ago, and was funded to the tune of $US 250, 000. Boreholes have been drilled for irrigation purposes.

In China, Tiffany is involved in the rehabilitation of an ancient village called Ping Yao, whose rich cultural heritage is under threat from commercialisation.

I'm not a trained ecologist, so do not give to much attention to my views.

The artificial supply of permanent water to the "mobile wildlife" [big tourist visible animals] at 12 points in a sensitice desert environment can only result in severe changes in the "immobile wildlife" [plants and grasses] in the immediate vicinity of the points. The changes are most likely to result in serious loss of habitat for birds like sandgrouse and a whole miriad of smaller species as well as soil erosion, and thus erosion of the sustainability of the general wildlife, including wattled crane, in the area.

Another action of Kalahari Destruction by implementing actions that were not thought through properly in an effort to 'remedy' the adverse results of other actions [fencing of the Boteti River] that were also not thought through properly, the Kalahari Conservation Society!

Wish I could do more to spell out the idiocity of such actions, but all my knowledge about interfering with natural systems by fencing and providing artificial watering points tells me this is another disaster in the making!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren