schauinsland-reisen supports development project of Wülfrath foundation for species conservation in Botswana
Working together for climate-friendly agriculture
Press Release – 06.02.2023
The area around the Okavango Delta in Botswana is currently one of the regions that have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19. Tourists stayed away, and many people became unemployed. The dry, barren soils of the semi-desert state are difficult to use for agriculture, especially as climate change is progressing particularly rapidly there. Many people live in hunger and poverty – more than ever before.
To change this, the SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund launched the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) program a year ago and is now receiving support from schauinsland-reisen.
The Wülfrath-based foundation has already been active in the region for 12 years with over 44 projects and is now supporting village communities and non-profit groups in climate-friendly fruit and vegetable cultivation with the CSA program. Projects supported include a vegetable garden at a shelter for orphans at risk, a village community garden for organic farming, and a women’s empowerment project.
With the support of schauinsland-reisen, another milestone is now possible: a two-hectare organic fruit and vegetable garden on the edge of one of the most wildlife-rich areas of Botswana. It is the extension of an already existing vegetable garden of also two hectares.
“With our social commitment in the region around the Okavango Delta in Botswana, we can make a lot of positive difference,” says Steffen Kassner of schauinsland-reisen. “We consciously support such projects that are sustainable and thus also focused on future generations. So we are also investing in the future of children, which is particularly important to us as a traditional family business.”
Der Projekt-Standort im Dorf Quqao ist kein Zufall. Die Region ist ein trauriger Hotspot der Löwentötungen und Mensch-Wildtier- Konflikten. Deshalb hatte SAVE hier bereits das Artenschutzprojekt „SAVE LIONS – Leben mit Löwen“ angesiedelt, mit dem Ziel, dass kein Löwe mehr sterben soll, weil er Rinder oder Ziegen tötet. Seit Projektbeginn ist die Zahl der Nutztierrisse um 90% gesunken.
Das neue von schauinsland-reisen geförderte Smart-Agriculture-Projekt im Dorf Quqao soll insgesamt 30 Farmerinnen und Farmern eine Alternative zur Viehzucht eröffnen. Dieses Engagement ermöglicht sowohl nachhaltige Nahrungssicherheit für die Menschen als auch einen langfristigen Schutz der Wildtiere. Durch den Obst- und Gemüseanbau machen sich die Kleinbauern unabhängiger vom Fleisch und der Nutztierhaltung, weil vermehrt Obst und Gemüse auf ihrem Speiseplan stehen. Sinkende Vielbestände verringern wiederum das Risiko der Raubtierübergriffe.
„Dieses Projekt macht mal wieder deutlich“, so SAVE-Gründer Lars Gorschlüter, „wie eng Wildtierschutz mit dem Wohlergehen der lokalen Bevölkerung verbunden ist. Diese neue Einkommensquelle stellt für viele Menschen eine Alternative zur Wilderei und generell dem Töten von Raubtieren dar – ein Problem, das leider während der Pandemie und den ausbleibenden Touristen massiv zugenommen hat.“
Earlier this year, SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund teams had already trained smallholder farmers in this region in climate-smart agricultural techniques. These included irrigation options for the cracked, dry soil, the basics of organic farming, and the construction of wildlife-proof fencing.
In the long term, the project will not only provide healthy food for the local population, it will also provide a new source of income that people can use to sustainably support themselves. The surplus fruit and vegetable yields are to be sold at lodges or at markets.