17 research outputs found
Challenges for Sustainable Water Resources Management in Botswana
No full textLike many semi-arid areas of Africa, Botswana continues to experience inadequate water supply particularly in the southern part of the country. In the last ten years, water restrictions have become part of water demand strategy aimed at maintaining sustainable water supply throughout the year. This has affected many economic sectors particularly small scale enterprises which directly rely on water for their business operations such as car wash and landscaping businesses. The issue of inadequate water availability and supply is more pronounced in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana which relies on Gaborone dam as the main source of water to drive the economy. The dam was last filled to capacity in 2006 and has not spilled since then. While there are several factors affecting the inflows to the dams, rainfall is the principal candidate limiting water availability in the area. Past studies have shown a decline in rainfall and an increase in temperature since 1982. However, there are uncertainties associated with rainfall data, mainly regarding the presence of missing values which affect many hydrological modelling tools. In this chapter, we focus specifically on the effects of missing rainfall data and data infilling strategies on hydrological applications using rainfall and hydrological modelling tools. We also demonstrate the implications of these on spatial rainfall interpolation methods based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Our discussion focuses on the value of data as a priority developmental issue which should receive utmost attention particularly in the wake of climate change. </jats:p
Linking Scientific Research to Development Agenda
No full textIn recent years, the scientific community has been urged to undertake research that can immediately have impact on development issues, including national policies, strategies, and people's livelihoods, among others. While this is a fair call from decision makers, it should also be realized that science by nature is about innovation, discovery and knowledge generation. In this context, there is need for a balance between long term scientific investigations and short term scientific applications. With regard to the former, researchers spend years investigating (or need data of sufficient record length) to provide sound and reliable solutions to a problem at hand while in the latter, it is possible to reach a solution with few selected analyses. In all cases, it is advisable that researchers, where possible should link their studies to topical development issues in their case studies. In this paper, we use a hydrometeorological project in the Notwane catchment, Botswana, to show the importance of linking research to development agenda for mutual benefit of researchers and policy makers. The results indicate that some key development issues are being addressed by the Project and the scope exists to improve the impact of the project. </jats:p
An Overview of Dynamical Downscaling of Global Reanalyses for Improved Climate Reconstruction Over Data-Sparse Regions
No full textNew Population Forecasting Techniques for Realistic Water Demand Management in Urban Centres of Botswana
No full textPredictability of daily precipitation using data from newly established automated weather stations over Notwane catchment in Botswana
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Evaluating Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Gaborone Dam Catchment, Botswana, from 1984–2015 Using GIS and Remote Sensing
No full textLand use land cover (LULC) change is one of the major driving forces of global environmental change in many developing countries. In this study, LULC changes were evaluated in the Gaborone dam catchment in Botswana between 1984 and 2015. The catchment is a major source of water supply to Gaborone city and its surrounding areas. The study employed Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) using Landsat imagery of 1984, 1995, 2005 and 2015. Image classification for each of these imageries was done through supervised classification using the Maximum Likelihood Classifier. Six major LULC categories, cropland, bare land, shrub land, built-up area, tree savanna and water bodies, were identified in the catchment. It was observed that shrub land and tree savanna were the major LULC categories between 1984 and 2005 while shrub land and cropland dominated the catchment area in 2015. The rates of change were generally faster in the 1995–2005 and 2005–2015 periods. For these periods, built-up areas increased by 59.8 km2 (108.3%) and 113.2 km2 (98.5%), respectively, while bare land increased by 50.3 km2 (161.1%) and 99.1 km2 (121.5%). However, in the overall period between 1984 and 2015, significant losses were observed for shrub land, 763 km2 (29.4%) and tree savanna, 674 km2 (71.3%). The results suggest the need to closely monitor LULC changes at a catchment scale to facilitate water resource management and to maintain a sustainable environment
Prediction of onset and cessation of austral summer rainfall and dry spell frequency analysis in semiarid Botswana
No full textAnalysis of the Future Land Use Land Cover Changes in the Gaborone Dam Catchment Using CA-Markov Model: Implications on Water Resources
No full textLand use/land cover (LULC) changes have been observed in the Gaborone dam catchment since the 1980s. A comprehensive analysis of future LULC changes is therefore necessary for the purposes of future land use and water resource planning and management. Recent advances in geospatial modelling techniques and the availability of remotely sensed data have become central to the monitoring and assessment of both past and future environmental changes. This study employed the cellular automata and Markov chain (CA-Markov) model combinations to simulate future LULC changes in the Gaborone dam catchment. Classified Landsat images from 1984, 1995, 2005 and 2015 were used to simulate the likely LULCs in 2015 and 2035. Model validation compared the simulated and observed LULCs of 2015 and showed a high level of agreement with Kappa variation estimates of Kno (0.82), Kloc (0.82) and Kstandard (0.76). Simulation results indicated a projected increase of 26.09%, 65.65% and 55.78% in cropland, built-up and bare land categories between 2015 and 2035, respectively. Reductions of 16.03%, 28.76% and 21.89% in areal coverage are expected for shrubland, tree savanna and water body categories, respectively. An increase in built-up and cropland areas is anticipated in order to meet the population’s demand for residential, industry and food production, which should be taken into consideration in future plans for the sustainability of the catchment. In addition, this may lead to water quality and quantity (both surface and groundwater) deterioration in the catchment. Moreover, water body reductions may contribute to water shortages and exacerbate droughts in an already water-stressed catchment. The loss of vegetal cover and an increase in built-up areas may result in increased runoff incidents, leading to flash floods. The output of the study provides useful information for land use planners and water resource managers to make better decisions in improving future land use policies and formulating catchment management strategies within the framework of sustainable land use planning and water resource management
Analysis of rainfall and temperature time series to detect long-term climatic trends and variability over semi-arid Botswana
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