Case Study

The Morama bean project is a program sponsored by SIDA in collaboration with the Swedish Trade Council under its 2010- 2012 partner driven collaboration. This project is currently being implemented in Botswana and Namibia in collaboration with five consortium partners.

The mineral content of nine landraces of bambara groundnut cultivated in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland respectively was investigated. The raw seeds were analysed for Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Cu, Fe and Zn. The ranges (mg/100 g dry matter) obtained for the macro minerals are: Ca 37-128, K 1545-2200, Mg 159-335, Na 16-25, P 313-563, and for the micro minerals (ppm): Cu 3.0-13.2, Fe 23.0-150 and Zn 13.9- 77.0. There were similarities and differences in the components determined in the landraces grown in a particular country and between the same landraces grown in different countries. This legume is a good source of, Ca, K, Mg, P and Fe. The Mg and P contents are similar to those of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea, P 376 and Mg 168). Landraces grown in Swaziland seem to have higher mineral contents than those grown in Botswana and Namibia. The concentration of the minerals in this legume indicates that they could be useful in the diets of consumers in Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia.

This report came about as a result of the desire of Botswana non-state actors to understand the issues surrounding the management of the intellectual property associated with their biodiversity, particularly natural products such as indigenous plants. The research work was conducted between 2-23rd May 2007 and consisted of key informant interview, preparation of case studies and reviews of laws, treaties and other literature. The purpose of this research was to work towards the development of an intellectual property regime for indigenous plants (and potentially other natural resources) in Botswana that promotes investment in the development of new products whilst protecting the in situ natural resource and ensuring full and equitable compensation for intellectual property. This was done through mapping the existing and needed intellectual property regime for indigenous plants. In the findings and recommendations, the consultants have been asked to state whether, in their opinion, the issue represents a „threat‟ (i.e., that some aspect such as biodiversity or livelihoods are „threatened‟) or an „opportunity‟ (i.e., that biodiversity or livelihoods could be positively impacted upon).

To investigate the response of Bambara groundnut landraces to pre-sowing hydration, three experiments were conducted on three bambara groundnut landraces; OM1, Diphiri cream (DC) and Gaborone cream (GC) in the greenhouse at Botswana College of Agriculture, Botswana, in 2011. The experimental designs were completely randomized design (CRD) with 5 pre-sowing hydration; (6, 12, 24, 48, 72 hrs) and the control, each replicated four times. Increasing hydration time from 12 to 72 hrs significantly (p≤0.01) increased the final germination for GC up to 87% and significantly increased OM1 germination up to 57% at 24 hrs. However, there was a significant decrease in final germination for DC. There were significant (p≤0.01) differences within and across the landraces for seedling emergence; GC had the highest emergence of up to 100% at 24 hrs. Across the three landraces GC and DC significantly (p≤0.05) increased stem dry diameter at 6, 12 and 24 hrs pre-sowing hydration. Moreover, pre-sowing hydration treatments had significant (p≤0.01) effect within the three Bambara landraces root dry matters and no significant (p>0.05) effect on GC and DC leaf dry matter. Hydrating seeds for 24 hrs improved germination, seedling emergence, leaf and stem dry matter accumulation of bambara groundnut landraces.

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En : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEiEk1-d47E

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Contact GSDM here: www.gsdm-mg.org

Madagascar a connu plusieurs événements extrêmes liés aux variabilités climatiques actuelles et passées durant ces dernières décennies. Les plus importants sont les cyclones, les inondations et les sécheresses. Ces perturbations deviennent de plus en plus fréquentes et intenses et génèrent des impacts importants notamment en matière de pertes de vie humaine, de diminution de production agricole et animale, de destruction des infrastructures, de dégradation des ressources naturelles (eaux, sols et forêts) et d’érosion côtière, rendant ainsi précaires la sécurité alimentaire, l’alimentation en eau potable et l’irrigation, la santé publique et la gestion de l’environnement et du mode de vie. Ces impacts mettent la population malgache et ses activités de développement en situation de vulnérabilité répétitive et croissante.

There are few direct measurements of anthropogenic climate-forcing emissions in Africa, making it difficult to accurately assess current emissions and to anticipate changes in future emissions. Emissions databases suggest that sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), home to less than 15% of the world's population, is responsible for 11% of anthropogenic methane (CH4) and 18% of anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions globally, though this includes substantial emissions from biomass burning that would occur in the absence of contemporary anthropogenic activity, and which may be over-estimated. SSA is also an important source of precursors to the greenhouse gas tropospheric ozone, and of mineral dust, which has a range of impacts on climate. Eliminating food insecurity and poverty is likely to take priority over greenhouse gas mitigation in the region, so innovations in mitigation must focus on ways to reduce emissions as an ancillary benefit of improving livelihoods.

Climate change is one of the major challenges that are confronting developing countries. Rural women in Zimbabwe are one of the most hard hit populace groups. The study sought to investigate how rural women are affected by climate change in relation to their livelihoods. It also explores women’s perception of climate change and the effects of those perceptions on adapting to climate change. Emphasis is made on the effects of climate change on crop production, livestock production and water sources focusing on Tsholotsho District in Zimbabwe. The study used a qualitative approach to obtain data on the effects of climate change. One of the major findings of the study was that the impact of climate change undermines women’s livelihoods which are rain-fed thus leading to accelerated food insecurity problems and heightened impoverishment. The paper concludes that women in rural areas must be prioritized in development programming especially in agriculture to ameliorate impending and inevitable climate change induced food insecurity. 

The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) is a not-for-profit think-tank, consultancy and network of subscribing organisations specialising in regeneration, local economic development and local governance, which was founded in 1986.

Wetlands are unique for storing water from storms; recharging ground water and serving as the habitat for a variety of aquatic organisms, wildlife and plants, including rare, threatened, endangered and endemic species. However, climate variability has led to the shrinking and drying up of most wetlands in Zimbabwe. This study looked at the public perceptions of climatic experiences in their environment, level of knowledge about wetland management and attitudes towards implementing these strategies. Data collection and analysis was based on field surveys in two villages around Intunjambili wetland, including five focus groups, questionnaires (five point Likert-scaled) given to 27 households, structured interviews and observations. The results indicate that a significant proportion of the locals are aware of the dynamics of the local climate; the majority of the participants have heard of climate variability but very few know the causes. The majorities of the participants use indigenous knowledge systems to conserve their wetlands and are reluctant to implement scientific methods as they are perceived as expensive. The study points to the need to encourage residents to merge scientific methods and indigenous knowledge systems in wetland management and to increase outreach about the climate variability risk, for sustainable environmental management.