Botswana: 112 Mining Licenses Granted On Bushman Land Since Evictions

"Since the Bushmen were forced off their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in 2002, the Botswana government has granted 112 mining licenses for mining companies to explore in the reserve. 16 licenses have been awarded for uranium exploration and 40 for coal.

It is just over six years since the government evicted more than 600 Bushmen from the reserve, although it has always denied any connection between mining and the evictions.

Botswana’s Minister for Wildlife Kitso Mokaila says he supports mining in the reserve, saying ‘it has always been the policy of the government of Botswana that where there are minerals, they will be mined. Botswana has been built on the strength of mining. It will be a very good thing (to mine in the reserve).’

The Bushmen won the right to return to their land inside the reserve in a landmark ruling at Botswana’s High Court in 2006, where the judges recognized that the evictions had been ‘unlawful’ and ‘unconstitutional’. But the Botswana government is doing all it can to stop the Bushmen from going home, banning them from using a water borehole to get water inside the reserve, and stopping them from hunting for food. Meanwhile, any mines in the reserve will have to drill multiple boreholes to operate, and will create massive disruption to both the Bushmen and the wildlife."

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Survival International