The President of Botswana visited Virginia Tech Tuesday, to present a talk focused on how conservation, democracy, and sustainable development are linked.
Botswana is a country in southern Africa, about the size of Texas. The largest driver of the economy is mining, mostly diamond mining. The second largest is tourism.
40 percent of Botswana’s land is set aside for national parks and wildlife reserves. For comparison, the United States protects less than half that—13 percent.
“The environment we live in is fragile, and must be managed as such. And given the utmost protection,” President Mokgweetsi Masisi told a crowd of 600 people.
Masisi said conservation of wildlife, water and land is linked to Botswana’s ability to sustain its economy, through tourism. He urged others to consider how human health is linked to animal health, and how the sustainability of the planet is connected to our ability to thrive.
“Indeed all of us here are witnesses to the worrying trend of climate change, which is wrecking havoc across the globe,” Masisi said.
He added that there have been challenges to protecting the environment in a democratic country. Occasionally, there are tensions between development and conservation of limited resources, like water. Some people in Botswana have been critical of the country’s preservation of water for wildlife, including elephants. “But the policies of government do not allow uses that are in conflict with the protection of wildlife,” Masisi said. “And so these are the tensions that we’re having to navigate.”
The visit by President Masisi was part of an ongoing partnership between Botswana and Virginia Tech, through a professor named Kathleen Alexander, who for twenty years has run a research center. She regularly brings students to help study infectious diseases in animals and humans, and research the intersections between conservation, economic development, and the empowerment of local communities.
Undergraduate student Maisoon Haddadin visited Botswana last summer to help with the project. There, she got to see elephants and other animals in the wild.
“It’s incredible. It’s amazing. I loved it so much."
Haddadin is researching infectious diseases among animals and humans, here in Virginia and in Botswana. She said she hopes the talk from President Masisi will inspire others to increase conservation efforts here in the United States.
“We don’t have elephants and everything, but it’s still very important for us to make the same type of wildlife management plans,” Haddadin said. “And I think that they are somebody we should look up to in their management plans, cause it’s incredible what they do.”
During the talk, President Masisi said he hopes Virginia Tech will consider more collaboration and partnership between his country and the university.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
