Covers most of Botswana and parts of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. It is about 260,000 KM^2 in size and receives about 200 mm of rainfall every year.
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Uses of the Kalahari desert
home for native tribes, farming and mining
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Native tribes
Sparsely populated, but some native people still live in the desert e.g. San Bushmen. Traditional way of living including hunting antelope and arrows for gathering food.
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Farming cattle
In 1998, there were 2.3 million cattle farmed in Botswana. Some grazing land is irrigated (watered) using water collected from boreholes (wells)
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Mining
Coal, diamonds, copper and gold e.g. The Orapa Diamond minr in Botswana. The Orapa mine earned over $1.6 billion worth of diamonds in a year. Selling minerals provide 40% of government income
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Negative impacts of using the Kalahari desert
Depletion of underground supplies, migration of animals, native tribes losing land, water shortages
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Depletion of underground supplies
Overgrazing of land has caused soil erosion and irrigation has depleted underground water supplies. Droughts are increasing threatening people and habitats for plants and animals
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Migration for animals
Fencing put up for farmers prevents the migration for animals to find food if not they will starve
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Native tribes losing land
Mining and farming have led to native tribes being forced off their land losing the traditional way of life
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Water shortages
Mining from boreholes uses a lot of water. This is depleting groundwater supplies and leading to severe water shortages that affect native people and the environment habitats
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Sustainable management of the Kalahari desert
Conserving water, game reserves, removal of agricultural fences
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Conserving water
In Windhoek, people are charged for the volume of water they use, this encourages them to use less and is sustainable as it does not deplete water in the future
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Game reserves
Several game reserves have been created to provide areas for the native people to live and to protect wild life e.g. In 1961 a game reserve protected the San Bushmen. This is sustainable because it conserves life for native people and future
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Removal of agricultural fences
Fences are removed to allow animals to migrate. This is sustainable because fewer wild animals die so they will be there for future generations to enjoy
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Unsustainable management of the Kalahari desert
Water supplies have increased by building dams and drilling more boreholes for farming and reducing effects of droughts. This is unsustainable because it depletes ground water supplies even more.
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