Botswana stands among the African nations grappling intensely with the relentless effects of climate change. From the blistering heatwaves of 2024 to the lingering shadows of a devastating drought, the nation now faces erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns that disrupt lives and livelihoods. One of the hardest-hit regions is the Okavango Delta, Botswana’s renowned jewel of natural beauty and a cornerstone of its tourism industry.
Tourism in the Okavango Delta represents a significant portion of Botswana’s GDP, with roughly 100,000 visitors annually flocking to around 60 camps and lodges. This influx is vital to the local economy and the broader region’s prosperity. The World Health Organization (WHO) underscores how climate change accelerates humanitarian crises worldwide, driving more frequent and severe heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
It warns that 3.6 billion people already reside in areas highly vulnerable to these climate impacts. The WHO projects that between 2030 and 2050, climate change could cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually, due to undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress alone. In Botswana, Statistics Botswana reports that 44.5 percent of households are led by women, with an average head-of-household age of 47.6 years.
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Female-headed households tend to be larger than those led by men, highlighting the particular social dynamics at play. Among those affected is Gosegonna Phefolo, a 47-year-old resident of the Morutsha settlement in NG32 within the Okavango Delta. Phefolo runs a canoe transport business, ferrying tourists to camps and islands across the delta.
As a mother of five and the primary breadwinner, her partner remains unemployed, she has relied on this work to sustain her family. “Before the river went dry, I could make around P380 a day per ride. But since the rivers dried up and tourists vanished, I had to join Ipelegeng just to earn a living and provide for my children,” she shared.
Ipelegeng is an unemployment relief program offering short-term work for a maximum of one month, with the option to reapply. Supervisors earn P701 monthly, while laborers receive P617. Phefolo lamented the absence of support from government or organizations during this crisis.
“We only received help during COVID-19 through food hampers and small groceries; no one came to assist when the water dried up.” Despite these hardships, Phefolo holds onto hope. She anticipates the upcoming winter season, peak tourism time at the delta, will revive her business and allow her to better provide for her family after two difficult years. In a conversation with the Weekend Post, Tshepiso Masilonyane, Program Manager at the Botswana Climate Change Network (BCCN), emphasized the country’s acute vulnerability to climate change.
Botswana’s semi-arid environment exacerbates these challenges, he explained, exposing the country to frequent and intense shocks: cycles of severe drought followed by devastating floods. Water scarcity and drought have become defining features of Botswana’s climate reality. Rising temperatures combined with below-average rainfall have intensified drought conditions, lowered water tables, and strained urban water supplies. The government declared 2023-2024 an “extreme agricultural drought year,” a designation that threatens food security and has already caused livestock deaths.
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