Botswana is endowed with diverse mineral resources and is often seen as one of the few success stories for avoiding the natural resource curse. The country has been able to use its natural resources to grow the economy and improve the lives of many of its citizens. For the individuals and communities living close to the sites of extraction, the host communities as they are often referred to, the impacts often are not as positive.

Botswana is not alone in experiencing this situation. Land dispossession and evictions, lost livelihoods and cultural heritage, environmental destruction and the loss of social cohesion have all been associated with the extractive industries across the globe. Increasingly, many of the areas where mining takes place are on lands used by rural and traditional communities, many of which are comprised of minority Indigenous groups. The impact of mining activities on these communities can be particularly severe.

The recent discovery and continuing exploration of copper deposits in the Ghanzi and Northwest districts of Botswana, as well as the establishment of several new mines in the area, are the context in which this situational analysis took place. The document looks at the lived realities of the people living in these areas and attempts to capture the concerns and challenges they face. From this information, emerging themes and limited recommendations, rooted in the ongoing constitutional review process, are highlighted.

Click here to read the full document-Situational Analysis of Mining Communities in the Ghanzi and Northwest Districts of Botswana