The Politics of Tachila Nature Reserve in the North East District, Botswana: A Historical Perspective

I examine the politics surrounding the creation of Tachila Nature Reserve (TNR) in the North East District (NED) in Botswana from a historical perspective. I situate the discussion within the politics of land and nature conservation in a postcolonial setting. TNR was conceived in 2005, but launched in 2007. It sits on 8000 hectares of freehold land donated to a Trust by the Tati Company. This company had expropriated all the land in this district during the colonial era. The creation of TNR was conceived by some few elites in the area, and exported to the rest of the local communities as a finished product. In principle, its objectives are in line with Botswana National Ecotourism Strategy. The local communities view the project as insensitive and a mockery to their longstanding landlessness. Ironically, the word ‘Tachila’ in Ikalanga, the dominant language spoken in the NED, means ‘we shall survive’. TNR is hailed by the few who conceived it and the government as a ‘community-owned’ initiative. The phrase ‘community-owned’ was coined as an afterthought to placate the land-starved and agitated local communities. I conclude that TNR is not truly ‘community-owned’ when assessed in the context of Community-Based Natural Resource Management projects.