​With the extended lockdowns happening across the world, it’s so easy to not make time to notice the little things. A new season has come to Botswana and we are still managing the national COVID-19 response. With winter upon us, we are conscious of how some members of the communities we work with are disproportionally affected, and so we continue to offer assistance in different ways.
 
After five years of severe drought, the Ghanzi region received its first rains in April – much to the joy of framers in the region. Ghanzi Farmers Network members, in collaboration with CCB, had been working on alternative ways of sustaining livestock wellbeing through initiatives like producing their own supplement feeds for their livestock. A combined method approach to promoting strong farming communities which are able to sustain themselves as well as produce items for profit is at the core of the work CCB does.
 
Another event met with much celebration was the arrival of the flood waters into Maun in May. An important component of the lives of communities in the area, as well as for wildlife, the waters are a lifeline. As a region we also work in, and with the understanding that promoting coexistence in one region can easily be set off kilter by disturbances to ecosystems in other places, we are happy about this meaningful natural event. The flood waters, which travelled from Angola and through Namibia, continue to fill the Okavango Delta and are now travelling down the rivers leading out of the delta – the Boro, Thamalakane, Boteti and Nxaraga.
 
Although this time has been challenging for us, it is the small joys we experience that remind us to focus on the positive. CCB remains committed to supporting communities throughout this tumultuous time, and we continue to devise ways of adapting our services and projects to accommodate the changes COVID-19 has brought to us.

​The Farming for Conservation (FFC) team in Ghanzi had an eventful weekend when it was realised that the goats had strayed from their kraal. The absence of the goats was noticed on Sunday, as reports Balekanye Mbinda of the FFC Team. While comfort could be taken in the knowledge that the goats have a Livestock Guarding Dog (LGD) assigned to them, with the anxieties of a national lockdown and people being advised to not wander from their homes, a missing herd is nothing to be taken lightly.
 
The FFC search party set off on the adventure to track the absent herd which had not returned on Saturday evening as usual. While they were out, Junior – the dutiful LGD – proved his skills and value by bringing his wards back home safely. LDGs do more than manage herds, but execute the primary duty as stated by their names – to guard the wellbeing of livestock against predation. Upon their return to the Demonstration Farm they were pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the herd returned, but Junior had managed to ensure that every goat was accounted for. It is through experiences like this that our belief in the value of our LGD programme is bolstered. We celebrate Junior and every LGD diligently serving farmers and livestock in our communities.

​The 3rd Botswana Biodiversity Symposium was held at the Kalahari Arms Hotel in Ghanzi over 9-11 March 2020. The three day event was organized by the National Taxonomy Committee (NTC) and was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, and the Botswana National Museum and featured two days of presentations from those conducting research and conservation within Botswana. 
 
The primary aim of the biennial symposium is to highlight the importance of biodiversity and to allow various stakeholders to share their recent developments and research findings related to biodiversity in Botswana. The 2020 symposium was convened under the theme “Biodiversity mainstreaming for healthy ecosystems and green economy through science and technology”. By providing a platform for national biodiversity experts to network, as well as allowing opportunities for various institutions to showcase their activities through presentations, the symposium also gives a rare chance to create more insight into how to reduce the negative impacts that human activities exert on biodiversity. 
 
Among the 60 people in attendance over the two presentation days of the symposium, CCB was represented by a team of eight staff members – with three members giving presentations related to CCB’s work in the region. Morulaganyi Kokole, of our Farming for Conservation department, presented the results of his MSc. research on predator occupancy and the human-wildlife conflict in Jwana Game Park; while CCB’s PhD Candidate, Marie-Charlotte Gielen, gave a presentation on her preliminary PhD data on wildlife-livestock cohabitation in Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). CCB’s Research Coordinator Michelle Kral presented on the usage of a carnivore deterrents to reduce human-wildlife conflict on commercial cattle ranches in Ghanzi district.
 
As an important pillar to the work we do as an organization, research allows CCB to not only remain relevant in contemporary dialogue around matters of conservation and biodiversity, but to also influence future work in strategy and policy development in Botswana and regionally. Through engagements with other entities which had presentations at the symposium, such as the UNDP, University of Botswana, and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN), we can continue to fortify our work toward promoting coexistence using the multiple avenues available to us including research and education. 

​The Farming for Conservation (FFC) department of the organization is showing great signs of improvement with its Livestock Guarding Dog (LGD) programme. The programme is part of our carnivore-safe farming strategies which enable farmers to develop their ability to coexist with carnivores. As of the first quarter of 2020, the number of active dogs placed and monitored by CCB stands at an impressive 53. These dogs are living with and assisting farmers in our communities of operation in the Ghanzi district. 
 
The 21 dogs which were monitored in the first quarter were found to be in remarkably good health, which attests to both the training given to the farmers regarding their care, as well as the conditions these farms are kept in. Prior to being assigned to farms, the dogs are trained as puppies at the CCB demonstration farm in Ghanzi. 
 
At present, there are 11 puppies in initial training. These puppies are expected to be placed with their farmers during the month of April when they are ready – all conditions permitting. Due to the proven success of the LGD programme, CCB is dealing with a back log of requests from farmers. As a result, a dual training model is to be trialled where some puppies are placed with 3 of our model farmers, while others undergo training at CCB’s demonstration farm. 
 
We hope that through working with farmers who have experience working with LGDs we will be able to shorten the lag between puppies being available for training and for placement with farmers. Additionally, this approach will enabled us to train a good number of dogs at a time without crowding them in one kraal – which often poses management challenges, including increased chances of disease outbreaks and parasite loads. The organization is proud of the FFC department’s work, and thankful to all the stakeholders – especially our model farmers – who continue to contribute to the success of this programme aimed at promoting farmer wealth and coexistence with wildlife.