Science and technology in Botswana
The Republic of Botswana was one of the first countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to adopt a science and technology policy in 1998.
Between 2009 and 2013, GDP per capita rose from $12,404 to $15,247 (in purchasing power parity dollars, 2011 constant prices), boosted by the global commodity boom.
[1][2] Although real GDP per capita is relatively high and growing, the country ranks second in the SADC for inequality and there is widespread poverty.
Revenue from diamonds has been invested in public goods and infrastructure and the government has long established universal scholarship schemes which fully subsidize education at all levels.
[3] Even before the slump in international demand during the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, diamond mining had been contributing less to economic growth with each plan period.
This led the government to make diversifying the economy a priority of the Tenth National Development Plan for the period 2009–2016.
[4] To diversify the economy, Botswana is focusing on areas of comparative advantage, among which feature financial services, education and health, alongside diamonds, beef, tourism and mining.
Special economic zones are to be developed around Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and in the Padamatenga area, to attract investment.
These included academic institutions like the University of Botswana and companies active in such diverse areas as custom design and the manufacture of drilling rigs, specialized mining exploration technologies, diamond jewellery design and manufacturing, as well as ICT applications and software.
By 2013, basic services had been installed on the 57-acre plot in Gaborone, such as water mains and electricity, and the site was ready for intensive development.
The hub’s five priority focal areas are mining technology, biotechnology, cleantech, ICTs and indigenous knowledge.
Botswana published its updated National Policy on Research, Science and Technology in 2011, within a UNESCO project sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID).
[1][2] The National Policy on Research, Science, Technology and Innovation has four main thrusts: In 2013, the Minister of Education and Skills of Botswana, the Honourable Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, highlighted some of the challenges facing her country at the launch of a UNESCO study of Botswana's national innovation system.
She also evoked the funding dilemma for a developing country like Botswana, where the decision to invest in R&D has to be weighed against the need, for example, to build a clinic for people afflicted with HIV and AIDS.
Pending an updated version of the National Policy on Research, Science, Technology and Innovation (2011), the Eleventh National Development Plan commits to raising investment in research, which is to be oriented towards economic and industrial needs in the following priority sectors: health; services; ecotourism; software development; agriculture; and manufacturing.
This plan sets out a transformational agenda to revise curricula at all levels of education, augment the use of ICTs and match training to industrial needs.
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of students enrolled in higher education rose from 22,257 to 39,894 (post-secondary non-degree, bachelor's, master's and PhD programmes combined).
[10] Pending an updated version of the National Policy on Research, Science, Technology and Innovation (2011), the National Development Plan commits to raising investment in research, which is to be oriented towards economic and industrial needs in the following priority sectors: health; services; ecotourism; software development; agriculture; and manufacturing.
This is a slightly higher ratio than for the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe (25%) but it is considerably lower than in Namibia and South Africa (44%).
[1][12] Between 2008 and 2014, scientists from Botswana collaborated primarily with their peers from the United States of America, followed by South Africa, the UK, Canada and Germany, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science.
This government system was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the University of Oslo and other partners.
They vow to integrate the value of natural capital into national accounting and corporate planning and reporting processes, policies and programmes.
In 2016, the government drafted a Botswana Climate Change Response Policy, with support from the United Nations Development Programme.
According to a UNESCO study of 56 research topics related to the Sustainable Development Goals,[16] Botswanan output on invasive species has surged from 1 (2012–2015) to 15 (2016–2019) publications.
Researchers have been tackling the problem of the invasive water fern, Salvinia molesta, which has been threatening the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Africa’s largest wetland, for the past three decades.
The four sectorial areas are: trade and economic liberalization, infrastructure, sustainable food security and human and social development.
The eight cross-cutting areas are:[1] Targets include:[1] A 2013 mid-term review of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan for 2005–2020 noted that limited progress had been made towards STI targets, owing to the lack of human and financial resources at the SADC Secretariat to co-ordinate STI programmes.
In 2013, ministers responsible for the environment and natural resources approved the development of the SADC Regional Climate Change programme.
