“Botswana has a long history of attempts to ‘rationalise’ land tenure so as to improve livestock production, which remains a mainstay for the rural economy. This paper addresses the profound transformations in land tenure systems that have been prompted by decades of government and donor-driven programmes and policy, resulting in the shrinking of the commonage through the exclusion of extensive tracts of land and their transfer to private interests. In particular, the implementation and impacts of two policies are examined: the Tribal Grazing Lands Policy (TGLP) (1975) and the ongoing National Policy for Agricultural Development (NPAD) (1991). Both these policies envisage improved management of common rangeland resources through allocation to private interests, but have failed to achieve their objectives of improved rangeland management or increased livestock production.”
