UPDATE 20 OCT 2025

May 2025: Community based Savanna Fire Management (SFM) Project Mobilization 
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With support from Maki Planet Systems (MPS) and International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), KWT's associated Ju/hoansi San and Bugakhwe San Communities in NG3 and NG1 were mobilized in preparation for planned pilot prescribed (Early Dry Season: EDS) burning activities in their traditional territories in Western NG3 and Western NG1 respectively. Traditional Elder Advisory Councils for traditional fire knowledge practices (see below), were also established to help guide implementation.  We also conducted some initial practical training and trial EDS burns and surveyed the areas to be burned to assess fuel loads and fine-tune our EDS burning plan of action.

The revival of traditional EDS burning, as practiced historically by the San in Kalahari savanna landscapes, is key to reducing annual carbon emissions resulting from problematic frequent late dry season (LDS) fires.  The scientifically-guided restoration of traditional EDS burning practices - after an absence from this landscape of more than 40 years due to strict no-fire policies - will result in a number of outputs:

• Reduction in frequency, extent and intensity of LDS fires, by reducing the dry fuel loads giving rise to such fires, through relatively "cool" EDS burns earlier in the year, thereby acting as firebreaks to prevent the ignition and spread of LDS fires;
• Reduction in annual carbon emissions to create carbon credit value, thereby enabling pathways to carbon finance to fund fire operations and support community employment and development needs;
• Restoration of vegetation structure and reversal of loss of the woody vegetation component especially large trees (important for carbon capture) as well as the restoration of ecological niche diversity for supporting a diversity of fauna; 
• Restoration of ecological functionality related to: plant diversity and production, pollination, seed dispersal and germination, nutrient cycling etc.  This in turn helps to promote community food security by promoting edible and medicinal plants diversity and production;
• Revival of traditional knowledge systems and custodianship of territorial resources to strengthen the occupation of and access to the traditional lands and resources needed to conserve cultural heritage, ensure sustainable livelihood development opportunities and achieve economic empowerment and self-reliance goals;
• Adaptation to the effects of climate change by using EDS fires to prevent LDS fires - which if left unchecked will become ever more harmful to the environment under the current climatic trends towards higher temperatures and delayed and more erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns.

G/hui!ahn syndicate members for Western NG3 wildlife borehole

Assessment of wildlife spoor around Western borehole

Human-elephant conflict hotspot at Qangwa village, 30km south of Western borehole: KWT's remote NG3 boreholes reduce conflict by providing safe alternative watering areas for wildlife.

Early burning planning with Traditional Elder Council and KWT patrol members. NG3

Thebe Sekora, an experienced fire manager from the Maki Tsodilo project, discusses NG3 burning strategy.

Planning meeting at Western borehole base camp.

Smart phone mapping software used to identify and plan burns based on time since fire (indication of accumulated fuel loads and readiness for early burns)

!Aosha KWT patrols base camp 18km south of Western borehole.

Rock quarrying at a sensitive ecological site, undermining the Shaikarawe Forest Conservation Plan developed by Arthur Albertson in 2015: this contributed to the Community's decision to seek land at Tc'oca 70km to the West as an alternative conservation project area.

June- early August 2025:  Kalahari Crafts and Cultural Centre opening;  Pilot prescribed early burning and training in NG3 & NG1; Expedition to South-Eastern Angola.
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June started off with the opening of the Kalahari Crafts and Cultural Centre, a UNDP-funded project coordinated by our partners in Ghanzi District, Cheetah Conservation Botswana, in which Sandi Albertson has played a pivotal role in its conceptualization and design, as well as the training and capacity development of craft producers: the Centre will provide craft producers from Bere (GH11) and Kacgae, East Hanahai and West Hanahai (GH10), with much -needed access to consumer markets - mainly tourists using the Trans-Kgalagadi Highway linking South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.  
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With the permission and support of the Botswana Department of Forestry and Range Resources (DFRR), Robin Beatty of MPS (lead trainer and technical adviser), Thebe Sekora (Tsodilo SFM project) and KWT staff:  Ju/hoansi San and Bugakhwe San community members received intensive practical training in fire management and prescribed burning in Western NG3 and Western NG1 (see Map). The NG3 training was mainly carried out in June, coupled with some initial EDS burns, and then followed-up with EDS burns in July.  In NG1 both the training and EDS burning was done at the same time in late July and early August.  The burning was mainly done by way of ignitions using ground crews and patrol teams, supplemented by ignitions using aerial incendiary technology provided by Raindance Systems (Australia) from helicopters (Helicopter Horizons).   

NG3 fire operations:
June: training and initial burning;  July: follow-up burning.
This exercise was mainly intended to protect the Community's tourism operating area around Kagusi Camp as well as important bush food gathering areas around traditional San villages that were vulnerable to LDS fires on account of the accumulation of high fuel loads. Late rains and the resulting high grass moisture content made it challenging to ignite fires, hence the second phase done in July:  valuable experience was gained which will be carried through into the 2026 fire season. 

EDS fire in July: note minimal damage to woody component and herbaceous plants on soil surface level.

LDS in October: note damage to trees and severe scorching of all herbaceous plants at ground level.

EDS vs LDS fires: click on photo for caption.  
EDS (May - July / early August): plants have entered dormancy with no active peripheral meristems. Lower ambient temperatures, combined with residual plant moisture content from the growing season (December to April) results in removal of excess dry plant matter only, thereby removing the excess fuel loads that can enable LDS burns.  Plants quickly recover in the next growing season.
LDS (late August - late November):  Higher ambient temperatures and lower plant moisture content result in much hotter fires, causing irreversible damage to all structural vegetation components (trees, shrubs, perennial forbs and grasses), and incineration of much more soil organic matter.  By October many plants have already started to re-activate outer meristems in preparation for the next growing season - even before any rains have arrived - exposing delicate leaf and flower buds to the risk of heat damage, exacerbating the risk of irreversible damage.  This leads to higher carbon emissions, a decline in soil and vegetation carbon storage, and a decline in floral and faunal diversity and production. 

KWT /Maki/ Community: early dry season (EDS) burning (June-July) in bright green, vs. late dry season (LDS) burning in pink (early September) and red (early October): Note effect of EDS burning in limiting spread of LDS fires further southwards. LDS fires likely started by poachers from cattleposts to the East.

NG1 fire operations:
July- early August: Establishment of a remote base camp for supporting combined training and pilot EDS burning around the Tc'oca and Tcaca traditional territories and adjacent to the Namibian border.  The effect of the late rains in NG1 (higher rainfall area than NG3) it was considered necessary to delay these activities to this timeframe. Continued monitoring of this high poaching activity area is a priority due to the targeting of species such as giraffe, eland and lion. 

Giraffe caught in a snare in along boundary Khaudom N.P. Namibia. photo courtesy of Drikus Swanelpoel

Satellite collar removed by poachers. photo courtesy of Piet Beytell (MEFT, Namibia).

KWT /Maki/ Community: early dry season (EDS) burning (July-August) in bright green, vs. late dry season (LDS) burning in pink (early September) and dark pink (early October): LDS fires started by poachers from Namibia and Botswana.

August - September 2025:
KWT finally completed its pipeline and outlet upgrades to the Eastern NG3 borehole (Morama), initiated under a grant from Save the Elephants (Elephant Crisis Fund) during the drought of 2024 (see previous Feb.2025 activity update post) and completed with further support from Peter and Vicky Stevens.  The Community once again experienced trespassing onto their Western borehole property by safari hunters intent on taking advantage of their wildlife conservation efforts to shoot elephants for profit: thankfully protests by the Community and intervention by their legal representatives discouraged the hunters from killing elephants this time.  In previous incidents where hunters shot elephants around this borehole, the resulting trauma experienced by the targeted bachelor herds resulted in the displacement - for many weeks - of all local elephant herds away from the borehole, closer towards water points in the conflict hotspots at villages 30km to the South, thereby increasing the risks to human life and property and defeating the vital role of this borehole in helping to mitigate human wildlife conflict.  The previous hunting incidents, which involved shooting lead bulls whilst together with other males in closely-knit bachelor herds, also led to increased aggression in the surviving bulls and incidents where local San community members who live and work in the project area, were almost fatally attacked.  Appeals to DWNP to prevent unsustainable quota hunting and the imposition of hunting on other stakeholders have fallen on deaf ears.  Sadly such incidents have characterised a never-ending saga, since the introduction of trophy hunting in NG3 in 2019, of disregard for due planning, legal and consultation procedures, repeated attempted land grabs of the borehole, and contempt for the rights of the affected San community and their wishes to conserve wildlife and protect their land and livelihoods - free from outside interference and imposed environmental abuse.  It is hoped that under the new Government of President Duma Boko that their voices will finally be heard in this matter.   

Hunting vehicles entering the Community's property without their consent

KWT, DFRR, Maki and ISFMI representatives at the National Fire Conference. 28-29 August 2025.

June 2025:  Angola survey of San communities
In the second half of June, Arthur Albertson and three KWT community staff members - including two elders who are amongst the last remaining expert Ju/hoansi San bow and arrow hunters - undertook an expedition to the Cuando and Moxico Provinces of Angola as an assignment for the Wilderness Project Foundation.  Our mission was to make contact with Vasekele San communities and investigate, inter-alia, traditional fire knowledge systems and how changes in fire dynamics have affected local livelihoods and ecological dynamics from a community perspective.  We will share more about our journey and findings in a further update on this post as soon as possible.