20110118
africanews

The Kalahari Bushmen remain 'determined' to win a legal battle over water supply, according to human rights group Survival International. This week, Botswana's Court of Appeal will begin a hearing to decide whether the bushmen living on their ancestral lands in the Kalahari have the right to the water in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

A previous court victory allowed the bushmen access to the water supply, but they are now having to appeal against a ruling made in 2010. The High Court ruling “denied their right to access a well in the reserve they had used for decades,” Survival said.

The lack of local access to water means bushmen are having to walk to retrieve water from outside the reserve, sometimes travelling very long distances.

The Bushmen argue their case on the grounds that refusing them access to the local water is inhumane and degrading. Survival spoke to one Bushman from the region. “We are still hoping, not to be given anything, but simply for justice and our rights. The government hopes that by denying us water, it will force us from the reserve once more,” he said. “It must know by now that we are determined to live with our ancestors on the land we have known since time began.”

The situation has become even more complex, as Wilderness Safaris recently built a tourist lodge on the bushmens’ land in the reserve. The lodge has boosted the region’s tourism industry and supplies much-needed jobs to the local population. On the other hand, many are against the development and argue that the bushmen are not treated as well as they could be by the new development.

The bushmens’ land may be further affected by new rules approved by the Botswana Government to drill wells for a new wildlife reserve. Plans for Gem Diamonds to mine at one of the Bushman communities are also expected to be given approval.