Introduction: Human dependence on forests is a multifaceted phenomenon. The degree of reliance on forests varies geographically, overtime and across communities. These dynamics underpin the importance of understanding the determinants of household reliance on forests for the long-term sustainable forest management and conservation. This paper presents an analysis of socio-economic determinants on the level of household forest dependency in Chobe enclave, Botswana. The study hypothesised that the level of household forest dependency will significantly differ across a range of socio-economic factors. Methods: Data was collected through a structured questionnaire survey of 183 households, randomly selected from three communities bordering Chobe Forest Reserve. Binary logistic regression model was used for analysing data. Results: Results showed that age and education significantly influenced household reliance on forests, while other socio-economic factors were not significant. Forest dependency was observed to be decreasing with an increase on both respondent age and educational level. Therefore, the youth were likely to be more reliant on forest products compared to their elderly counterpart while higher educational attainment lessened reliance on forest products. Conclusion: In order to foster a balance between forest dependency and biodiversity conservation, alternative opportunities and provision and access to higher education aimed at diversifying young people's livelihood activities are vital in reducing forest dependency, hence protecting forests for posterity.

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Burkea africana and Erythrophleum africanum are characterized by seed coat-imposed dormancy that prevents water entry and gaseous exchange, which are essential for the germination process. The objective of this study was to determine the best possible pre-sowing treatment method that maximizes seed germination of the two species. Seeds of both species were subjected to four experiments, containing 10 levels of presowing treatments: The control, mechanical scarification, soaking in concentrated sulphuric acid (for 15, 30, 45 and 60 min), immersion in boiling water (for 1, 3 and 5 min), and soaking in boiling water (and cooling down for 24 h). The germination data were subjected to ANOVA followed by Tukey's HSD Test to separate significantly different treatment means. The most promising results showed that seeds treated with mechanical, sulphuric acid and boiling water scarification had significantly higher mean percent germination than the controls for B. africana; whereas for E. africanum, mechanical scarification, exposure to sulphuric acid, boiling water (1 min) and immersion in boiling water (and cooling down for 24 h) had higher percent germination than the controls.

The need to improve the competitiveness of smallholder livestock owners in Botswana was studied through Training Need Assessment (TNA) with the aim of strengthening the capacity of agricultural education and extension in the livestock sector. TNA was conducted in selected areas of Botswana namely, Mogobane, Boatle and Taung villages in the SouthEast District as well as Serowe, Bobonong, Nata and Letlhakane in the Central District of Botswana. A simple random sampling method was used to select 395 smallholder livestock farmers. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a questionnaire and focus group discussions respectively. Quantitative data was analysed using means (and standard deviations). The results from focus groups were based on the coding of themes that emerged from the discussions. The results show that smallholder livestock farmers were lacking knowledge and skill in some of the following topics: Farm records and accounts; artificial insemination; feeds and feeding which include nutritional diseases and range management. It is recommended that livestock marketing, which is an important component in livestock production, be integrated into all livestock extension training programmes. Furthermore, the inclusion of diagnosis of livestock diseases, vaccination and borehole maintenance is also recommended.

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