This project, a time-sensitive data rescue exercise, is intended to ensure continued access to legacy biodiversity data related to animals formerly hunted in Botswana.
The Botswana Wildlife Management Association, established in 1993 to represent the country’s trophy hunting industry, participated in Botswana’s wildlife community of practice through consultative workshops, meetings and direct lobbying activities, collecting its own data, and commissioning research in anticipation of policy shifts.
The Association’s records of these activities include reports, Excel datasets, lists, and correspondence, related to hunting quotas, trophy descriptions, and biological specimens.
The 2014 moratorium on hunting in Botswana suspended most of the work of the Association, and its collections have been stored temporarily. Long-term stewardship of the collections is uncertain.
This project inventories and secures the BWMA’s collections to make them available to future researchers.
Project Progress
The project has resulted in the publication of elephant hunting trophy datasets through GBIF and the production of an archival finding aid for BMWA data records.
Hard copy files and biological specimens have been inventoried and transferred to the Okavango Research Centre's GIS laboratory server alongside existing Excel databases, which represents a significant commitment for data hosting and will provide a consistent online presence and support for data users and future researchers. Antelope trophy and predator data is still to be transferred from the original owner and will be transferred and processed in the near future.
Awareness workshops were held in Gaborone and Maun to promote the use of the dataset for scientists and practitioners alike.
Recording and mobilizing trophy hunting datasets will ensure continued access to legacy biodiversity data related to animals which were previously hunted in Botswana.
