. Bushman in Central Kalahari Game Reserve. © Survival International
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation provided a grant of £30,000 in 2007/08.
Survival International helps tribal peoples defend their lives, protect their lands and determine their own futures. It is the only organisation in its field to refuse funding from national governments.
In 2002, the Gana and Gwi Bushmen were evicted from their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and forced into resettlement camps by the Botswana government. With support from The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, Survival helped the Bushmen take the government to court in an attempt to win the right to return to the Reserve. In 2006, they won that right, as the Botswana High Court ruled that the evictions had been unlawful and unconstitutional and that the Bushmen have the right to return to their lands.
However, despite the ruling, the Botswana government continues to do all it can to prevent the Bushmen from returning home. Since the ruling, more than a third of evicted men have been arrested for hunting on their own lands; many have been beaten and tortured. Furthermore, the government has banned the Bushmen from accessing their own borehole which they rely on for water; without it, they cannot survive in the Reserve.
With support from The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, Survival has been lobbying the government, urging it to uphold the High Court ruling and allow the Bushmen to live on their lands in peace. It continues to provide research and administrative assistance to the Bushmen’s lawyers, who are in the early stages of launching further litigation to allow the Bushmen access to their borehole.
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