Watershed management is a complex activity with constraints on funding and human
resources in many parts of the world, and there is a need for global effort to identify
strategies that can work. To complement regulatory approaches, attention is now also being
given to market-based incentives because of their potential cost-effectiveness. This study
seeks to provide impetus to the use of the most successful market-based incentives to
promote sustainable watershed practices through strengthening and increasing direct participation

The majority of Africa is characterised by high levels of poverty, high population densities and limited economic development. Botswana is, however, different in having the highest gross domestic product per capita in Africa, relatively low population densities and high levels of socio-economic development. Inequality, however, remains high. A community-based natural resource management programme was introduced in 1989 to ensure that local communities benefit from the country's abundant natural resources, with the hope that they will then protect them.