Moffat Setshogo

Dr Moffat Pinkie Setshogo was born on 15 September 1963 in Molepolole, Botswana. The village of Molepolole is situated approximately 50 km west of the capital, Gaborone, and is the headquarters of the Bakwena tribe (“People of the Crocodile”). Moffat grew up in Molepolole and attended Sebele I School and Kgari Sechele II Secondary School. He obtained his O-levels in 1982, and was admitted to the University of Botswana (UB) Pre-Entry Science Cource (PESC) in January 1983. In August 1983, he enrolled for a BSc at UB, which he completed in 1987. He majored in Biology and Environmental Science. His final year dissertation was on “Net primary production of Eragrostis stapfii De Winter in the UB Nature Reserve”.

On finishing his BSc, Moffat had an option of either becoming a research biologist with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) or a science teacher with the then Unified Teaching Service (UTS). Having grown up in a family of teachers, the influence to go into teaching overwhelmed that of going into research, though he had a liking for it. As a result of this choice he registered for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in August 1987 and completed it in May 1988. While doing the PGDE, he was recruited for the Staff Development Programme of the University of Botswana to follow a teaching and research profession in Plant Taxonomy.

Moffat’s interest in taxonomy stems from his love for nature, or rather his appreciation of biodiversity, since his early years. As a young boy, during the school holidays, he always went out hunting birds (with a catapult) with his peers and was fascinated by the diversity of birds and other animals that existed. He knew almost all the birds by their Setswana names, something that he recalls nostalgically. During the ploughing season, youngsters usually gathered around a fire in the evenings and elders would recite taboos. For instance, one would be told that it was a taboo to fell certain trees during the rainy season, or else the rains would not come. Dissatisfaction with answers given for these taboos strengthened Moffat’s quest to learn more about plants to unravel these mysteries. Similarly, as with birds and other animals, his interest in plants started with the ability to tell them apart by their names. This interest in nomenclature has stayed with Moffat to the present, and he published a book entitled ‘Common names of some flowering plants of Botswana’ in 2002 (Bay Publishing, Gaborone). He also published another book on nomenclature of Botswana trees with the help of SABONET entitled ‘Trees of Botswana: names and distribution’, which he co-authored with Mr. Fanie Venter.

After a year as a Staff Development Fellow (SDF), Moffat transferred to do an MSc in Applied Plant and Fungal Taxonomy at the University of Reading, UK, in September 1989. He completed this degree successfully in 1990. His thesis was entitled “Breeding behaviour and reproductive biology of Arachis spinaclava nomen nudum”, under the supervision of Dr Barbara Pickersgill. On returning to Botswana, Moffat was promoted to the lecturer cadre. He taught two undergraduate courses, Plant Diversity and Angiosperm Taxonomy.

The late 1980s were characterised by the establishment of Remote Area Dweller Settlements (RADS) by the government of Botswana. This was, and still is, a controversial scheme of trying to resettle nomadic tribes, particularly the Basarwa, into specially designed settlements where they are supposedly to be served with amenities to improve their living standards. Going hand-in-hand with this scheme was the commission of studies to gather baseline data on natural resources around these settlements to establish the resource base of the areas. Moffat was a member of a multi-disciplinary team that carried out these studies around the settlements of Tshokwe (Central District) and Diphuduhudu (Kweneng District), which were completed in 1992.

In September 1993, Moffat went to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, for his doctoral studies, which he completed in March 1997. His project was entitled “Taxonomic studies and generic delimitation in the grass subtribe Sorghinae”. He worked under the supervision of the late Dr Philip Smith. It was Dr Smith who inculcated the love for grasses into Moffat. Grasses have become his passion and his main dream is to one day come up with a “Guide to the grasses of Botswana”.

While in Edinburgh, Moffat had the privilege of meeting Mr Bill Burtt at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Bill is one of few “northerners” who has contributed immensely to southern African botany in recent times. Moffat was invited to write a floral account of the Sorghinae for Flora Zambesiaca (FZ) by Dr Gerald Pope (FZ editor). This account has been published in FZ Volume 10 Part 4 (pages 21 to 50). Dr Pope also acted as a facilitator of Moffat’s research visits to Kew and continues to be helpful towards initiatives by young and upcoming taxonomists.

Moffat has been fully engrossed in teaching and research since his return from Edinburgh. In addition to Plant Diversity and Angiosperm Taxonomy, he also teaches courses in Evolution and Biosystematics, Cryptogamic Botany, and Applied Botany.

Moffat was involved in carrying out an environmental impact assessment of the site for the Maun Groundwater Development Project (MGDP) (1997/98). The village of Maun lies on the eastern fringes of the Okavango Delta. Proposals to dredge some rivers in the delta to provide water for Maun met with some resistance both locally and internationally. As a follow-up to this, the government of Botswana, through the Department of Water Affairs, commissioned environmental impact assessment studies to look at the feasibility of using borehole technology to extract water for the village. Moffat was a member of a multi-disciplinary team that carried out these studies. His main role in the EIA was to characterise the vegetation types occurring in the project area and assess their vulnerability to the possible water extraction using such technology. He was also involved in assessing the impact of quarrying on the flora and fauna of Kgale Hills to the west of Gaborone (1998).

Moffat is currently working on the following research projects:

Inventory of useful indigenous plants of Botswana (funded by UB)

Rangeland and livelihood dynamics in the Matsheng area, Botswana (funded by EC)

Taxonomy and ecology of alien invasive plants in the Botswana flora (funding still being sort).

In addition to publication of technical reports of the EIAs in which he has participated, Moffat has a number of publications to his credit.  In addition to the two books mentioned earlier that he has published, he has a couple of chapters in books and journal articles. He, together with Dr. Bruce Hargreaves of GAB, complied the Botswana Red Data List (in Golding, 2002). His latest journal article is entitled “Prospects for subsistence livelihood along the Kalahari Transect: The case of Matsheng in Botswana’s Kalahari rangelands” (Journal of Arid Environments 54: 425 – 445 (2003)). He has two books in preparation, one of which will be a SABONET product entitled ‘A Checklist of Botswana Plants’.

Moffat is an active member of two local environmental NGOs, Somarelang Tikologo (Environment Watch—Botswana) and the Forestry Association of Botswana. He is also a member of the Botswana Society. His hobby is going to the cattle post, where of course, he gets the opportunity to “botanise”.

Moffat has been the National Coordinator for SABONET in Botswana from 1999 to 2001. He feels that the SABONET Project came at an opportune moment for young taxonomists in the region. He was very grateful to SABONET for providing the opportunity that it has.

SABONET News 4.2: 83