ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM:
Offices of Environmental
Affairs
Offices of Wildlife and Forestry
Offices of Water Affairs
Offices of Agriculture
Offices of Social Services
Offices of Health
Offices of Art and Culture
Systems Thinking Case Study:
Systems that Grow a Nation
LOOP 2
Ministry
 Stop Doing
[Do less of (-)]
 Start Doing
[Do more of (+)]
 Continue Doing
[No change]
 Indicators of Progress for
the Ministry
 Impact on other
Government spendings
Environmental Affairs
       See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:
Agriculture -
Department of Animal
Production

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Levels of livestock
    production
  • Levels of and
    disease controls
    needed to sustain
    livestock production

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of humans
and livestock
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. The need for subsidies or
    support programmes for
    farmers.  The more subsidies
    / barriers the government is
    called to give / remove, the
    less the government
    perceives agriculture is a
    viable source of economy
    relative to other industries.  
    Government is less likely to
    support it in the long-run.

CITIZENS:
  1. Production of animals that is
    a significant consumer of
    greens
  2. Dependence of citizens on
    cattle production for financial
    gains (quick wins)
  3. Seeing farming being about
    subsistence (putting plate on
    the table / avoiding
    destitution in familiies).
  4. Small scale farming to avert
    familial costs (school fees,
    cover costs of multiples
    homes, etc.).  This
    perspective loses our
    perspective on the costs we
    incur to sustain the farms.  
    Are these farms economically
    and especially
    environmentally viable in the
    short and long-term?  Qns:  
    At what costs?
  5. Needing a man to prove his
    worth (manhood) by the
    number of cattle he owns
  6. Dependence on communal
    land.
  7. Needing to encroach land
    that narrows the use of land
    by other species.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Watchful attention of the
    harmonious co-existence of
    humans, livestock, wildlife (and
    vegetation) populations.  When any
    population encroaches into the
    other, be prepared to deal with the
    unintended consequences of the
    encroachment (FMD (image),
    Anthrax (image) spreads) of one
    population (typically humans)
    affecting the other.  Encourage
    buffers and to facilitate strict
    adherence to the zone for different
    populations (especially humans)
    and stocks (cattle).

CITIZENS:
  1. Perception that farming is about
    growing abundance for the
    country:  “That diamonds are for
    the government, cattle is not just for
    the government but for our country  
    (it allows me to put a plate on
    everyones table = the underlying
    perspective of a commercial
    farmer).”
  2. Learn to prove one's worth as a
    farmer in one’s right – is able to
    overcome the odds of the land,
    showing persistence in showing
    long-term goals, learning to take
    advantage of technology, learning
    to grow and contribute to the
    research in the field – make oneself
    belief that the ruler of one’s
    success is measured by one’s
    growth in the field than in the
    materials one amasses around
    oneself – a serious farmer that
    others reat him seriously
  3. Large-scale commercial farming
    shifts focus to long-term
    development rather than gains.  
    This perspective is more suited in
    nurturing and greening the lands.  
    Reemoves dependency syndrome.
  4. The need to "put things in / feed"
    the land (rejuvenation) before we
    take things out of it  (consumption).
  5. Foster a climate that has persistent
    rains rather than prolonged dry and
    wet spells (indigenous vegetation
    unfortunately tends to encourage
    the latter).
  6. Need for farmers to “grow up”
    before it can expect politicians,
    government, and communal leaders
    ‘stop parenting them’ and treat
    them as adults and farmers in their
    own right.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Department of Wildlife

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Diseases posed by
    wildlife and others
    and vice-versa
  • Problem Animal
    Control
  • Poaching of wildlife

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of humans
and wildlife
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Proliferation of wildlife
    animals that is a signficant
    consumer of greens
    (including warm plants)
  2. Dependence of citizens to
    reap financial gains from
    wildlife management

CITIZENS:

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Watchful attention of the
    harmonious co-existence of
    humans, livestock, wildlife (and
    vegetation) populations.
  2. Improving the quality of relations
    between humans and dogs so that
    control of rabies are managed by
    citizens else all face the risk of
    rabies (image) spreading.
  3. Proliferation of animals that are pre-
    disposed to water, e.g. fisheries

CITIZENS:

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Department of Forestry

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Wildfires (1, 2)

SYSTEMIC VISION:
  • Growth of forests /
    greens across the
    country
  • Harmonious co-
    existence of
    humans and greens
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Short-term planning and
    reactive counter-measures
    (such as 'waging battles'
    against wildflires or citizens
    causing deforestation).
  2. Proliferation of warm climate
    (indigenous plants and trees)
    forests.


CITIZENS:

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Watchful attention of the
    harmonious co-existence of
    humans, livestock, wildlife (and
    vegetation) populations.
  2. Forest production is systemic (long-
    term).  Co-plan and involve citizens
    in long-term preparation of lands for
    forest regeneration including  
    systemic growth of humus (and
    compost-making) for soils so as to
    attract more consistent behaviour of
    the water cycle and therefore
    rainfall.
  3. Proliferaton of cooler-climate forests

CITIZENS:

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:

  • Weldt fires
  • Forest growths that
    perpetuate aridness and
    veld fires
 See declining need for funding
of:

  • Water extraction and
    bowsing needed to
    overcome issues related to
    water shortages
  • Subsistence farming
  • Compensation for wildlife
    that are destroying crops
Department of Water
Affairs

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Consistent
    availability of water
    despite demand
    changes

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of humans
and water
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Levels of extraction of water
    from underground water
    tables.
  2. Levels of evaporation on
    dam surfaces allows up to
    two-thirds of the water from
    dams being lost.  When this
    is corrected, it immediately
    brings water levels available
    to the country to three-times
    current levels.

CITIZENS:

PRIVATE SECTOR:

  1. Watching water uses (which
    can be up to 10:1 - see Slide
    13) in brewery production of
    alcoholic beverages (For
    brewing, and additionally for
    rehydrating).
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Notice supply (of water by DWA)
    does not grow faster than
    availability of water within the
    country.  Also notice what citizens
    do to increase or decrease water
    availability (through the water cycle)
    within the country & region.
  2. Increased awareness of the water
    cycle (animation) in reality as a
    reinforcing loop.
  3. Building drainage to the existing
    dams, allows to capture 80% of the
    rainfall today that otherwise flows to
    areas beyond the country.  This
    increases water capture in the
    country by five times current levels.  
    This brings to total fifteen times of
    current levels of water avaiable to
    the country.
  4. The more the dams are providing
    piped (control) water to the country,
    the less the mindless or uncotrolled
    use of boreholes and the less the
    need to tap into the underground
    water table / acquifers.

CITIZENS:
  1. The more citizens see that
    governments conserve water, the
    more the messages of conservation
    become meaningful for them
    leading to citizens collecting, storing
    and using water harvested from rain.
  2. The effluent from the treatment
    makes for rich organic content for
    the soil and pushes back the
    desert.  The greater is the organic
    content in the soil, the greater is the
    propensity of the country to provide
    for crop production.
  3. This offsets the effect of the type of
    plants that grow here that attempts
    to survive harsh climates (by
    conserving (holding back just like
    humans(TOC)) and not releasing
    precious water that could recycle
    precipitation levels.
  4. The story of agriculture – when
    fodder production improves, it has
    the propensity for the air in
    atmosphere to contain moisture,
    cooling the lands and creating
    pressure differentials that attract
    sea-winds that carry moisture and
    increases the propensity to create
    rainfall in the country.  The reverse
    is also true.
  5. Increased awareness of water use
    in greening the country relative to
    other uses (e.g. Increased tarrifs for
    waters used in chibuku / brew /
    sorghum production to compensate
    for lowered tarrifs for water used for
    cool crop production)
  6. Encourage the use of water for use
    in cooler weather crop production in
    areas pre-disposed to such crops /
    trees and be persistent in
    increasing the coverage
    systemically.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:



See increasing need for
secular (as opposed to
religious / traditional) support
for building relations between:
Agriculture -
Department of Crop
Production

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Production levels of  
    crops for the nation
  • Impact of droughts
    on agricultural
    outputs

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of humans
and greens
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Production of warm-climate
    crops.  These crops tend to
    have an effect on rainfall,
    leading it to reduce levels
    over time (effects show up
    over a 20 to 30 year
    periods).  Think cactus.  The
    more there are cactus, the
    more the deserts grow and
    vice-versa.
  2. Government funding support  
    for subsistence farming.  It
    discourages farmer to
    prepare themselves for
    droughts (long-term
    planning) and anything that
    resists production of the
    crops in the long-term.

CITIZENS:
  1. That Botswana woman would
    plant crops for her family but
    not for her nation (“other men’
    s wives”!).
  2. Dependence on women for
    crop production - she risks
    behaving more so like the
    man.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Production of cooler-climate crops
    in areas pre-disposed to such crops
    / trees and be persistent in
    increasing the coverage
    systemically across the country.  
    This is a reversal process.  The
    process needs to persist as long as
    we have not done so.
  2. The potential of crop production
    given the fertile land is to produce
    crops twice-over for exports after
    meeting 100% of internal
    consumption – that is 3 times over
    current production levels.  The less
    the lands are ‘fully owned’ by the
    farmer, the less is the potential of
    that land to grow to feed the nation.
  3. Perception that farming is about
    growing abundance for the
    country:  “That diamonds are for
    the government, cattle is not just for
    the government but for our country  
    (it allows me to put a plate on
    everyones table).”

CITIZENS:
  1. Learn to prove one's worth as a
    farmer in one’s right – is able to
    overcome the odds of the land,
    showing persistence in showing
    long-term goals, learning to take
    advantage of technology, learning
    to grow and contribute to the
    research in the field – make oneself
    belief that the ruler of one’s
    success is measured by one’s
    growth in the field than in the
    materials one amasses around
    oneself – a serious farmer that
    others reat him seriously
  2. Large-scale commercial farming
    shifts focus to long-term
    development rather than gains.  
    This perspective is more suited in
    nurturing and greening the lands.  
    Reemoves dependency syndrome.
  3. The need to "put things in / feed"
    the land (rejuvenation) before we
    take things out of it  (consumption).
  4. Foster a climate that has persistent
    rains rather than prolonged dry and
    wet spells (indigenous vegetation
    unfortunately tends to encourage
    the latter).

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:




See inclining need for funding
of:
Department of Social
Services

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Weaning
    dependants off the
    government
    handout schemes
    and non-willingness
    of family members
    and citizens to
    create a support-
    system to self-
    strengthen the
    needy

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of rich and
the poor
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Governments leading efforts
    to correct poverty (allowing
    politicians to  lead political
    mileage for self - at the
    government's expense)
    compromising the success of
    the private sector and as a
    result creating more
    destitutes & dependants in  
    the long-run.
  2. Media and politicians not
    noticing the systemic nature
    of the information when
    reporting news
  3. The voice of the opposition.  
    Watch what's making it
    louder.  “I (the opposition “as
    the king / ruler / chief”) would
    have done a better job of
    taking care of “my people”
    (the poor) than what the
    government has done so far.  
    The government if not told,
    would not take care of the
    poor!”Government giving
    handouts to citizens.  This
    encourages men in destitute
    programmes to become
    emasculated.  The need by
    women to fend for
    themselves are causing one
    to feel less than feminine and
    are assuming more
    masculine qualities.
  4. Encouraging citizens to take
    loans (SHAA).

CITIZENS:
  1. Breakdown of the genders’
    roles in building sustainable
    relationships and solutions at
    all levels of the community.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Watch for harmonious co-existence
    of genders and communities without
    imposing rules and regulations to
    bring about high levels of quality of
    co-existence.  Support building of
    relations between a couple. The
    couple learns what it takes to build
    emotional rather than physically or
    material or sexual intimacy.

CITIZENS:
  1. A community that is closely-knit gets
    itself out of poverty.  We (the rich
    and the poor) are in this together.  
    We (we can't have the poor without
    the rich) created this and we (the
    nation, not the government) can get
    out of this together.
  2. Learning to bridge the quality of
    relations between the rich and the
    poor rather than using the  
    difference in income levels to keep
    the divide open.  The poor learns
    from the rich and the rich learns
    from the poor.
  3. Governments jumping in less to
    create the net for the adults
    (especially if they are parents to
    young children).  Instead,
    encourage the adults in the
    population learn to  make the net
    for themselves and show pride in
    their creation.
  4. The need for reinforcing quality of
    relationship (see slide 14) between
    the two genders at all levels.  
    Genders / individuals respecting
    and meeting the unique needs of
    the opposite gender / another
    individual helps create “the net” that
    grows families, communities and
    eventually individual  resilience one
    needs to “get out of” poverty traps.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
  1. That women in well-off families see
    that money goes and grows back to
    the business/ economy as much as
    if not more than into one's family.

For ways men may build relations with
their woman: click here.

For ways women may build relations
with their man: click here.
   See declining need for
funding of:

  • Handouts and the systems
    for managing the
    handouts (at all levels)
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Health

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Level of quality of
    health of citizens

SYSTEMIC VISION:
Harmonious co-
existence of humans
and others
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:
  1. Governments leading efforts
    to correct citizen's health
    status (allowing politicians to  
    lead political mileage for self
    - at the government's
    expense)

CITIZENS:
  1. The need for the self to "fight
    back" (bosses-subordinates /
    husband-wife, siblings
    friends, parents-children,
    communities) at the world
    and protect itself, and not
    noticing the detrimental
    (negative) effects they have
    on our health till much later in
    our lives.

PRIVATE SECTOR:
 ACTIONS BY:

GOVERNMENT:


CITIZENS:
  1. As our orientation to life, becomes
    systemic (taking care of the whole
    rather than the self), our health
    naturally takes an upturn causing
    many of the life diseases (cancer,
    blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDs,
    etc.) to reduce by themselves,
    without needing the Ministry's
    intervention.
  2. Continued attention (information in
    the media, including TV) to
    appreciate the impact of daily  
    (aggression, consumptive) ways  on
    the human anatomy or our bodies
    to:

    Pay attention to the impact and  
    ways to either reduce or eliminate
    their impact on our bodies.

    DO NOT PAY AS MUCH
    ATTENTION ON THE REMEDIES
    FOR SUCH AN IMPACT.

    Rather the information needs to  
    pay attention to:
  • The non-physiological causes
    (including lifestyle*) and therefore
    the lifestyle choices we make and
    encourage dialogue on what is
    causing such choices as well as
    assist citizens to notice the impact
    on costs to the system when we
    start paying attention to such
    causes.
  • Also help the nation appreciate the
    price we are paying as a nation for
    not paying attention to the causes
    and letting the illnesses develop
    and then finding ways to remedy
    (costs and losses incurred as a
    result of) them.

    In instances where diseases are an
    impact of diminished immunity levels
    of the human body for example of
    any of the following, one should not
    expect these levels to decline till
    levels of new HIV infections declines
    first:
  • TB
  • Maternal mortality
  • Child mortality
  • Cervical cancer
  • Cancers
  • Likelihood of people falling ill with
    change of seasons (and the
    spread of the virus "in the air")

    * It is however insufficient, for
    instance in diabetes to say the
    need to control the intake of sweets
    but rather explore reasons beyond
    the obvious as to what fuels the
    intake e.g. if the intakes allows one
    to meet (balancing) (dis-)comfort
    needs, then to observe what in the
    surroundings may be inducing
    higher levels of discomfort that
    leads to the increased leves of the
    intake.  This requires discussions
    as a nation (as opposed to
    presentations by the nurses).

PRIVATE SECTOR:
   See declining need for
funding of:

  • If people become healthy,
    this Ministry would work
    itself out of its job
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Waste Use
Management

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Level of uses of
    wastes by citizens:
  • Recycle
  • Reuse
  • Composting

SYSTEMIC VISION:
  • Harmonious co-
    existence of
    humans and wastes
   Shift of thinking as wastes as 'death' to
wastes as 'life'.
   See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Arts and Culture

PERSISTENT ISSUE:
  • Harmonious co-
    existence of
    different cultures
    within and outside
    the country
       See declining need for
funding of:
 See declining need for funding
of:



See inclining need for funding
of:
Water Affairs
Department
(+ / plants)
Animal
Production (-)
Health (+)
Department of
Social Services (-)
Crop
Production /
Forestry (+)
SYSTEMIC SHIFTS REQUIRED OF BY MINISTRIES' MANDATES IN THIS LOOP
Wildlife
Management (-)
PARADIGM  SHIFTS:  NATURE AS LIVING AS OPPOSED TO
SURVIVING (SURVIVAL) OR DYING (AVOID DEATH)

LEARNING TO SEE WE ARE SOMETHING LARGER
(SYSTEMIC) THAN OURSELVES (SELF / PARTS)

(WATER (CLOUDS) IS LIFE; NO WATER IS NO LIFE)

STRATEGY:  GREENING THE COUNTRY
Offices of Art &
Culture (+)
Waste Use
Management (+)
Building quality of relations BY HUMANS WITH NATURE
SEEING QUALITY OF COLLECTIVE THINKING
SEEING SYSTEMIC GROWTH
OF SYSTEMS IN NATURE