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- African
Environmental Information Network (AEIN)
- Agenda 21
- Biodiversity Strategy And Action Plan (BSAP)
- Botswana Environmental Education Support Fund
(BEESF)
- Chemical Information
Exchange Network (CIEN)
- Community Based
Natural Resources Management (CBNRM)
- Environmental Impact Assessment Act
- Environmental Keynote Paper
- Environmental Management Act
- Environmental Planning Programme
- Environmental Risk Assessment of CBPP in the
Ngamiland District
- Environmental Support Programme
(ESP)
- Makgakgadi Management Plan
- National
Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants
- Natural Resources Accounting
- Okavango
Delta Management Plan
- Okavango River Basin Commission (OKACOM)
- PADELIA
- School Environmental Policy
- Southern African Biodiversity Support Programme
(SABSP)
- State of the Environment (SOER)
- Wetland Policy and Strategy
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National
Projects
- Biodiversity Strategy And Action Plan (BSAP)
- Botswana Environmental Education Support Fund
(BEESF)
- Community Based
Natural Resources Management (CBNRM)
- Environmental Impact Assessment Act
- Environmental Keynote Paper
- Environmental Management Act
- Environmental Planning Programme
- Environmental Risk Assessment of CBPP in the
Ngamiland District
- Environmental
Support Programme
- Makgakgadi Management Plan
- Natural Resources Accounting
- Okavango Management
Plan
- State of the Environment (SOER)
- District State of the
Environment Framework
- Wetland Policy and Strategy
Back up
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- Okavango River Basin Commission
(OKACOM)
- School Environmental Policy
- Southern African Biodiversity Support Programme
(SABSP)
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- African
Environmental Information
Network (AEIN)
- Agenda 21
- Chemical Information
Exchange Network (CIEN)
- Environmental Support Programme
- National
Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants
- PADELIA
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African
Environmental Information Network (AEIN)
AEIN is an
initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which aims at
building capacities of African countries to harness and enhance access to
information and knowledge that support the management of Africa’s
environmental Resources as assets for sustainable development.
{More
details at the UNEP site……….}
The benefits of AEIN amongst others are:
- Development of a National Environmental Information System
status reports and AEIN implementation strategies using
UNEP guidelines.
- Environment Information Management tools.
- Set of environmental indicators.
- Detailed report of lessons learnt both positive and negative.
- Development of a set of prototype products like national and
sub-regional environment outlook reports, Africa Environment Outlook,
AEO report (regional), etc.
Botswana has expressed interest to participate in the project by signing an agreement
with UNEP. Implementation of AEIN
activities started in May 2007 with a startup workshop which gathered key
environmental information producers and users.
The purpose
of the workshop was amongst others to introduce the AEIN project to
stakeholders, and further identify possible synergies between AEIN and
other environmental Information initiatives.
Proceedings
of the workshop can be obtained at:
The National
Focal Point
Department of
Environmental Affairs
Ministry of
Environment Wildlife and Tourism.
P/Bag 0068, Gaborone Botswana
Contact: Dollina
Malepa, 267 3902050, Fax 3902051, dmalepa@gov.bw
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Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of
action that was produced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, commonly known as the Earth Summit or Rio
Summit. The plan is to be taken globally, nationally and locally by
organizations of the United Nations, system, national governments and major
groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. Progress on
implementation of Agenda 21 is monitored by the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD).
Review of the Earth
Summit was done in 1997 and in 2002 in Johannesburg, South
Africa, World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD).
The plan has now become
a working document of many countries.
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For
more information contact: The
Director, Department of Environmental Affairs, Gaborone, Botswana
: Tel: 267 302050: Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw
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Background
Biological
diversity is essential for sustainable human development, because the
variability of living organisms determine to an important extent the
opportunities available to people for improving their lives. Botswana
still possesses an impressive diversity and abundance of wild fauna and
flora. The Government of Botswana has demonstrated considerable commitment
to maintaining the country's rich heritage, amongst others by setting over
35% of the country as National Parks, Game Reserves, Forest Reserves and
Wildlife Management Areas. Despite all the efforts, it is evident that
biological resources continue to be eroded.
To
protect global and national biological diversity Botswana ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in October 1995.
As partial fulfillment to the obligation Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), Botswana has produced a National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan which defines the status of
biological resources, identify pressures on them and propose options and
priority actions for their conservation and sustainable utilization for the
benefit of all Batswana and others. The production of
the NBSAP is a result of an exercise that began in 2002 which involved the
stock taking exercise community consultations and workshops, therefore the
BSAP defines the status of biodiversity in the country, articulate the gaps
and treats facing biodiversity, species under treats and outline steps that
can be taken to alleviate treats.
Botswana has also prepared and submitted
to the Conference of the Parties 3 National Reports in 1998, 2001 and 2005
and the 4th national report is due in 2007. The reports provides detailed
information on the status and trends in biodiversity conservation in Botswana as
well as progress in the implementation of the Convention.
The BSAP is based on 11 strategic objectives
designed to fulfill the vision. Each of these objectives outline a number
of activities to be done by different stakeholders that will help us
achieve the objectives and subsequently the vision. The objectives are:
1. Better understanding of
biodiversity and ecological processes
2. Long-term conservation and management of Botswana’s biological diversity and
genetic resources
3.Efficient and sustainable utilization of all components of
biodiversity in Botswana
through appropriate land and resource use practices and management
4. An institutional environment,
including human capacity, conducive to effective biodiversity conservation,
sustainable use and management.
5. Coping with environmental change and threats to biodiversity
6. Appropriate valuation/appreciation of biological diversity and
raised public awareness on the role of biodiversity in sustainable
development and public participation in biodiversity related
activities and decision making
7. Fair access to biological
resources and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of
biological resources
8.Safe industrial and technological development and other services
based on national biodiversity resources for future prosperity
9. Improved availability and
access to biodiversity data and information,
and promotion of
exchange of information
10. Recognition of Botswana’s
and the Southern African Region’s roles with regards to Biodiversity
11. Implementation of this Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan
The various
stakeholders were assigned the activities as outlined in the action plan at
a workshop held on the 28th of June 2006
Botswana is also participating in the
Southern Africa Biodiversity Support Project.
For more
information contact: The
Director, Department of Environmental Affairs, Gaborone, Botswana
: Tel: 267 302050: Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw or
contact the Project Manager Dollina Malepa
at dmalepa@gov.bw, or Tlhokomelo Phuthego at tlphuthego@gov.bw
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Botswana Environmental
Education Support Fund (BEESF)
The
fund was established by the National Environmental Education Committee
(NEEC) after the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa
(EEASA) Conference of 1998 which was held in Botswana. The initial funding
was from the money that remained after the conference. This fund is
self-sustaining and currently an amount of P3 000 is approved to each
deserving institution.
The
target groups are the schools, youth groups and other institutions engaged
in environmental education activities. This includes the NGO's.
Objective
To
support Environmental Education projects which can be self sustaining
To
promote projects which can provide a learning atmosphere for schools and
other categories of the general public.
To
promote a base for infusing environmental education into the curriculum.
Examples
of school projects funded so far include a Bio Park,
weather station, orchard, fish pond and vegetable garden.
For
more information contact: The Executive Secretary, National Conservation
Strategy Coordinating Agency, Gaborone,
Botswana :
Tel: 267 302050: Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw or
contact Arabang Kanego at akanego@gov.bw
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Community
Based Natural Resources Management
(CBNRM)
The Botswana Government through the NCS Agency, in the
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Environment in collaboration with the United
Nations Development Programme is currently promoting sustainable use of
natural resources in order to alleviate poverty in rural areas and hence in
the whole country.
The
CBNRM pilot project started in May 1998 and is expected to end in December
2002. Even though the programme is
scheduled to end, it is planned for and budgeted to continue in National
Development Plan 9.
The objectives of the CBNRM programme are as follows:
§
To diversify rural
economies through the sustainable utilization of natural resources.
§ To assist rural communities in
the development of viable income generating jobs by providing guidance to
good project implementation practices.
§ To alleviate poverty especially
in rural female headed households.
§ To build appropriate partnership
between all relevant stakeholders in sustainable utilization and
conservation of natural resources.
The
project major beneficiary are community based organisations, who aim at
promoting sustainable utilisation of natural resources.
The programme has funded several community projects that are aimed at
empowering communities through community based natural resources management
projects.
For
more information contact: The Executive Secretary, National Conservation
Strategy Coordinating Agency, Gaborone,
Botswana :
Tel: 267 302050: Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw or
contact Arabang Kanego at akanego@gov.bw
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Environmental
Impact Assessment Act (EIA)
The
EIA Act was enacted by Parliament in May 2005.
The
EIA specifies the general framework to be implemented through
Statutory Orders and guidelines from the Minister responsible for the
Environment as well as identify the proper implementing agencies and ensure
that adequate administrative procedures are in place.
EIA seeks to provide the
decision makers with an indication of the likely consequences of their
developmental activities. Decision makers should consider environmental
impact as one of the issues to be
addressed in decision making in order to balance the competing demands of
development and environmental protection and to provide for environmentally
sound policies, programmes and projects. Furthermore, environmental impact
assessment allows government to consult the interested public on particular
planned policies, programmes or projects.
The
Act provides for the establishment and strengthening of the
environmental impact assessment in the decision making process to ensure
that the environmental implications of policies, programmes or development
projects, are evaluated before approval.
EIA applies to policies,
programmes, projects or activities that are likely to have a significant
effect on the environment. Its scope goes beyond the physical impact to
include other developmental effects such as economic, social, human health,
aesthetic, cultural and institutional.
The
following are the key elements of
the EIA :
(a) a process commonly referred to as
“screening” whereby lists of
projects, programmes, policies or activities subject to an assessment or lists of
environmental sensitive areas are drawn up; the threshold is determined or
criteria set up to guide determinations of the significant effects on the
environment;
(b) a process known as “scoping”
whereby the experts and interested parties such as decision makers or local
people are consulted to canvass their views on the proposed development in
order to determine the important issues to be addressed in the assessment;
(c) the impact assessment which
includes evaluation of cumulative, long term, indirect and trans-boundary
environmental impact of a project, programme or policy, possible
alternative actions and measures to minimise the potential adverse effects;
(d) periodic reviews to measure
compliance with the conditions of an authorisation and assessment of the
adequacy of prescribed mitigation measures; and
(e) environmental impact assessment
preparation lies with the proponent of the project, programme, policy or
activity.
The Act encompasses
these key issues mentioned above and other related matters.
By this legislation, the Government has
initiated a reform process that must be guided by
institutional, planning and administrative arrangements to ensure that the
implementation of EIAs is institutionalised as a formal government policy.
For more information contact: The Director,
Department of Environmental Affairs, Gaborone,
Botswana :
Tel: 267 3902050: Fax: 267 3902051/3914687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw .
David Aniku at daniku@gov.bw; Mokgadi
Monamati at mmonamati@gov.bw;
Mmolaadira Autlwetse at mautlwetse@gov.bw;
Goitseone Mathope at gmathope@gov.bw; Tsalano Kedikilwe at tkedikilwe@gov.bw
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Environmental Planning Programme
The Environmental Planning Programme
(EPP) was a 2-year programme financed by the Government of Botswana (GOB)
and the Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development(Danced). The
Programme started in 1999 and was scheduled to end in March 2001. However,
A three months extension was granted to wrap up some activities.
The primary parties
involved from GoB were Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP),
Central Statistics Office (CSO) and National Conservation Strategy
(Coordinating) Agency (NCSA). Ministry of Finance and Development Planning
appointed the Director of Development Programmes,
as programme director and chairperson of the Project Steering Committee
(PSC).
Purpose
Of The Programme
The scope
of the project was capacity building in environmental planning. Capacity
building is not only seen as training but also assistance in identifying
needs for institutional changes and development of guidelines and
procedures to institutionalize the integration of environmental issues in
the planning and project implementation process.
Environmental planning is
not only seen as the activities connected to the formal planning system of
National Development Plans, District/Urban Development Plans and Physical
Plans, but will also include other measures to obtain environmental goals
such as introduction of green accounting, environmental management systems,
economic instruments etc.
The Government of
Botswana formulated the programme
and was primary driving force in all activities, while the role of the
DANCED was to support the programme with advice and training of the
officers actually implementing the integration of environmental issues into
the planning process.
Implementation
The
actual implementation of the project was the responsibility of Ramboll
Consultants (Denmark),
in co-operation with Ecosurv (Pty) Ltd. (Botswana), who was contracted
by DANCED.
5 local advisors supported the
programme:
§
1 data-analyst stationed at
MFDP
§
1 Advisor to Serowe and
Serowe-Palapye and Mahalapye and subdistricts
§
1 Advisor to Boteti and
Tutume sub-districts
§
1 Advisor to Selebi Phikwe
City Council and Bobirwa Sub-district
§
Advisor to Gaborone City Council
Programme Activities
The project was divided into
activities around the following main components:
§ Training Environmental Planning Programme
§
Revision of all
planning manuals and handouts the planning system and the project cycle.
§
The planning system and the attached project cycle
§
Improvement of linkages on environmental issues in the National Development
Planning process at central and local level
§
Development of
Environmental Impact Assessment guidelines and manual
at central level and between central and local level
§
Management of Environmental Data
§
General advisory activities
Environmental
Planning Programme Courses
The
NCSA coordinates, in conjunction with the Department of Local Government
Service Management and University of Botswana Department of Environmental
Science, courses aimed at awareness creation within the planning field. The
courses are aimed at middle level planning staff
in the district councils and land boards throughout
Botswana.
The
courses are run annually during the months of June, July and August. The
NCSA began running these courses in 2001, before which they were run by the
DANCED. The courses are:
§ Environmental Awareness and
Environmental Impact Assesstment
§ Environmental Impact Assessment
and EIA Process Management
§ Environmental Economics
§ Environmental Planning
Management
§ Geographic Information System
For more information contact: The Director, Department of
Environmental Affairs, Gaborone,
Botswana :
Tel: 267 302050: Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@govv.bw or
contact Emmanuel Otsogile at
eotsogile@gov.bw
H. Ikgopoleng at, Hikgopole@mopipi.ub.bw University of Botswana
P Bag 0022 Gaborone
Tel: 3552106
Mr.
J. Johnson Department of Local Government Service Management
Tel: 3612843 Fax: 302079
The
EPP Consultancy ended in July 2001 and it is being pursued by DEA.
Subsequently the use of the planning manuals and handbook is in progress to
assist in the preparation of the National Development Plan, District
Development Plan 6 and Urban Development Plan 2. An Environment Keynote
Paper for the NDP 9 was prepared to focus the integration of environmental
policies in the development planning process. EIA sector Draft Guidelines
and manuals are yet to be finalized pending the approval of the EIA Bill.
The Botswana Integrated Management of Environmental Data (BIMEDA) is still
in progress based at Central Statistics Office whilst NCSA is finalizing the
creation of a website.
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Environmental
Risk Assessment of CBPP in the Ngamiland District
Background
In
February 1995 a cattle lung disease
broke out in the Ngamiland District. In April 1996 a decision was
taken to eradicate all cattle in the district in order to prevent the
disease from spreading further.
All
cattle infected or not infected were killed. During the initial stages,
carcasses were disposed of by burning. When the outbreak intensified,
carcasses were buried in trenches excavated near cattle posts, boreholes,
fossil river valleys and active valleys of Kwando and Okavango.
During
the disease control programme undertaken by Department of Animal Health and
Production, about 42 burial sites
were developed. However in the end of the eradication period many more
sites were created and it is estimated that in total about 250 sites were
used. Subsequently there were concerns on potential negative impact that
might arise from decomposition processes in the burial sites. A project was
therefore launched specifically to look at the environmental impact of
cattle carcasses in the Ngamiland region.
Objective of the project
The
goal of the project is to perform a risk assessment studies in and around
CBPP sites in the Ngamiland District. In order to achieve these the project
will:
· map all CBPP burial sites
regarding location, size, geometry and current location
· design and establish and
establish and environmental monitoring system in and around the burial
sites
· assess land degradation,
groundwater quality and gas emissions in connection with burial sites.
· perform risk assessment studies
on selected burial sites
· assess and propose necessary
mitigation measures.
Duration
The
project was conducted by Geoflux Consultants and has been completed.
For further information please contact
The Executive Secretary, National Conservation Strategy Coordinating Agency
Tel: 267 302050 Fax: 267 302051/314687 Email: envirobotswana@gov.bw or contact Dollina Malepa at dmalepa@gov.bw
or Christopher Nkala at cnkala@gov.bw
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Makgakgadi
Management Plan
The
development of a management plan for the Makgadikgadi system is a component
of regional initiative to promote the management of wetlands resources in
the SADC region. The importance of wetlands in Southern
Africa was recognized when in 1983 the SADC Wildlife Sector
Technical Coordinating Unit (WSTCU) initiated the formulation of a regional
wetland progamme. SADC in partnership with the IUCN Regional Office for
Southern Africa (ROSA) implemented Phase I which was funded by NORAD. The
activities of Phase I produced a Programme of Action, whose main objective
was to conserve and ensure a sustainable use of wetland resources, maintain
wetland bio-diversity and the essential ecological and hydrological
functions of wetlands.
Phase II
commenced in 2001 with IUCN – ROSA conducting country consultations and
introducing the Phase II project. The Phase II project is going to be
implemented in three components which are:
·
capacity building in wetlands management
·
development of wetlands management plans and
·
setting up of a regional wetlands information systems
Component two on
the development of management plans is implemented through pilot sites.
Four demonstration sites in the region have been selected for the initial
management planning exercise. Botswana is one of the four
countries, which will benefit from this project as the Makgadikgadi system,
representing a palustrine wetland is one of the selected sites.
The
IUCN–ROSA has engaged a consultancy team, Eco-logical Support Services to
undertake the initial phase of the project, which entails making a survey
of the Makgadikgadi system and compiling an inventory of the system. The
inventory and the information compiled will provide the basis for the
development of a management plan of the system.
For further information please contact The Director, Department
of Environmental Affairs Tel: 267 3902050 Fax: 267
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