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Environment Programme
BOTSWANA ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT Effective Management of energy and the environment for sustainable development, achieving the MDGs and reducing human poverty… UNDP Botswana’s objective is to promote innovative, creative conservation strategies and actions to protect the environment while contributing to the eradication of poverty in partnership with all levels of government, civil society and the private sector. Resident Representative “UNDP’s focus in environment is on capacity to manage. It is UNDP's objective to help countries adopt integrated approaches that focus on managing natural resources to improve the livelihoods of people.” MDG7 Botswana’s stock of natural resources includes land, minerals, water, flora and fauna, and is the backbone of the economy and the livelihoods of its inhabitants. The management of Botswana’s natural resources is guided by national environmental legislation and strategies, and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), seven of them signed between 1997and 2003 alone. Within the framework of the sustainable use of environmental resources, the most important environmental issues are: (a) land degradation and the related issues of desertification, soil erosion and biodiversity loss; (b) conflicting land uses; (c) climate change; (d) access to water for household, livestock, arable and industrial use; (e) water scarcities; (f) fuel wood depletion and lack of alternative forms of energy; and (g) the protection of cultural and natural heritages. Although water is a scarce resource in Botswana, the country is firmly on course to ensuring universal access to safe drinking water. The proportion of the population with sustainable access to safe drinking water has increased, rising from 77% of the population in 1996 to 97.7% by the year 2000.
Pressure on land resources comes from a variety of sources, including economic expansion, population growth, migration, livestock populations, animal populations, and climate change. Economic activities, industry, and farming not only consume land resources but also pollute them. Population growth has led to the annexation of more virgin land to meet human needs such as shelter, energy and water, and the generation of higher volumes of waste. In an effort to remedy this, the Government has opted for integrated land use planning to man-age land use conflicts that are fueled by expansion of human settlements and economic activity into new territories. STRATEGY AND PORTFOLIO At the country level The Environment Outputs identified by the Country Programme are:
These objectives are all in support of the policies and objectives identified by the National Development Plan 9, which forms the departure point for the 2003 - 2007 Environment Support Programme (ESP). At the corporate level The Energy & Environment Programme addresses itself to the third Strategic Goal of MYFF - Energy and Environment for Sustainable Development - and the six associated Strategic Outputs.
In an effort to deliver on the stated outputs, the Energy & Environment Programme continues to place emphasis on human capacity and policy issues relating to environmental assessments and monitoring, participation of Botswana in Global Convention and funding mechanisms for environmentally sustainable development. To achieve this, there will be a need to diversify our range of implementation partners to include Non Government Organisations and Private Sector. There will also be a need to increase awareness of the role of GEF supporting sustainable development. Synergies with other Units of the UNDP, Development Partners and the programmes of the Government of Botswana will be sought to create greater impact. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a major source of funding and even more importantly, the availability of a Project Development Facility (PDF) reduces the cost to prospective implementing partners and increases the quality of project plans thus ensuring higher implementation success. BACKGROUND Situation analysis Vast parts of Botswana still remain undeveloped with industrialisation confined mainly to the eastern parts of the country. Though Botswana boasts of unique ecological features they are however vulnerable and the prime challenge is to achieve sustainable management of renewable natural resources in a semi-arid environment amidst a rapidly growing human population. Other challenges include competing land-uses, poverty, inadequate coordination of natural resource-use regimes, and lately the HIV/AIDS epidemic. If left unmanaged, these influences could lead to a general decline in the natural resources base typified by low agricultural yields, reduced wildlife populations and distribution, reduced yields in fishing and veldt products, and consequently reduced opportunities and choices especially for rural communities. Rural dwellers have traditionally relied on natural resources for their food, housing materials, medicines, household implements, energy and cultural activities, on a sustainable basis. However, the lack of economic options and increasing poverty are threatening this balance, as people tend to harvest beyond even what they know as sustainable levels, just to meet immediate needs, in turn compromising the regeneration capacity of the resource. As the natural resource base continues to diminish, rural dwellers, especially women, will progressively become impoverished. Poverty levels were recorded at 47% of the population in 1997, according to the UN Common Country Assessment, 2001. Arresting this situation requires a range of interventions from policy and legislative reform, to coordination of environmental protection with national development efforts. Livestock farming and arable agriculture are the most common forms of land use but over the years, the role of agriculture in rural economies has continued to decline partly through livestock predation and crop damage. In a few areas, local communities have, through utilisation of wildlife and veldt products attracted considerable private sector investments and in the process increased rural incomes. These efforts however continue to be undermined by the human-wildlife conflict. As recognition of the value of wildlife and veldt products increases, and previously unoccupied areas begin to have regular presence of tourists, issues of invasive species, over-harvesting of resources (especially veldt products) and plagiarism of indigenous knowledge systems begin to emerge. In the drier parts of the country, veldt products and forage have a very important role in human sustenance. These wild products in the form of berries, tubers, herbs, nuts, fruits, grasses, caterpillars and locusts, provide food for domestic consumption and can generate income for rural households. Woodlands and forests are found on state land, freehold land and communal land. Wood resources are important for energy in rural areas, as well as house construction and furniture. Because of these demands, wood resources are being depleted in turn reducing the capacity of forests to regulate water flow and leading to the destruction of ecological habitats. Wildlife continues to be the main driving force for tourism in Botswana and some species such as springbok show a significant decline. Among some of the strategies to arrest the decline of wildlife populations is the devolution of use and management of wildlife to local communities. However, the management capacity of most rural communities is still low and the provision of the necessary technical support to rural communities managing wildlife is a huge task. In addressing environmental concerns, public education and awareness activities are being undertaken by environmental organisations within and outside Government and the last decade has seen an increase in public participation in management and use of natural resources. This has been facilitated mainly by Government’s decision to devolve natural resources management and user rights to local communities in the form of CBNRM. The draft EIA legislation makes provision for public participation, and requires consultation with communities most likely to be affected by major developments. Participation by the private sector in environmental management has been limited. On-going reforms and attempts to rationalize the roles and responsibilities of Government departments dealing with environment will be looking at opportunities for private sector participation. Recent institutional reforms within Government have seen the creation of a new Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT) with a mandate to coordinate environmental conservation and protection. A rationalization of all environment-related functions transferred to MEWT is currently underway and should lead to a clearer identification of the core functions of the Ministry and linkages. The Government’s response to the situation The last decade has seen extensive policy and legislative reforms as well as institutional and planning interventions aimed at promoting sustainable development, reducing environmental degradation, increasing efficiency in natural resource utilisation and reducing poverty, especially in rural areas. The National Policy on Natural Resources Conservation and Development, also known as the NCS, was adopted in 1990. The Policy has the twin objectives of increasing the effectiveness of natural resources use and management to maximise the benefits and minimise undesirable side effects; and of integrating environmental work and considerations throughout the operations of all Ministries. To oversee the implementation of the Strategy, and to coordinate the various environment and natural resources institutions of Government, the National Conservation Strategy Advisory Board (NCSAB), was established, with the National Conservation Strategy Coordinating Agency (NCSA) as its Secretariat. In 1997, Vision 2016 outlined the Government’s development initiatives and recognized the need to address environmental issues in order to achieve sustainable development. In line with the pillar “A Prosperous, Productive and Innovative Nation”, the Vision advocates for sustainable economic growth and development which takes into consideration efficient use of both renewable and non-renewable resources, equitable distribution of assets, community participation in natural resources management, poverty eradication, and minimum land, water and air pollution. In line with Vision 2016, an Environmental Keynote Paper was prepared early in 2002, paving the way for the integration of environmental considerations into the ninth National Development Plan (NDP-9). The keynote paper informed Government on environmental concerns for Botswana and how they could be integrated into the development planning process. Development targets outlined in NDP9 range from policy, legislative and institutional reforms, and include environmental and economic instruments and public awareness campaigns. All these contribute to the realization of Vision 2016. In addition to the above “domestic” measures, Botswana has also accepted its role within the international community by participating in global events such as the UN Conference on Environment and Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It has also acceded to a number of global environmental conventions. However, in spite of this progress, a lot remains to be done. Implementation of the policy has fallen short of expectations. Effective coordination has been hindered by the absence of legislative backing. The NCS Agency lacks sufficient powers to execute some decisions and to monitor the environmental performance of other sectors. The need for an overarching environmental law has been identified and drafting has commenced but progress is slow. The NCS Agency has changed mother ministries four times since its establishment and its continuing lack of capacity has resulted in administrative delays for major programmes and activities. More Information |
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Botswana
