Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana has contributed US$50 000 to international environment protection body UNEP towards mitigating environmental challenges.
This was disclosed by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi when welcoming UN under secretary general and UNEP executive director Ms Inger Andersen to his office yesterday.
Stating that funds permitting, the money would be increased next financial year, he promised that Botswana would continue to optimise its contribution towards addressing environmental challenges.
The country, he said, wanted what was good for the environment.
Dr Masisi said UNEP programmes for addressing environmental challenges were in synch with Botswana’s concerns about the environment.
Although about 40 per cent of the country’s environment was conserved, the President said it was important that it sharpened its interventions on preserving the ecosystem.
He informed his guest that as Botswana continued engaging modern technology to grow and diversify its economy, it was crucial that it observed and mitigated possible gas emissions that were harmful to the environment.
“We will continue to amplify our voice and improve on what we are doing,” he said.
Dr Masisi disclosed that Botswana was working on monitoring the use of plastics and eliminating their harmful effects.
Efforts were ongoing to recycle and reuse plastics, said the President.
He advised UNEP to put in place mechanisms for monitoring harmful emissions and places where they were produced.
For her part, Ms Andersen applauded Botswana for its climate and environmental conservation efforts which had resulted in an abundance of flora and fauna.
The country also jealously guarded its natural resources and fought the illegal trade in flora and fauna, she noted.
Ms Andersen said over and above that, Botswana was employing positive measures to manage human/wildlife conflict.
She noted that as the world grappled with power shortages and strove to reduce pollution emanating from power generation sources, it was encouraging that Botswana was advocating for green technology.
Ms Andersen advised the country to consider solar energy generation, including for export.
About Botswana’s financial contribution to UNEP, she said it signified that the country believed the organisation’s work was worth the taxpayer’s money.
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