Africa-Press – Botswana. Building climate resilience particularly in rural farming communities can help Botswana attain its aspirations to reinvent agriculture and set the sector on course to once again be a key contributor to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Officiating at the launch of a national project aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change on Botswana’s communal rangelands in Tsabong yesterday, President Advocate Duma Boko said with the sector’s contribution to the GDP having declined from 40 to 1.7 per cent over the years, it was necessary that efforts be intensified to reverse the status quo.
Attributing the decline to several challenges among them unfavourable climatic conditions whose effects included frequent and prolonged spells of drought as well as erratic rainfall patterns, President Boko said the take-off of the adaptation and mitigation project was timely as it came at a time when government had renewed its keenness to root out poverty from among its people.
He said the project, with its objective to reach 247 000 people in 104 villages in Ngami, Kgalagadi and Bobirwa regions, would empower rural communities by positively impacting their economies at household level.
“Maikaelelo a rona ke go ntsha lehuma ka kgoro tsa motse gore batho ba rona ba kgone go tshela botoka,” he said, underlining why it was crucial to have all hands on deck in order to guarantee the success of the project.
President Boko also highlighted that the project would encompass marginalised pockets of society including women, the youth and People with Disabilities (PWDs), whom he said would make up 54 per cent of beneficiaries.
Commending Green Climate Fund (GCF) Agency and Conservation International for partnering with Botswana on the implementation of the project, the President disclosed that government had contributed P1 billion to the project, whose total cost he said stood at P13.1 billion (USD496.7 million).
“The partnership by government and key players in issues of conservation such as the Green Climate Fund and Conservation International has seen us pool together resources, with government contributing P1 billion,” he said.
Chief field officer at Conservation International Mr Jimmiel Mandima said Conservation International had recently launched an ambitious 10-year strategy for the Africa region to protect and restore 100 million hectares, a milestone which he said would be achieved through the joint efforts of governments, partners, local communities and global institutions.
Mr Mandima said their efforts had since protected iconic landscapes and wildlife, stabilised climate and improved the livelihoods of millions of people.
He said the impact priorities of Conservation International included mobilising finance at large scale to support conservation and food production systems, to support nature-positive livelihoods in partnership with local communities, the private sector and governments.
Assuring Botswana of Conservation International’ support Mr Mandima said the organisation would bring lessons from comparable initiatives in other parts of Africa.
He said the Botswana project would serve as a great example for the SADC region of what could be achieved through working with indigenous people, which he said was key to resolving global crises while delivering sustainable development.
Ms Portia Segomelo of Conservation International’s Botswana arm said the project was driven by the need to protect Botswana’s rangelands in the face of climate change, thereby building the resilience of communities reliant on agriculture. She also stated that the project would entail merging the good that could be drawn from both traditional and contemporary measures and strategies that could be beneficial in combating the effects of climate change.
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