BotswanaBiodiversity Strategy

and Action Plan

REVISED FEBRUARY2007

Ministry of Environment,Wildlife and Tourism

Biodiversity Vision for Botswana

A nation in balance with nature, with fair accessto biologicalresources,where the benefits deriving from the use of these

resourcesare shared equitably for the benefit and livelihoods ofcurrent and future generations, and where all citizens recognize

and understand the importance of maintaining Botswana'sbiological heritage and related knowledge and their role in theconservation and sustainable use of Botswana'sbiodiversity.

FOREWORD

As a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Botswana has an obligation to develop aBiodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP). Article 6 of the Convention calls upon each Contracting Partyto "Develop national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use ofbiological diversity or adapt for this purpose existing strategies, plans or prog_ammes which shall reflect,/?Tter a/la; the measures set our in this Convention relevant to the Contracting Party concerned;" and"Integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biologicaldiversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies."

In partial fulfilment of this obligation the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism, through theNational Conservation Strategy Coordinating _,gency, has thus developed the BSAP. This was achievedwith financial assistance from the United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility.Ecosurv and IUCN were engaged to undertake the consultancy.

The project started in ]Lily 2002. Stages in the development of the BSAP included a National Stocktakingexercise, community consultations and two National Stakeholder Workshops. Through this nationwideconsultation process, tile following Biodiversity Vision for Botswana was developed:"A nat/on in balance wih hats;re, with ;_ir access to biological resources, where ttTe benefits deriving fromthe use of these resources are shared equitably for the bene.fi't and livelihoods of current and futuregenerations, and where afl citizens recognize and understand the/rnportance of maint_7in//LqBot._war;,_S-bfb/ogical heritage and related knowledge and their- role in t/Te conservation and sustainable ,/s__ ofBotswana_ b/od/versity "

The BSAP is based on 11 Strategic Objectives, which are designed to fulfil the Biodiversity Vision. Theseobjectives call for:

(a) Better understanding of biodiversity and ecological processes;

(b) Long-term conservation and management of Botswana's biodiversity and genetic resources;

(c) Efficient and sustainable utilisation of all components of biodiversity in Botswana throughappropriate land and resource use and management;

(d) An institutional environment, including human capacity, conducive to effect biodiversityconservation, sustainable use and management;

(e) Coping with environmental change and threats to biodiversity;(f) Appropriate valuaUon/appreciaUon of biodiversity and raised public awareness on the role of

biodiversity in sustainable development and public participation in biodiversity related activitiesand decision making;

(g) Fair access to biological resources and equitable sharing of benefits arising from theuse of these resources;

(h) Safe industrial and technological development and other services

based on national biodiversity resources for future prosperity;

(i) Improved availability and access to b[odiversity data and information, and promotion ofinformation exchange;

(k) Recognition of Botswana's and the Southern African Region's roles with regards to

biodiversity; and

(I) Implementation of this Biodiversity St.ategy and Action Plan.

I

F OI/w,O[ d

Implementation of this strategy requires commitment and active engagement by ali stakeholders. Thebest way to ensure active participation in this respect is to equip people with an awareness andunderstanding of the importance of maintaining biodiversity and why it is crucial that biodiversitycomponents are used in a sustainable manner. Awareness raising and implementation activities havetherefore been incorporated as important parts of the strategy. While the Ministry of Environment Wildlifeand Tourism played a leading role in the development of the BSAP, its implementation belongs to all of ussince the protection of our biodiversity is our responsibility as a nation. I therefore urge all of us in playingour individual and collective roles in implementing the BSAP for the sake of our beautiful and variedbiodiversity and consequently for the overall protection of our environment for the benefit of both thepresent and future generations.

Onkokame Kitso Mokaila

Minister for Environment, Wildlife and Tourism

/} or(Y,_'ot J

'FABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD ...................................................................................................................................ILIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................IllLIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................II!ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...................................................................................IVABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...................................................................................IVACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................VEXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................VIII INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................12 MAINTAINING BIODIVERSITY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS .........................33 BSAP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ................................................................................184 BOTSWANA BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY .................................................................22

OB3ECTIVE 1 .........................................................................................................................24OB3ECTIVE 2 .........................................................................................................................2,_OB3ECTIVE 3 .........................................................................................................................3_,OBJECTIVE 4 .........................................................................................................................4._OBJECTIVE 5 .........................................................................................................................4,_OBJECTIVE 6 .........................................................................................................................55OBJECTIVE 7 .........................................................................................................................5_OB3ECTIVE 8 .........................................................................................................................o2OB3ECTIVE 9 .........................................................................................................................0_OBJECTIVE 10 ......................................................................................................................_,_OBJECTIVE 11 ......................................................................................................................?_5 THE ACTION PLAN .........................................................................................................??REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 120

ANNEX 1: List of threats to biodiversityANNEX 2: Summary of community consultationsANNEX 3: CBD Goals And Targets

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Botswana Speciesrichness index for national datasets ............................................................ 5Figure 2: Cattle distribution in 1991 and 2003....................................................................................... 7Figure 3: Eco-regions ranked according to biodiversity and threats ...................................................... 13

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summaryof species inventory ................................................................................................ 4Table 2: Types of Protected Areas in Botswana................................................................................... ]2

Table 3: Government institutions directly responsible for use and protection of component of biodiversityl 4Table 4: Some environmental NGOsin Botswana, involved with conservation of biodiversity ................. [ 5

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ABS Access and Benefit SharingARB Agricultural Resources BoardBCA Botswana College of AgricultureBD BiodiversityBNTSC Botswana National Tree Seed Centre

BRIMP Botswana Rangeland Inventoryand Monitoring ProjectBSAP Biodiversity Strategy and Action PlanCBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CBNRM Community Based Natural Resource ManagementCBO Community Based OrganisationCHM Clearing House MechanismCITES Convention on International Trade in Rare and Endangered Species of Flora and PaLCPR Common Property ResourcesCSO Central Statistics Office

DHS Department of Meteorological ServicesEIA Environmental Impact AssessmentEPP Environmentai Planning ProgrammeGMO Genetically Modified OrganismsGOB Government of Botswana

IAS Invasive Alien