Botswana commits to sustainable forest management
Botswana has some 900 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conversation Monitoring Centre of which 0.8 percent are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country and 1.7 percent are threatened.
In general, Botswana is home to at least 2151 species of vascular plants of which 0.8 percent are endemic and 18.1 percent of Botswana is protected under the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN) categories I-V.
Between 1990 and 2010, Botswana lost an average of 118,350 ha or 0.86 per cent per year of its forest cover which accumulated to 17.3 per cent of, or around 2,367,000 ha.
This was said by the Director of Forestry at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Baitshepi Babusi in an interview with this publication following the commemoration on March 21 of the International Day of Forests (IDF).
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21, as the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012 and this has been observed globally since 2013.
Hill also noted that with the changing topical issues discussed in recent years, IDF and the planting of trees have converged to focus on climate change.
It has been established that trees are by far the most significant component in reducing impacts and effects of climate change as carbon sink.
It is the trees in the forests and outside forests that capture carbon to convert it into their food and in the process produce oxygen that humanity needs. Through the Department of Forestry and Range Resources, Botswana has always preserved and protected forests in all forms.
“Since time immemorial, the people of Botswana have preserved and taken care of trees, hence certain trees could not be cut or felled. This also applied to ensuring that certain trees could only be cut on certain periods of the season or year,” she said.
That is why in the Northern part of the country, specifically in the Chobe area, “we have Forest Reserves which are protected under the Forest Act and related legislation,” she added.
In addition to the normal preservation and protection, the Government of Botswana is collaborating with Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) on a Sustainable Forest Management Impact Programme
on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP), with funding from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
The DSL-IP objective is to avoid, reduce and reverse further degradation, desertification, and deforestation, achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) through sustainable management of production landscapes in eight SADC countries - Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking on the backdrop of Water Day, which was also held last week on March 22nd, Hill said the commemoration focuses its attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
This global celebration was set up by the United Nations in 1993 to highlight the importance of fresh water for all living things and the need to make it accessible to all.