Botswana conservation laws outdated
Some of Botswana's conservation laws and policies are out of touch with current challenges, including climate change, which is an urgent threat to sustainable livelihood.
A stakeholder in the conservation and climate change sector, Walter Sikasele said that while Botswana has done fairly well in conservation practices, there is still room to improve policies that are inclusive.
'The challenge that Botswana has is the lack of political will, despite the fact that the source of life itself lies in protecting the environment and its ecosystems, and the flora and fauna.”
Earlier this year, Botswana sent two Members of Parliament, Phenyo Butale and Wynter Mmolotsi, to the Conference on Policy Coherence and Political Consistency in Conservation, hosted by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation in Costa Rica.
The agenda for the conference this year, focused on encouraging political consistency and policy coherence in the area of conservation.
Butale said that the conference highlighted that greater environmental benefits can accrue to various countries, including Botswana, if policy coherence and political consistency is achieved.
“This can be realised by doing away with priority contradictions within government,' he said.
Butale told The Midweek Sun that there should be consensus over a global vision; an overarching objective at both national and international level. Secondly, the various approaches and country specifications often become
stumbling blocks towards achieving the overall goal.
“The contestation of ideas at this level yields a nuanced and robust delivery mechanism anchored on clear timelines and targets.”
Butale noted that policy approaches notwithstanding their variance, in accordance to political parties in power, should be implemented systematically in a ‘whole government approach,’ to eliminate silos in government departments and eliminate priority contradictions within government.