19 May 2014

Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) has called on government to include climate change activities into ministries and departments.

The call was made by BOCONGO executive secretary, Ms Bagaisi Mabilo when making a presentation before the portfolio parliamentary committee on climate change. She said there was need to mainstream climate change into ministries, departments and other sectors.

“At regional level, there are currently no serious policy discussions on the use of water in various SADC countries as far as food security is concerned,” she said. She decried lack of funding and policy on climate change, saying there was need to review mechanisms to make sure that trees were planted and well taken care of.

She added that there was need to recycle water using cheaper technologies, even at household level, as the current ones were expensive. Ms Mabilo also called for a mitigation fund to ensure that climate change was addressed in a sustainable manner.

She added that lack of funding for climate change initiatives was frustrating.“This is because issues of climate change have an impact on the livelihoods of people. Take for example the issue of the Mophane worm harvesters. We need to act quickly to ensure that Botswana accesses climate change funding. We must address key issues that affect Botswana like drought, desertification, load shedding, health and reduced rainfalls,” said Ms Mabilo.

She highlighted the conflict of interest between economic activities, humans and the environment and called for the establishment of a fully-fledged structure or authority that will coordinate all climate change activities and communicate ideas that can attract support from sponsors.

At the same event, UB Lecturer, Professor Julius Atlhopeng, said nowadays climate change is considered a human rights issue. He also called for the speedy establishment of a policy on climate change to reduce the harm already caused.

He cited the mining sector as the most polluting sector in Botswana and challenged government to think hard about where resources will be channeled when the policy is being established.

Professor Atlhopeng further submitted that for the policy to be successful there must be some political recognition of climate change issues. He added that policy should be embedded in all National Development Plans (NDPs) and District Development Plans (DDPs).

The chairperson of the committee and MP for Maun East, Mr Frank Ramsden called on the media to sensitise Batswana on climate change issues. Ends