21 May 2014

The United States of America is offering Botswana lessons to avoid pit falls in managing the Okavango Delta.

Speaking in a press briefing, Mr Robert Johnson, the Director of Everglades National Park in South Florida, USA, said they learnt the hard way as they now have to spend US$19.5 billion to rehabilitate it over a period of 30 to 40 years.

“We hope that government of Botswana can learn from our mistakes, and that it will take decisive steps now to protect the Okavango Delta, and the jobs that it generates, before it is too late. This will ensure that the Okavango Delta continues to thrive as a wonder of ecological diversity and a sustainable economic engine of growth,” he said.

Everglades National Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1979 and Mr Johnson said they support Botswana’s bid to designate the Okavango Delta as such.
Calling the South Florida Park, “United States’ Okavango Delta”, Mr Johnson said the World Heritage Committee placed it on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1993 because of inadequate management actions.

“We initially mismanaged the park and its greater watershed outside the park limits,” adding that they also did not protect the entire wetlands. “First, we did not designate the entire wetlands a protected area. We should have paid more attention to protecting the entire watershed, including the buffer zone, and not just the National Park core area,” he said.

Mr Johnson said they also learnt that good management plans are not sufficient but they have to be implemented. “We did not effectively manage land use and water flows in the adjacent buffer area. As a consequence, unregulated agricultural and urban growth negatively impacted our ability to protect this World Heritage Site,” he said.

He also said they did not have an authority to overlook an inter-agency organisation they formed. “While we established a Congressionally-mandated inter-agency process with 14 federal and 10 state agencies as well as tribal and local governments, we failed to create an overarching legal authority charged with protecting Everglades National Park and with full authority to do so,” he said.

Mr Johnson said as a consequence, they were unable to fully integrate land use and water management planning into their long-term environment policy. He said tourism plays an important role in Botswana’s economy hence important to preserve the Okavango Delta.

“I understand that tourism generates 10 per cent of Botswana’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 20 per cent of its employment, and that it holds the promise of even greater returns in the future. Protection and sustainable management of the Okavango Delta, both core and buffer areas as defined by Botswana’s World Heritage Site application, is critical to tapping this economic potential,” he said. 


The Director of National Museums, Mr Gaogakwe Phorano said they appreciated the assistance offered by the US government through organisations such as USAID and Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program (SAREP).

He said through SAREP, Angola, Namibia and Botswana have been able to form the Okavango River Basin Commission, aimed at managing the river which flows through these countries before ending as a delta in Botswana. The US government also supports the Okavango Delta through OKACOM and the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP).


Mr Phorano said the Okavango Delta remains prestige adding the policy of low volume high cots has brought the right people who are interested in conservation matters. Ends