10 Jun 2014

Residents of Francistown have been called upon to protect natural resources and ensure they are used in a sustainable manner.

The call was made by the tourism development manager, Mr Thabani Segaetsho at the commemoration of the world environment day on June 7.

Mr Segaetsho noted that the illegal use and poor management of natural resources ,which also had direct negative effects on the national economy were of great concern.

He cited that illegal sand mining in some rivers such as the confluence of Shashe and Ntshe rivers had destroyed their beds and even led to growth of foreign vegetation. Mr Segaetsho further said the over harvesting of wood in areas such as Makomoto had resulted in the change of environment.

He noted other environmental challenges that the country experienced were incidents of poaching and the indiscriminate and illegal disposal of waste.

Mr Segaetsho said the theme of this year’s commemoration of the world environment day came at a strategic time when the Francistown city was in the process of developing its Urban Development Plan (UDP).

He encouraged those who were involved in the process of developing the UDP to ensure the integrations of environmental considerations as that could green the economy for the benefit of the people of the city.

Mr Segaetsho said the objectives of the world environment day commemorations resonate well with the spirit of the Francistown Vision 2011, which aspired for a city that was sustainably managed.

The district environmental coordinator for Francistown and the North East District, Mr Thaloganyo Busang said the national commemorations were held on June 5 and the Francistown office in conjunction with White Stars Youth Football Club decided to follow.

He said the objective of the commemorations were to sensitise the community, reflect and share ideas on how best the environment could be sustainably managed for the benefit of all including future generations.

He implored all particularly the youth to take part in the preservations of natural resources and advocate for change in the behavior of the society towards the environmental issues.

The commemorations which were held under the theme, “Raise your voice for the environment: stop illegal harvesting of natural resources”, kicked off with litter picking in Block 5 and the planting of trees in Mokaleng primary school.

At the same event, different stakeholders exhibited on how the environment and natural resources could be preserved. Ends