12 Nov 2015

Chief heritage officer at the World Heritage Site Mr Pascal Taruvinga has implored stakeholders to adhere to World Heritage Site standards to maintain the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) that won the Okavango Delta its status.

Mr Taruvinga was speaking in Maun at a workshop meant to prepare for the Okavango Delta Natural World Heritage Property report due December 1, 2015. The report follows the listing of the Okavango Delta in June 2014 as a World Heritage Site. Mr Taruvinga said the implementation of the management plan post listing is critical and challenging.

He said that the government has vowed to preserve the delta and ensure that it maintains its world heritage status. He emphasised the importance of community members, Non-Governmental Organisations, researchers and government departments in protecting the status of the delta. 

Mr Taruvinga reminded the meeting that conservation remains central to the World Heritage Convention (WHC). He further said periodic reports should state the trends as well as the current and emerging threats at the delta when reporting to UNESCO.

Mr Taruvinga said the state ought to maintain integrity when reporting to the WHC, warning that reporting untruths could lead to loss of heritage site status.

He said stakeholders should uphold the recommendations made prior to listing of the Okavango Delta such as the request to have in place a coordinated and systematic wildlife monitoring program to establish population baselines for key species and to track long term trends. 

The other requirements were to continue to rationalise veterinary cordon fences and to carefully monitor and manage mining in areas outside of the property to avoid any adverse impact on the property.

Mr Taruvinga further said that the convention encourages programmes which accommodate traditional resource use for livelihoods, access rights, cultural rights and access to opportunities to participate in the tourism sector while keeping with the property’s outstanding value. He said the convention is not for community disempowerment as some community representatives alluded.

In his remarks, Sankoyo village Kgosi Gokgathang Moalosi said their communities do not benefit from the tourism sector as they used to, and feared that the listing of the delta has something to do with it. He said that his community has been awaiting renewal of leases for two years.

For his part, the Director of National Museum and Monuments Mr Gaogakwe Phorano pointed out the need for bodies that deal with the Okavango Delta to synchronise reports to reduce costs. He said the Okavango Delta reported to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) on about three occasions, as a Ramsar Site and World Heritage, among others. Ends