05 Jul 2016

The Southern African region has a rich natural heritage of global significance to the world’s climate and biodiversity. 

The SADC Regional Biodiversity Strategy says more than 40 per cent of the region’s species are only found in their existing location. 

This is why biodiversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature provides to human society.

Natural resources account for a significant proportion of the SADC region’s GDP and are a source of livelihood for the majority of its citizens. 

However, despite this natural resource wealth, the region continues to face challenges of economic development due to difficulties in equitable and sustainable harnessing and management of natural resource capital. 

In an effort to complement the region’s ongoing efforts to address natural resources management challenges, the SADC Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA) Network held a three-day symposium in Gaborone from July 3 to 5. 

The symposium was also meant to share best practices and come up with cross-cutting solutions that would ensure conservation and preservation of natural resources for the benefit of their own and future generations. 

Officiating at the symposium, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Elias Magosi said biodiversity loss as characterised by dramatic wildlife declines in some key hotspots around the world, was now considered a grand challenge on par with climate change, food security, energy security and public health, among others.

For this reason, he said “embracing TFCAs will go a long way towards also addressing these grand challenges.”

Given that biodiversity underpins the functioning of ecosystems which provide a wide range of services to human societies, Mr Magosi added that “it is obvious that continued loss of biodiversity will have major implications for current and future human well-beings.”

He said the symposium served as a testimony to SADC’s commitment towards effective stakeholder engagement on issues pertaining to transboundary natural resources management. 

“It is also a platform for knowledge sharing and promoting access to environmental information,” he added. 

Proceedings from the SADC  TFCA Network symposium, he said, could be harnessed to promote uptake by policy and decision makers as well as develop benefit-sharing models which were sensitive to the needs of the different sectors of the community based on accountability. 

In March 2011, SADC member states adopted the SADC mission statement for TFCAs, which is “to develop SADC into a functional and integrated network of TFCAs where shared natural resources are sustainably co-managed and conserved to foster economic and social development, tourism, and regional integration for the benefit of those living within and around TFCAs and mankind at large.” 

To achieve the regional goal, Mr Magosi said there was need for SADC member states to continue investing in natural resources management. 

“The time has come to walk our talk and institute effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in order to realise returns on our investments,” he said.  This, he said, would also show the impacts of these programmes since their inception.

The Southern African Development Community Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources director, Ms Margaret Nyirenda said SADC has adopted a holistic approach to addressing regional economic and development challenges. Ms Nyirenda said this was why SADC member states had agreed to collaborate on sharing ideas and experiences regarding natural resource management. 

Giving a brief background of the SADC TFCAs Network, the network chairperson and Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism TFCA coordinator, Ms Ingrid Otukile said the network strived to overcome TFCAs challenges through shared and exchange of information, joint learning and knowledge management and strengthening collaboration and relationships. 

To date, she said the network comprised 130 members representing diverse stakeholder groups from SADC member states, international coordinators, international and regional NGOs such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Peace Parks Foundation, private sector and academia representatives. 

The network was established in September 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa, by TFCA practitioners of 10 SADC member states, international coordinators, as well as representatives of several international NGOs. 

This was upon realising that SADC member states were faced with several challenges which hinders TFCA development and which could be better addressed by capitalising on the opportunities afforded by mutual cooperation. ENDS