15 Oct 2017

Parties to the Gaborone Declaration for Sustainability in Africa (GDSA) have agreed to establish a forum of ministers which will meet every two years and hosted by a signatory country on a voluntarily basis.

The Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama said this when presenting the statement at the just ended fifth anniversary of the GDSA held in Maun.

On other recommendations, they agreed that the GDSA focal points played a key role in the implementation and coordination of in-country activities of the declaration and should be placed at an appropriate position within their respective government structures as determined in the agreed terms of reference for the focal points.

The parties also agreed to annual meetings of the focal points at a venue to be determined by the secretariat in consultation with focal points, and that the GDSA secretariat should continue to operate in its current form until its independent legal status was determined.

One of the recommendations was that Botswana should continue to host the interim GDSA secretariat and to undertake an independent assessment of the secretariat’s performance.

Members states also agreed on the need for the GDSA secretariat to seek financial sustainability, with signatory countries encouraged to provide voluntary contributions in cash or in-kind.

They noted that the Memorandum of Understanding between the government of Botswana and Conservation International (CI) for the establishment and support of the GDSA secretariat would end in December 2018.

Furthermore, the forum requested clarity on CI’s involvement and support for the implementation of the GDSA beyond 2018, and that it should be finalised by March 2018.

Parties also welcomed and acknowledged the technical support provided to the declaration by the government of Botswana, CI, UNDP, World Bank and other development partners over the past five years.

They also endorsed the GDSA joining guidelines detailing the process by which countries could join the declaration as signatories or associate members.

Another recommendation was to ensure the scope of the draft GDSA strategy (2017-2022) was broadened to include the activities of the secretariat, signatory countries and partners.

There was a call for increased resource mobilisation to support relevant GDSA activities in signatory countries and that bilateral and multilateral donors, development partners, regional and international organisations be urged to support the implementation of the action statements of the GDSA in signatory countries.

Parties also agreed that the GDSA remains valid in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Accord. ENDS