09 Nov 2017

A delegation from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states on November 7 visited Maboane and Boatlaname in Kweneng District to appreciate the firebreaks maintained by the community through the Economic Stimulus Programme as well as those maintained by private contractors.

Speaking in an interview after the tour, the chief forestry and range resources officer, Mr Jomo Mafoko said SADC had been receiving assistance from the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) in areas of fire management and forestry conservation. 

He  said the agency was currently assisting Botswana in mapping the network of firebreaks across the country for easy management of veld fires.

He also noted that the firebreaks management was done in collaboration with communities in the nearby villages who were engaged in debushing the lines to make it easy for machinery like graders to pass through.

“We also want to instil  the spirit of ownership among community members because they are the custodians of such land, and they also own land parcels in the areas concerned and by maintaining the firebreaks they are also protecting their property,” he said.

For his part, JICA chief advisor, Mr Yoshiro Kurashina explained that since 2015 they had visited SADC member states and realised that most of them had common challenges in fire management.

He said in 2015 the JICA entered into a five year agreement with SADC to assist in forestry conservation, sustainable management of forest resources as well as community participation in fire management. 

He said the idea behind JICA’s collaboration with SADC was to share knowledge, information and skills, and to come up with a solution for the common challenges identified in the region.

He said the collaboration would run until 2020, and that the reason for their visit was to appreciate the benefits of collaboration between government and members of the community in as far as fire management was concerned.

Meanwhile, the JICA/SADC project team members paid a courtesy call on Kweneng District Commissioner, Dr Themba Mmusi who explained that the country experienced wild fires on a yearly basis particularly in the Chobe National Park. 

He also said the country has had floods with the recent triggered by Cyclone Dineo which caused floods and left a trail of destruction.  

He also noted that earthquakes have become common although at a smaller scale in terms of measurements on the Richter scale. 

The district commissioner explained to the JICA/SADC team that in dealing with disaster outbreaks the national disaster management office, under the Office of the President, coordinated the processes, adding that the Ministry of Natural Resources, Conservation and Range Resources, together with the Department of Forestry and Range Resources, acted as a linchpin between the ministry and the districts for disasters involving veld fires.

He noted that at the district level the disaster management committee coordinated disaster activities. 

Furthermore, he stated that communities were often sensitised on how to respond to disaster matters. One of the initiatives, he said, included the involvement of communities in the construction of firebreaks and their maintenance.

Through the initiative, Dr Mmusi said about 268 km of firebreaks out of 1 055 km was maintained creating 334 jobs. 

He said the initiative was done through the Economic Stimulus Programme with a budget of over P500 000 creating employment for communities in seven villages.

Mr Thabo Motsoane from Lesotho Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation appreciated efforts made by Botswana in relation to disaster management and preservation of natural resources. 

He said what was intriguing during their visit was the peaceful nature of the citizens, and the natural beauty of their habitat. 

He said the team has learnt a lot and that they appreciated how the country was managing their forests. ENDS