21 Nov 2018

Okavango Research Institute (ORI) and US embassy are reported to be enjoying a good working relationship.

The ORI is a research institute of the University of Botswana, for the study and conservation of one of the world’s largest and most intact inland wetland ecosystems - the Okavango Delta, as well as other southern African wetlands, river basins, watersheds and surrounding drylands.

This was revealed during the recent visit by the acting US ambassador to Botswana, Ms Kali Jones who was on a mission to appreciate the work undertaken by the research institute and to discuss and explore other opportunities to strengthen their collaboration.

Welcoming the ambassador, the acting director, Prof. Ketlhatlogile Mosepele revealed that they had been enjoying indirect and direct benefits from the embassy.

He said they had established partnerships with some universities in the US and funding agencies to undertake several programmes.

He appreciated the great support from the embassy towards conservation of the wetland and Okavango Delta, which has been declared a World Heritage Site.

The acting ambassador was briefed about the history of the institute, which dates back to 1994. It was expanded to a research centre to monitor and study conditions in the delta in 2001.

She learnt that the institute’s vision was to be a leading wetland research institute that undertakes wetland research and training on wetland ecosystem.

She was also informed that despite the good work undertaken by the centre, funding still remains a major challenge as well as limited offices, storage space and external funding.

UB Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr Oatlhokwa Nkomazana also appreciated the US support, noting that they value the relationship.

She said they believed that the visit would come up with something that would benefit the institute.

The director of ORI, Prof. Joseph Mbaiwa attested that their partnership with US had come a long way, stating that three weeks back, they got a proposal from US embassy for almost P2 million to partner with some US universities to develop some kind of research that would benefit the communities.

His colleagues, he said, are working on the proposal with the  hope that the project would soon be funded and continue to yield good fruits.

He said it was their future aspiration and plan to do a lot of research that would bring change.

Prof. Mbaiwa expressed the hope that their partnership with the US would continue to shine going forward and appreciated the ambassador’s visit.

He also mentioned that they had submitted a proposal to Safari Club International to look into conducting research on how the hunting can be sustainable and benefit the community, together with the University of Namibia.

The acting ambassador, Ms Jones appreciated the good work by the research institute and stated that the purpose of her visit was to appreciate the role of the research centre and share major programmes, which could benefit the community both directly and indirectly.

She also stated that they would have the opportunity to discuss how they could do things better to reach a common goal, mentioning other services offered by the embassy such as small grants ENDS