11 Mar 2019

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Nonofo Molefhi has emphasised the need for researchers to demystify the science of climate change to ordinary people for possible adaptation to its effects.

He was speaking at Adaptation at Scale Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) Research end of project at University of Botswana in Gaborone recently that focused on adapting to climate change in semi-arid Botswana which was conducted in the Bobirwa Sub-district.

Mr Molefhi highlighted that demystifying climate change theories to ordinary people would assist them in identifying possible solutions for adaptation.

“As communities they have to be resilient for them to survive,” he said.

He further highlighted that effects and impacts of climate change had distorted indigenous knowledge systems, which Batswana used to rely on.

Mr Molefhi said there was need for universities to work on applied research, which has to do with peoples’ livelihoods and future to enable them to find answers to emerging problems.

The minister pointed out that government was committed to supporting initiatives by learning institutions to find solutions to problems that affect communities.

To this effect, he said cabinet recently set to consider the climate change policy and that Rural Development Council meeting was also discussing how communities could adapt to climate change.

UB Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris also emphasised the need for research based on societal needs.

He said UB was striving to become a relevant institution of researchers with developmental impact on livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Bobirwa Senior Sub Tribal Authority Kgosi Ezekiel Masilo said Bobirwa was honoured to host UB researchers as their findings would bring possible solutions to the problems affecting the district.

He said the Bobirwa Sub-district was among communities that were hard hit by the impact of climate change, which had reversed the gains earned by the community over the years.

Kgosi Masilo said the effects of climate change had made Babirwa highly susceptible because their lives depended highly on natural resources, rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing, which had since been reversed by drought, frequent outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease and livestock mortality.

Among the recommendations which he said might work for Bobirwa, he called on government to consider developing a buffer zone along the Botswana/Zimbabwe border for agricultural purposes.

Bobirwa Sub-district officer, Ms Lorato Sebola commended UB for bringing different disciplines and indigenous people together to conduct research in Bobirwa, which she said would give direction to policies.

She called for academics to do more research on adaptation to effects of climate change.

UB’s Ecology and Biological Sciences Department Professor Hillary Masundire, who was a principal researcher on ASSAR project; said the project that comprised a team of researchers from UB, University of Cape Town and Oxfam GB focused on understanding what made people vulnerable to climate change, barriers to adaptation and what could be effective, sustained and widespread adaptation to climate change.

Among the recommendations was that integrated response to climate change was critical and required emergency-led responses to climate-related disasters such as drought to enhance adaptation at local level.

Also, it was recommended that there was need to build capacity of stakeholders and enabling alternative livelihoods for communities through the provision of training and skills development as well as creation of jobs. ENDS