29 Apr 2021

 North West District councillors have welcomed the revised Moremi Game Reserve Management Plan (MGRMP), saying it will ensure that natural resources are conserved and managed in a sustainable way.

It was reported that the plan came about in 2007 and councillors pointed out that the review was relevant as the plan was outdated. They aired their views following a virtual presentation on the revised plan by the lead consultant, Dr Lin Cassidy of Lin Cassidy Consulting Company, which had been engaged by government to conduct the review.

Dr Cassidy said they saw it fit to appraise councillors on the plan as key stakeholders to get their views. The councillors acknowledged the good work by the consultants, indicating that the revised plan had provided the basis and direction for future management of the game reserve. They also approved the recommendation by consultants to review the plan every five years to align it with emerging issues.

Some councillors proposed that the plan should indicate how the communities residing adjacent to the game reserve would directly benefit while some wanted to know which specific concessions had been reserved for the communities.

Cllr Luke Motlaleselelo of Bojanala ward observed that the plan did not speak of beneficiation, noting that currently the communities within the game reserve were not benefiting from the prestigious resource.

The plan, he said, should also focus on the abundant archaeological resources in the area, noting that some communities had been relocated. Cllr Motlaleselelo noted that some of archaeological resources could be a great potential tourist attraction.

He also appreciated that in an effort to effectively manage the natural resources, government developed a series of management plans; which unfortunately had never been put to good use for the benefit of the community.

Mr Motlaleselelo was grateful that the plan covered a lot of issues and called for its implementation. The North West District council chairman, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho, who is also Khwai/Mababe ward councillor concurred that the plan talked about increased participation of locals, but it did not state how they would directly benefit and what was going to be done to increase participation. Cllrr Ntsogotlho pointed out that he expected the plan to propose allocation of concessions to the communities as their role  in promoting conservation is key.

Nominated councillor, Mr Molatlhegi Moyei praised the consultants for a job well done and wished filming in the game reserve could be reserved for the locals and wished the plan could had taken into account the park fees.

In her presentation, Dr Cassidy explained that they were contracted last year to review the plan as there were a lot of activities taking place. The game reserve sits in the centre of the Ramsar Site and Word Heritage Site hence it should remain protected if it was to serve its function to support wildlife based activities in the surrounding landscape, she said.

She also explained that by 2036, Moremi Game Reserve would provide core wildlife refuge areas and viable linkages within and between northern Botswana’s ecosystem and the broader Southern Africa landscape for the benefit of Botswana and global conservation. The overarching goal, she said, was to maintain the ecological integrity and landscape connectivity of the area through sound wildlife and ecosystem management; through secure and robust financing supported by the provision of functional infrastructure and services for management of activities and visitor use and through community engagement and careful regulation of tourism development and activities.

Dr Cassidy also pointed out that the area has three types of zones namely; true wilderness zone, remote zone and medium intensity use zone, adding that the plan described in detail the potential for each zone. The zoning, she said was aligned to international best practices.

The plan also covered other critical areas that include management of disease outbreaks and conservation of biodiversity. ENDS