02 Jun 2022

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has appealed for international community support to Botswana and other Southern African states seeking to sell their ivory stockpiles.

Addressing the Stockholm + 50 International Environmental Commemoration in Sweden yesterday, he said selling the stockpiles would be a means of managing human-wildlife conflict.

He said Botswana’s large elephant was a consequence of its good conservation initiatives, adding the country should therefore be allowed to further manage human-wildlife conflict through responsible ivory trade.

“The huge elephant population poses a human-animal conflict challenge, which we need help in addressing. It is therefore my sincere hope that you will be considerate to Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in seeking to sell our ivory stockpiles,” he said.

The President said Botswana’s unwavering commitment to global environmental conservation efforts and responsible extraction of natural resources was demonstrated by the country’s signing of various multilateral environmental agreements over the past 50 years.

Notwithstanding Botswana’s success in conservation and climate change mitigation efforts, the country continued to face financial and technical challenges, the President said.

He therefore thanked development partners for assisting Botswana to address the challenges adding that government continued to pursue requisite policy frameworks to safeguard the environment.

“In our efforts to address the impact of climate change, Botswana has developed a Climate Change Policy and a National Adaptation Plan. Climate change adaptation remains a key challenge for us, and therefore invite development partners and research institutions to collaborate with us in addressing these challenges to support alternative livelihood projects in biodiversity rich areas,” Dr Masisi.

Stockholm +50 marks half a century since the June 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and strides made in environmental action since then.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, the country’s prime minister, Ms Eva Anderson, Kenyan president, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, UN secretary general Mr Antonio Guterres were among cabinet ministers, senior government officials, UNEP and other international organisations, business, civil society representatives who graced the occasion. ENDS