23 Aug 2022

Botswana whole-heartedly supports the creation of institutions such as the green climate fund, adaptation fund, and global environment facility among others, that will help developing nations address climate change at noticeable scales consequently improving the lives of those negatively affected by climate change.

Speaking during the Botswana Global Adaptation Expo in Gaborone on Monday, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Philda Kereng said Botswana had  since come up with strategies, policies and legislation to address the effects of climate change.

“The National Environmental Fund (NEF) has been established to promote and provide financial support for projects that are geared towards the protection and conservation of the environment,” stated Minister Kereng.

She said government, in collaboration with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) had completed development of the National Drought Management Plan to address socio-economic and environmental impacts of drought in Botswana.

The plan, she said, would guide the country’s national response to drought management.

She said in an effort to counter the negative impacts of climate change, government developed a National Climate Change Policy and the National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan had also been developed to operationalise the policy.

Ms Kereng said the Climate Change Policy was demonstration of Botswana’s commitment to join the international community in the stabilisation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and building on resilience of key economic sectors.

“Its major objective is to address the vulnerability and impacts of climate change in Botswana, mainstream climate change into various economic sectors and ensure promotion of broad participation of interested parties at all levels and sectors,” she said.

Minister Kereng said government also finalised the long-overdue Integrated Waste Management Policy, which would promote the 3R strategy that entailed the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste.

This policy was geared towards creating a platform for integrated sustainable waste management through adequate planning and resourcing, improving waste regulation and governance as well as increased shared responsibility among stakeholders for the protection of public health and the environment, said Ms Kereng.

She said the prospects of effectively applying the 3R strategy for optimally achieving the outcomes of the integrated waste management policy rested, first and foremost, on mind-set change of individual citizens, corporate actors and institutions to commit to using natural resources wisely and judiciously.

Ms Kereng said Botswana had also developed the National Framework for Sustainable Development (NFSD), to support and provide an overarching guide for integrating the principle of sustainable development into all national policies and strategies. BOPA