15 May 2025

Palapye has been described as experiencing rapid urbanisation driven by activities such as mining, infrastructure development and industrialisation. 

The District Officer 1 for Palapye, Mr Kabelo Tshekiso said this at a stakeholder consultation workshop on revising and updating the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) on Tuesday. 

He said these developments and associated land use changes are placing increasing pressure on the biodiversity and ecosystems contributing to challenges such as flooding, pollution, climate change and improper or illegal waste disposal often exacerbated by capacity constraints at the local dumping site. 

He said Palapye community exemplifies the complex balance between development and conservation. Mr Tshekiso said like many other peri-urban and rural areas across Botswana, Palapye maintained a deep connection to the land, nature and the biodiversity that sustains lives, livelihoods and cultural heritage. 

He said the workshop came at an important time as the country faced challenges in planning and setting priorities that would move Botswana to the next level of development. 

He further said the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity calls for a whole of government and whole of society approach and hence the need for development priorities to be inclusive and consultative. Botswana has been implementing the NBSAPS since 2004 and has done a lot to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable use of natural resources. 

However, he said, a lot still remains to be done and one way of achieving aspirations under biodiversity conservation and wise use of natural resources is through inclusivity. He said the office of the District Commissioner understands the importance of integrating biodiversity into local planning and decision making, therefore they remain committed to working hand in hand with all stakeholders. 

The objectives of the workshop were to sensitise stakeholders on NBSAP aligned targets and to gain insight into stakeholders’ perspective regarding the current status and threats facing biodiversity. The other objective was to develop strategic activities for the implementation of the NBSAP and to foster ownership. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came into force in 1993 and has 196 parties. 

Botswana signed and ratified the CBD in 1996. The convention aims to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable use of natural resources and ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the utilisation of genetic resources. As a signatory to the CBD, Botswana is obliged to periodically revise, update and align its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. ENDS