18 May 2026

Botswana and South Africa have launched a cross-border conservation initiative aimed at strengthening the management of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park while unlocking tourism-led economic growth and community development opportunities.

Officiating at the project launch in Gaborone on Tuesday, Minister of Environment and Tourism Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the initiative signalled a renewed commitment by the two countries to biodiversity conservation, regional cooperation and innovative financing mechanisms for protected areas.

The project is supported by the European Union through the SADC Transfrontier Conservation Area Financing Facility, executed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and implemented in partnership with African Parks under a public-private partnership model.

Mr Mmolotsi said the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park occupied a historic position within Southern Africa’s conservation landscape as the first Transfrontier Conservation Area established in 2000 following a bilateral agreement signed by former Botswana president Dr Festus Mogae and former South African president Mr Thabo Mbeki in 1999.

According to Mr Mmolotsi, the establishment of the park demonstrated the commitment of both countries to jointly protecting a shared ecosystem while advancing regional integration and cooperation.

He said that protected areas across the world continued to face growing financial pressures caused by climate change, habitat degradation, illegal wildlife activities and rising operational costs.

In this regard, he said the new initiative came at a critical time when the region was grappling with economic challenges that required stronger partnerships to sustain conservation efforts.

Furthermore, Mr Mmolotsi said Botswana had adopted deliberate measures to promote partnerships capable of balancing conservation objectives with economic transformation and community development.

He added that the initiative would help unlock the economic potential of the Kalahari landscape through sustainable tourism development, infrastructure upgrades, enterprise creation, local employment opportunities and increased citizen participation in tourism and conservation value chains.

The minister also explained that the project aligned with the Botswana Economic Transformation Plan, which seeks to diversify the economy away from dependence on minerals and position tourism as one of the leading contributors to the country’s gross domestic product by 2030.

In line with that vision, Mr Mmolotsi said Botswana was targeting 2.7 million tourist arrivals by 2033, with community-based tourism enterprises expected to play a key role in achieving that target.

He highlighted planned campsite developments for communities in Bokspits, Rappelspan , Vaalhoek  and Struizendam in the Tsabong District under the BORAVAST initiative.

He stressed that conservation could only succeed if communities living near protected areas became direct beneficiaries of such projects, particularly because they often bore the burden of human-wildlife conflict and restricted land-use opportunities.

He further said that the project would strengthen biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem management and institutional capacity to ensure the long-term protection of the Kalahari ecosystem.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr Narend Singh, described the launch of the project as a major step towards strengthening conservation, community development and regional cooperation between Botswana and South Africa.

Mr Singh said the initiative reaffirmed the commitment of the two neighbouring countries to the 1999 bilateral agreement that established the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park as a symbol of peace, cooperation and shared environmental stewardship.

He said the project reflected a shared vision of balancing biodiversity conservation with socio-economic development while ensuring that communities living alongside protected areas directly benefited from conservation initiatives.

He further said the P44.9 million investment represented more than financial assistance, describing it as a demonstration of solidarity, partnership and collective responsibility among governments, communities and development partners.

A key component of the project will be the construction of a 35-kilometre game fence at the Miershoop Pan-Khomani San community-owned game farm. 

Mr Singh said the project had already received positive support from the local community and would contribute towards strengthening the community wildlife economy while promoting inclusive conservation.

Moreover, he said that the project would create temporary jobs, provide household income support and equip community members with valuable work experience. Beyond that, the fence would help reduce human-wildlife conflict while improving wildlife management, biodiversity conservation and eco-tourism opportunities.

Mr Singh further observed that the initiative was being launched at a time when the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park continued to face challenges such as inadequate funding, ageing fence infrastructure and increasing wildfire threats.ENDS