News Date : 31 March, 2023

Botswana National Ecosystem Assessment

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The Government of Botswana through the Department of Environmental Affairs has appointed the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) as the Implementing Agency for the Botswana National Ecosystem Assessment (BNEA) project, which is expected to last for the next 3 years.

Background

The Botswana National Ecosystem Assessment (BNEA) project is a Government of Botswana Project funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) of the Federal Republic of Germany. The BNEA is being facilitated as a larger project by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-NET) in partnership with UNESCO. Technical support and training during the implementation of the project is facilitated by the United Nations Environmental Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

Objectives

The BNEA is aimed at:
1. Producing baseline data on status and trends of the ecosystems, highlighting the pressures and drivers of change, and the mitigation

measures possible,
2. Producing scientific evidence in the integrated management of ecosystems, and promotion of the sustainable use of ecosystems and their

value to societal well-being,
3. Signify the science-policy interface in the facilitation and formulation of informed decisions in the sustainable management of ecosystems.

A team comprising of BUAN Staff and colleagues from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, recently engaged in a project scope exercise within the Central District (Tswapong area), on the 20-24 March 2023, in which they were to pre-establish contacts, who would be a gateway to traditional indigenous knowledge of agroecosystems, hill ecosystem wetlands as well as aquatic ecosystems.