Outcome & Interventions

Sustainability of project outcomes

Provision has been made in project design to assure financial, institutional and social sustainability of conservation outcomes. A number of factors combine to ensure that the prospects for achieving a high level of sustainability are good. The policy framework in the various economic sectors and conservation arena is relatively well elaborated, and the country has an effective governance framework, anchored in strong political will. The investment climate needed to cultivate private sector confidence in the economy is supportive, and the country boasts a thriving private sector. The project focuses on sectors dependent upon the sustainable use of biodiversity, where the investment risk associated with the erosion of ecological integrity within the wetland is accordingly high. Interventions are focused on realising conservation gains without compromising sectoral activities and profitability. Detailed sustainability plans for each project component can be provided on request by the Project Management Unit.

Replicability of project outcomes

The project has been designed based on a detailed analysis of barriers to conservation in the production landscapes of the Okavango Delta. The area provides an excellent stage for integrating biodiversity management objectives into production sectors. Novel conservation approaches, piloted in the area through partnerships among Government, private enterprises and civil society may be adapted for replication in other wetlands across the country. The replication strategy (see Annex 3) aims at ensuring that lessons learnt are distilled and actively disseminated to inform initiatives elsewhere. Within the Delta, the project will work at two levels: first to put in place an enabling environment and requisite institutional     capacities for successfully integrating biodiversity management objectives into production sectors, and second, to test new conservation methods at a field level. The first set of activities will have a bearing on the entire landscape of the seasonal and permanent wetland, with an estimated area of 16,000 km2. The second set of activities will be targeted at discrete tourism and fishing operations, which will serve as demonstration sites. The replication strategy includes measures to apply the good practices tried and adapted in the demonstration sites across the Delta. The total area of other wetlands in Botswana is estimated at 9,000 km2. This land constitutes the primary focus for national replication. Key tools to facilitate this could include: preparation of guidance materials, state of the environment reporting to     Parliament, and development of an electronic information exchange facility for stakeholders.
 

Project Interventions

Interventions have been designed to contribute to four complementary outcomes namely:

a)    Enabling environment strengthened at both systemic and institutional levels.

b)    Biodiversity management objectives integrated into the water sector.

c)    The tourism sector is directly contributing to biodiversity conservation objectives in the Okavango    
       Delta.

d)    Biodiversity friendly management methods are inducted into fisheries production systems.