BOTSWANA REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO RIVER BASIN ACCORDS

UNCLAS GABORONE 000909


DEPT FOR OES/STC, OES/PCI, OES/ETC, OES/FO, OES/ENV
DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/EPS AND EEB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TPHY SENV SOCI EAID BC
SUBJECT: BOTSWANA REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO RIVER BASIN ACCORDS


1. Summary: Botswana hosted September 15 a USAID-sponsored regional
meeting under the aegis of the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) on river basin organizations (RBOs) for relevant GOB
ministries and departments, and representatives from the four RBOs
of which Botswana is a member. Attendees included the Ministers of
Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT); Lands and Housing (MOLH);
Agriculture (MOA); and Energy, Mineral Resources and Water (MEMRW),
as well as officials from other GOB agencies, RBOs and donor
countries. Key goals of the workshop included: a) understand the
role of RBOs and the implications for Botswana as member; b) work
toward a coordinated national approach; and c) clarify the role of
donors. Botswana sent a clear message of its commitment to RBOs,
notwithstanding its own national challenges, such as human resources
and financial constraints. End Summary.

Purpose of Event
--------------


2. The Government of Botswana (GOB) hosted September 15 at the
prestigious Phakalane Golf Club in Gaborone a USAID-sponsored
regional meeting under the aegis of the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) on river basin organizations (RBOs) for relevant
GOB ministries and departments, and representatives from the four
RBO's of which Botswana is a member. Crucially, the Ministers of
Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT) Kitso Mokaila, Lands and
Housing (MOLH) Nonofo Molefhi, Agriculture (MOA) Christian De Graaf,
and Energy, Mineral Resources and Water (MEMRW) Ponastshego
Kedikilwe attended the event. Other attendees were the Deputy
Attorney General T.E. Malebeswa, Permanent Secretary from Foreign
Affairs, and other senior and working-level officials (Note: Foreign
Minister P.T. Skelamani had committed to attend but had to instead
accompany President Khama to witness the signing of the
power-sharing accords in Zimbabwe. End Note). The participating
RBOs were the Permanent Okavango River Basin Commission (OKACOM),
the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM),the Limpopo Commission
(LIMCOM) and the Zambezi Commission (ZAMCOM).


3. Master of Ceremonies Oliver Chapeyama noted the objectives of the
ministerial meeting/workshop were to:
a) understand the role of RBOs ; b) understand the implications of
Botswana becoming a signatory to the RBO accords; c) work toward a
coordinated, cross-sectoral national approach; and d) elucidate the
role of the international cooperating partners (ICPs: this is SADC's
term for donors). In his keynote speech, Minister Kedikilwe said
the presence of the four ministers showed they understood the
importance of the event. "Water is life," he intoned, "and one
should share it magnanimously with those that lack it." He
reaffirmed Botswana's commitment to transboundary water management,
highlighting its membership in the four RBOs participating in the
event. Minister Kedikilwe revealed that the workshop was the first
attempt at a coordinated national approach to RBO management and
thus was unique. It provided an opportunity to engage in collective
dialogue on transboundary water management and an enhanced
understanding of the issues involved. The Minister stressed that
the RBOs still need technical and financial aid from ICPs, and
thanked USAID and SADC for organizing the event.

The ICPs
--------------


4. In his brief presentation, USAID's Regional NRM Program Manager
Chris Schaan began by noting that endeavoring to improve
transboundary water management is no small undertaking, as evidenced
by the establishment of RBOs and or joint technical committees. He
stressed that improving cooperation across borders to jointly manage
water resources, the majority of which share river basins in
Southern Africa, is a logical step forward, given the threats to
freshwater resources in the world today. "Freshwater resources are
finite and are under serious threat," he warned. These threats
include over extraction, increasing human needs and development,
global climate change, deforestation, and environmental pollution.
Schaan said that "being part of a river basin organization can help
address these threats in a collaborative way that transcends
borders." RBOs could also be a platform for building trust,
understanding and goodwill that can be important in mitigating
tensions over freshwater resources, should they arise. He continued
that given the demands that are being placed on freshwater
resources, the transboundary nature of many of the major rivers in
SADC, and the essential role water plays in everyday life, RBOs,
with support from SADC's Water Division and donors could help ensure
that water resources are managed in an equitable and environmentally
sustainable manner. This, in turn, could help improve the
livelihoods of people within the river basins.


5. Dr. Horst Vogel, Program Manager for the German Technical
Cooperation Agency (GTZ) branch based in Gaborone, explained
Germany's support for and sponsorship of RBO-related activities. He
noted Germany's lead role in the water sector as agreed to by SADC,
and explained the tools and methods of harmonizing transboundary
water management in Southern Africa. Horst said GTZ was developing
an ICP Internet platform that would engage the 15 organizations
involved in the water sector, such as the World Bank, the African
Development Bank, USAID, GTZ and other ICPs. He warned that without
financial data from the ICPs and SADC member countries, it would be
very difficult to identify gaps in funding needs and availability.
SADC's Water Division Senior Program Manager Phera Ramoeli then
discussed SADC's Protocol on Shared Water Resources, its Regional
Water Policy and Strategy, and its Regional Strategic Action Plan
(RSAP). Ramoeli said key RSAP issues include capacity building,
resources, water governance and infrastructure development. He
stressed that SADC's preferred modus operandi is basin-wide rather
than bilateral approaches, especially since its role is to
coordinate, not to implement policy.

The Commissions
--------------


6. Representatives of the four RBO commissions in Southern Africa
described the history, structure, purpose and goals of their
organizations and provided an update on their activities. (Note:
These commissions are: i) The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water
Commission (OKACOM),comprising Botswana, Angola and Namibia; ii)
The Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM),comprised of Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa; iii) The Limpopo Watercourse
Commission (LIMCOM),made up of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and
South Africa; and iv) The Zambezi Action Plan Project 6 Phase II
(ZACPRO 6-2),a precursor to the imminent Zambezi Commission
(ZAMCOM),comprising of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,
Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. End Note). The Head of OKACOM's
Secretariat based in Maun, Dr. Ebenezario Chonguica, praised SADC's
collaboration with the USG (i.e., USAID and its implementing partner
IRBM),the Swedish Government (i.e., SIDA),and UNDP/GEF's (i.e.,
its Global Environmental Facility) Environmental Protection and
Sustainable Management of the Okavango River Basin Project (EPSMO).
He said EPSMO provides collaborative opportunities in transboundary
river basin management and noted its linkages with the national
initiatives of the riparian states, such as Botswana's Okavango
Delta Management Plan (ODMP). Choncguica also highlighted OKACOM's
challenges and opportunities, institutional arrangements, and
program development. The LIMCOM representative revealed that since
its 2003 signing, only Zimbabwe remained to ratify the accord. He
warned that there could be no progress before this happened.

GOB Perspective
--------------


7. Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Steve
Monna explained the role of his agency in handling bilateral and
multilateral environmental accords (MEAs). He said the GOB
categorizes them as either part of the Rio Convention or "Non Rio".
He added that MEAs recognize the economic value of natural
resources, the inter-dependence of people and ecosystems, and the
need for national, regional and global action with international
support for their effective management. Monna noted that key GOB
challenges include raising public awareness about MEAs, building
synergies with other Rio Conventions, and addressing human resources
and financial constraints. Finally, he observed that Botswana's new
Wetlands Policy, which awaits parliamentary approval, aims to
address the raft of conflicting policies on managing the Okavango
Delta. The Permanent Secretary (PS) from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Intentional Cooperation Samuel Outlule explained MFA's
role in ensuring compliance with international accords. He said the
MFA convenes relevant line ministries to find a common approach to
implementing such accords. In addition, the Inter-ministerial
Committee on Treaties and Accords weighs in on the issues. He
reminded all agencies that bringing in the MFA early in the
negotiating process would reduce delays and facilitate the signing,
ratification and implementation of MEAs and other agreements.


8. During the discussions, Botswana's interest in, an obligations
and commitment to international accords, especially transboundary
RBOs, emerged as a major theme. MFA's PS intoned that Botswana
needs to adhere to all signed accords to ensure accrual of benefits
from them.

Minister Kedikilwe cited, as an example of Botswana's challenges,
its valiant attempt to adhere to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). He said
Botswana tries to balance the protection of elephants, whose
successful conservation has ironically brought destruction of crops
and property of communities, with poverty alleviation and
sustainable development. Minister Mokaila concurred, opining that
"Botswana's 150,000 elephant population is simply not sustainable."
He added that CITES sees Africa as one range, when in fact it should
be divided into separate ones. The ORASECOM representative opined
that Lesotho's use of its water resources (e.g., huge dams for
electricity and water transfers to South Africa) is a good example
of "benefit sharing" implied by transboundary agreements. In
response to Minister Molefhi's query about ensuring the coordination
of the four RBOs, SADC's Ramoeli said that since SADC enables these
RBOS, they should share their experiences in perhaps formal annual
reports or in some type of other fora. Kedikilwe promised that as
good start, he planned to share the results of this ministerial
workshop with Botswana's Cabinet, which, he said, reflects its
importance.

Closing
--------------


10. In closing the event, MFA's PS Outlule noted that the
commissioners do not only represent their respective countries, but
also the relevant basins that support wildlife and provide water.
He thanked and praised the four ministers for attending the event,
noting that this showed their strong leadership and a true
commitment to RBOs and other multilateral accords.

Gonzales