STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, WILDLIFE
AND TOURISM HONOURABLE TSHEKEDI KHAMA AT THE
2014/15 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF FOREST
CONSERVATION BOTSWANA
3rd NOVEMBER 2015, CRESTA LODGE
 Your Excellency US Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Earl Miller
 Permanent Secretary of MEWT, Mr Elias Magosi
 Forest Conservation Botswana Board Chair, Mr Felix Monggae
 FCB Board Members
 FCB Chief Executive Officer, Mr Joshua Moloi
 Directors here present
 Development Partners
 Stakeholders
 Members of the Media
 Ladies and Gentlemen
1. Good morning and welcome to the Sixth Annual General Meeting of
FCB. We have been joined by a new US Ambassador to Botswana,
His Excellency, Mr Earl Miller.
Let me, therefore, take this
opportunity to congratulate him for taking this international
appointment and also extend a special welcome to him as he is
attending this meeting for the first time. I also recognize the fact that
we have new people in the different FCB structures since our last
meeting, I want to give them a warm welcome. Your support and
presence is indicative of your continued commitment to providing
necessary leadership and guidance for Forest Conservation Botswana
to achieve its mandate.
2. Let me assure you that my government is committed to ensuring
sustainability of our natural resources and biodiversity in order to
allow the future generations to enjoy the standards of living similar
to ours if not better. In line with this assurance we have adopted the
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UN 2030 Development agenda and we pay particular attention to Goal
15; which calls on nations to; ‘’Protect, restore and promote
sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage
forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land
degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. My Ministry is strongly
committed to ensuring implementation of appropriate plans so that
the set goals and objectives are accomplished in an efficient and
effective manner.
3. As a country we are fully aware of the importance of forests as carbon
sinks as well as their contribution to curbing climate change. As such
FCB should continue to support projects meant to combat issues of
deforestation and land degradation and those that will improve
livelihoods.
Therefore, the decision by Government to open the
Chobe Forest Reserves must be fully supported by FCB. To this end,
my Government commends the Forest Conservation Botswana Board
for having approved about P10.8 Million for the development of the
Chobe Forest Reserves Management Plans over the next two years.
4. This Management Plans will guide the future management of the
reserves to ensure sustainability while finding a balance of social,
economic and environmental benefits.
It is anticipated that the
opening of the reserves for future sustainable resource utilization and
eco-tourism entrepreneurship will create 500 jobs. In order to realise
this target there should be closer collaboration mainly amongst FCB,
DFRR, DWNP, DoT and BTO.
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5. Botswana is faced with high unemployment rate especially in the
rural areas.
There are ongoing efforts within Government in
consultation with the private sector to address this situation and
some internal analysis estimates that a fully enabled tourism sector
has the potential to create over 18,000 sustainable jobs within the
short, medium and long term. This calls for all actors in our economy
to create jobs within the confines of their mandates and using the
limited resources available. In this regard, FCB must play a role in
employment creation and part of this involves financing projects
belonging to individuals and private entities. I am informed that at
this stage no such projects have been financed but plans are
underway to finance them, hence the need to expedite this move.
6. Botswana appreciates the collaborative support she receives from
organizations and other agencies in policy and program development.
As a country the support we continue to receive from the Government
of the United States of America is immeasurable. Such collaboration
including any other international support remains critical as
Botswana moves forward.
However, with pressure exerted by the
need for more land by human being and climatic conditions, new
approaches with more resources are needed for Botswana and other
developing countries to succeed in their conservation endeavors.
Ladies and gentlemen, albeit these challenges Botswana remains
committed to do all she can within her limited resources.But would
do more with targeted assistance such as the FCB initiative.
7. Thank you and I wish FCB a long life with a positive impact on natural
resources and our lives.
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