Decision on Okavango Delta in June

Gothataone Moeng | Thursday March 20, 2014 11:22

 

The government through the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT) has, since 2011, been working towards having the place, the largest inland delta in a desert environment in the world, listed as a heritage site.  This week, Minister Tshekedi Khama told Parliament that the decision to list, defer or reject Botswana’s nomination of the delta will be taken at the 38th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee expected to take place in Doha, Qatar in mid-June.

Khama said the ministry dossier on the Okavango Delta has been accepted as complete by the committee and that the site has been assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  The process of nomination has also gone through the requisite community and stakeholder consultation, Khama said. He was speaking during the presentation of the ministry’s budget proposals to the House.

If the bid is successful, the Okavango Delta will be Botswana’ second World Heritage Site, following the 2001 listing of the Tsodilo Hills.

The Okavango Delta is one of Botswana’s most popular and famous tourist attractions and according to the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) is one of the most sought after wilderness destinations in the world.

According to the MEWT website, the delta satisfies three out of four natural heritage criteria stipulated in the operational guidelines of the World Heritage Convention as it contains areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance and supports globally threatened and endangered species including wild dogs, cheetahs, lions as well as sitatunga antelopes.  The delta also supports a variety of forms of life including 150 species of mammals, over 500 species of birds, 90 species of fish as well as plants, reptiles, invertebrates and amphibians.

According to MEWT, the Okavango Delta also supports over 120,000 people by providing fresh water, food, building materials, medicinal plants as well as employment through a viable tourism industry.

This week, Khama also said community tourism projects such as Tsabong Camel project, Kasane Recreational Park and cultural village and Lepokole Nature Reserve are complete and will be operational in the first quarter of this year.

“These projects will contribute positively to the livelihoods of communities while also broadening the tourism product offering in other geographic areas of Botswana,” he said.

The minister requested over P582 million for his recurrent budget for the 2014/2015 year.