Botswana to host international talks on wetlands

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Thursday January 28, 2010 00:00

This year, things will be different as there will also be a conference that will bring national and international stakeholders together for a five-day conference from February 1-5 in Maun to discuss and share experiences on issues relating to wetlands management.  Key issues will be governance of wetlands, public participation, research, and planning and trans-boundary management of these areas. 

Joseph Mbaiwa, senior researcher in tourism, said that University of Botswana (UB) is organising this conference where professors, doctors and scientists from around the world will discuss the future of wetlands in Botswana.  'So far there are 210 delegates who have confirmed that they are coming, and they are from countries like Iraq, Australia, Brazil and Unites States of America, to name but a few.'

Mbaiwa said that there would be decision makers that will help Botswana make sound decisions based on their experiences from their different countries to save its wetlands.

'At UB we do research and pass it to decision makers or policy makers and they can therefore make informed decisions,' he said. 

Mbaiwa said that because there are groups of people and animals relying on wetlands for their survival, there is therefore a need to look at how they are affected when water levels go down and go up.  'Experts will help us in these areas to see how we help these people and animals survive the conditions,' he said. 

Deputy director of environmental Affairs, Portia Segomelo, said that they want the public to be aware that Worlds Wetlands Commemoration Day is a time when people should question their contribution to the conservation of these places.

She says that involvement of local communities like Basarwa and Bahambukushu will help the gathering to arrive at some informed decisions that will not exclude these communities from utilising wetlands. 

Segomelo holds that it is also important to realise that there is a strong link between wetlands and climate change.  'The health of our wild animals, peoples' lives, which are dependent on fishing and our birds are seriously affected by climate change.  Tourism is also seriously affected as the places are continuously degraded,' she said.  Segomelo said that this would be one of the topics that would be extensively discussed to find ways to preserve wetlands.