R 151213Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY GABORONE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5307
INFO SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

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