e-newsletter MAY 2018

Transcription

1 Kalahari Conservation Society Tel: Fax: e-newsletter MAY 2018 The Kalahari In this issue: BUAN ECS gives back to the community KCS Members Day Tanzania to change game reserves into national parks KCS particpates in the regional envrionmental education rally

2 YOUNG VARSITY MINDS IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION!! BUAN Environmental Conservation Society (BUAN-ECS) is a non-profit making organisation of Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It works hand in hand with other organizations around the country to raise public awareness to students and the community at large, on issues in relation to conservation of the environment. BUAN-ECS was established in 2007 and is an affiliate of Association of Environmental Clubs of Botswana (AECB); the mother-body of all environmental clubs of Botswana. The Society has a good working relationship with other non- governmental organisations that aim at promoting environmental conservation such as Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS), Birdlife Botswana, Cheetah Conservation Botswana, WENA Environmental Education (the spear headers of earth hours) and other Tertiary institutions. The Society is led by a vision which states; To be a leader in protecting and conserving the integrity of the environment and a mission which reads that the Society exists to raise awareness to the University (BUAN) and the public about environmental conservation. The Society depends solely on members volunteerism and is usually referred to as an empire of volunteers due to the highly motivated spirit of volunteerism and patriotism. A wise man once said, volunteers are not paid because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. Ever since the establishment of the Society in 2007, some of its achievements that can be highlighted are: Establishment of a fruit and vegetable garden for the Environmental Health and Sanitation Committee at Gabane clinic. Installation of rubbish bins, clean-up campaign and tree planting at Bokaa and Oodi village in Kgatleng. Construction of a pond and the refurbishment of a permaculture garden at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. Youth Environmental Awareness day at Mochudi, under the theme: Empowering and mobilizing young Batswana to take action on climate change. Annual Sebele clean-up campaigns. Organising of EARTH HOUR BOTSWANA event over the past years. Facilitating discussion of human wildlife conflicts in Kgotla meetings. As the Society aims at protecting and conserving the integrity of the environment, BUAN ECS has accomplished the following projects in partnerships with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. (DWNP). Clearing protruding trees along roads within the parks to allow easy movement for game drives. Painting and marking different road signs inside the Lenyanti, Savuti within the Chobe National Park. Society President Pelonomi Kamwi helping in construction of a CKGR animals drinking pond. Pond expansion where wild animals drink water in Central Kalahari Game Reserve Adoption of Childline Garden and helping to develop and maintain it Mending of the Khutse Game reserve cordon fence that was destroyed by elephants. Hosting the Regional Environmental debate competitions in Gaborone BUAN ECS is not just an environmental conserving Society but a training hub for future leaders. Since its existence it has groomed leaders who have then engaged into different leadership positions like BUAN SRC on annual basis. A suitable example would be the outgoing president of Student Representative Council (Kealeboga Mokgalagadi). If you love the environment, if you are a sociable person and travelling is your forte, then come and join the BUANEC Society every Mondays at 5pm at BUAN. BUAN Patriots smiling at their work. Remember; The future of the environment is your responsibility.

3 REMINISCENCE OF THE 2018 KCS MEMBERS DAY May 19th, 2018 marked a special day for KCS members as they gathered to celebrate their day, the KCS Members Day. This is an annual event in which members get to interact with one another, do some community service and discuss pertinent conservation issues.this year, the event was brought home to the KCS offices, with some members getting to see the KCS premises for the first time, giving them a sense of appreciation of the work behind the KCS brand. The day kickstarted on a high note as members were treated to a warmup aerobics session by Ms Natasha Morwe. Once warmed up, members immediately proceeded to the order of the day. Two groups were formed, one dispersed to do some litter picking around Selemela Ward while the remaining group cleaned up the boundary wall, preparing it for the paintjob that was to follow.the main activity for the day was the refurbishment of the KCS wall which was overdue for a facelift. We must say, the teamwork was exceptional and that is evident from the perfect outcome. When all was done, members munched on some refreshments over a networking session. We hope that members enjoyed themselves as much as we did. We thank all those who graced the event. A special thank you to our sponsors, Spar, Squaremart, Clover Botswana and Gaborone City Council for making the 2018 Members Day a success. Proud sponsors: BOTSWANA

4 TANZANIA TO UPGRADE FIVE RESERVES TO NATIONAL PARKS The President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, recently approved a proposal to upgrade five game reserves into National Parks with the aim of increasing tourism to the country. During the National Assembly, which took place on May 22, Dr Hamisi Kigwangalla, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism broke the news while winding up the Ministry s budget estimates for the 2018/2019 fiscal year. The game reserves to be upgraded include Burigi, Biharamuro, Kibiso, Ibanda and Chief Rumanyika. Hans Gerrizen, Founder and CEO of Siyabona Africa, a DMC with operations in Burigi commented: Siyabona Africa s stance on concessions falling within the vicinity of Burigi being upgraded from game reserves to national parks is that, provided that this is on a public/private partnership basis, this stands to unlock economic benefits for local communities as such partnerships benefit collectively not least the rural communities, nature reserves, private operators, and developers. According to Gerrizen, this is not a new concept, as commercialisation of this nature opens the door for further private sector investment. However, he says that skills development and capital should reside within local communities, such that local communities are granted equity shares in local safari lodge-based businesses. Speaker of the National Assembly, Job Ndugai advised the Ministry to consider legislators concerns over the setting up of new beacons, such as the national parks. A number of lawmakers proposed the suspension of the exercise pending consensus of all parties involved. Ndugai said if the Tanzania National Parks Authority continued with the demarcation of the new borders by putting beacons in areas already occupied by communities, it would cause difficulty, as the fixing of new beacons had been a source of conflict, especially in game reserves, creating tension between residents and government officials. We live in a time when one reads about the high number of local communities that are forcibly removed from their land in order to accommodate the formation of game reserves, says Gerrizen, adding: The time is ripe for communities to enjoy ownership rights in the fullest sense, both economically and socially. The profit-sharing model is the only sustainable way to go. It is the forward-looking and enterprising private partners that increasingly look to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with rural communities as part of their core social responsibility to the communities in which they are situated. Gerrizen continues: Without such partnerships, many areas would not receive the conservation face-lift that in many cases is badly needed and local communities would not be recipients to socioeconomic upliftment to nearly the same degree. A further spin-off is the fact that such partnerships serve as incubators for the development of small businesses that service surrounding lodges to the point of becoming commercially viable entities in their own right. Lodges then depend less on the services of suppliers from the urban centres. Kigwangalla went on to say: The President s approval is timely as the Ministry strives to open up other tourist corridors in the country, reports The East African. Kigwangalla told the House that the Ministry was taking advantage of Chato Airport in order to open the northeast tourist corridor, suggesting that the Ministry had further forwarded additional requests to the Head of State to have more game reserves upgraded. These include Swaga Swaga, Mkungunero, Mhesi, Rungwa, Kibosi, Ugala and Moyowosi. We intend to have eight million tourists in the next seven years to meet our target of collecting US$16 billion by we have therefore to open new tourism sites. He highlighted the fact that the northern corridor was exhausted with the number of tourists in the region, thus making the maintenance of roads challenging. According to Kigwangalla, funds are spent on road maintenance every month, while there are other tourist attractions with similar wildlife, however remain idle. Source:

5 CONNECTING PEOPLE TO NATURE - THE KANYE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RALLY Principal Education Officer giving the keynote address The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in conjunction with the Association of Environmental Clubs of Botswana (AECB)- Southern region, invited the KCS team to their regional environmental education rally. The event was held at Kanye Brigade on 28th May 2018, under Kanye Brigade Principal, Mrs Phiri giving welcome remarks Pupils from Khuto Primary Schools the theme Connecting People to Nature. It brought together students from environmental clubs in various schools around the Southern region. Nine schools graced the occasion and of these nine, four were primary schools; Manyana, Khuto, Sebako and Maranyane while the junior schools present were Tlhomo and Chichi. Seepapitso and Goodhope secondary were the two senior secondary schools and Kanye Brigade was the only tertiary school. As the host, Kanye Brigade Principal, Mrs. Phiri welcomed guests to her school and encouraged the attendees to live the theme. The objective of the event was highlighted as bringing together students to share information on environmental issues. When giving his keynote address, the guest speaker Mr. Maunge, the Principal Education Officer-Southern Region, expressed that another R should be added to the 3 Rs. He said that it should be, Recycle, Reuse, Reduce and Refuse. Refuse to buy plastic bags at retail stores. The occasion was filled with a plethora of activities, amongst these were competitions on public speaking, oral quiz, poetry and artifacts exhibition. The KCS team had the honor of adjudicating the poetry session and was very impressed by the amazing talent showcased by the students. When talking to the KCS Public Relations Officer, Ms Tlhobogang from the DWNP admitted that there was still a lot of work to be done to ensure that the event grew in leaps and bounds in the coming years. She said that the environmental rally used to be an annual event but had since collapsed. The 2018 rally was a collaborative effort between DWNP and AECB and Ms Tlhobogang hopes the event will revive the rally to becoming an annual event once again. The day was a great accomplishment and a step in the right direction for all the stakeholders. We hope to work with them again on other projects. KCS PR Officer showcasing

6 NOTICE BOARD KCS AGM Date: 21 June 2018 Venue: Little Theatre, National Museum Time: 1800hrs hrs Seminar on Bee-Keeping Date: (to be confirmed) Venue: Little Theatre, National Museum Time: 1730hrs hrs KCS Fundraising Dinner Dance Date: 31 August 2018 Venue: Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) Time: 1830hrs Toyota Hilux 2.5D, 2014 Model Price P Toyota Avanza 1.5, 2010 Model P