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The document outlines a request for US$ 365,316 from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to prepare a larger project (estimated at US$ 44 million) focused on Botswana's communal rangelands. The proposed project seeks to build resilience for approximately 160,000 people by restoring 43,000 km² of degraded land, implementing climate-resilient grazing practices, and creating a social enterprise for better market access. The preparation phase involves conducting climate vulnerability assessments, gender analyses, and baseline studies on carbon emissions and water quality to ensure the final proposal meets GCF standards.

The document examines Botswana's CBNRM policy, which aims to reduce poverty and promote biodiversity by involving local communities in wildlife management. It highlights the tension between centralised state control and local devolution, the financial impact of the 2014 hunting moratorium, and the role of joint venture partnerships with private operators. Through case studies of the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust (CECT) and the Okavango Community Trust (OCT), the paper identifies issues with revenue transparency, human-wildlife conflict, and limited local capacity, ultimately recommending improved governance, diversified economic activities, and stronger legislative support.

Botswana faces significant climate risks, primarily driven by water scarcity and rising temperatures, which threaten its water, health, agriculture, livestock, and forestry sectors. While the country possesses higher adaptive capacity than its neighbors due to its development status and governance, the government has not yet made climate change a national priority. Consequently, there is a lack of guiding legislation, strategy, and dedicated adaptation funding. Most current adaptation efforts are integrated into larger regional projects rather than national initiatives, and civil society engagement remains limited.

Botswana faces a critical need to diversify its economy due to expected declines in diamond revenues. The report evaluates the viability of exporting coal via the proposed Trans-Kalahari Railway (TKR) and extracting iron ore near the Okavango Delta. It concludes that raw coal exports are risky due to high infrastructure costs and a narrowing global demand window. Instead, it recommends using coal and iron ore for domestic beneficiation to create a regional steel industry in Selebi-Phikwe and prioritising eco-tourism as a sustainable primary revenue generator.

Botswana faces a critical juncture as diamond revenues decline, threatening its historical economic growth and political stability. The document argues that the country must diversify its economy, moving away from exhaustible resources. While coal and iron ore could provide temporary revenue, the author recommends prioritising eco-tourism as a sustainable long-term economic anchor. This transition requires significant investment in human and physical capital, using remaining diamond rents to build a skilled workforce and necessary infrastructure.

The document analyzes the governance of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin through OKACOM, highlighting how a strong institutional framework and political trust among Angola, Namibia, and Botswana have enabled 20 years of co-operation. It identifies challenges such as climate change, population growth, and asymmetrical economic benefits, recommending the adoption of economic water accounting and benefit-sharing mechanisms to sustain the basin's ecological integrity.

The paper examines the potential for mining to coexist with environmental preservation in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It highlights the economic pressure on Botswana to diversify away from declining diamond revenues by utilizing iron-ore, copper, and coal deposits. While acknowledging the environmental risks to the Delta—which is also threatened by upstream irrigation in Angola and Namibia, population growth, and poaching—the author suggests that mining companies can be allies in conservation. This is supported by the reputational risks associated with the Delta's World Heritage status and the regulatory oversight of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the International Finance Corporation. The document advocates for a governance model based on cooperation, land-use planning, and community engagement to ensure mining provides the capital and employment necessary to sustain the region's long-term ecological and tourism value.

Natural Justice argues that the EIA for Reconnaissance Energy Namibia's 2D seismic survey in the Kavango Sedimentary Basin fails to meet the 2012 EIA Regulations. The organization claims the assessment lacks a 'need and desirability' analysis, relies on an inadequate four-day baseline survey, and ignores significant impacts on endangered species like African wild dogs, pangolins, and elephants. Furthermore, it asserts that the project violates indigenous rights by failing to obtain free, prior, and informed consent and ignores Namibia's climate change policies and international treaty obligations regarding the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area and the Okavango Delta.