| Overview : Botswana has been party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 1995. As a signatory to the convention, Botswana supports the CBD’s premise that biological diversity strengthens ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services essential for human well-being, and that its contribution to livelihoods gives it a key role in poverty reduction. The country formulated its first National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in 2004 (revised in 2007) as a guiding tool for conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems. The NBSAP is currently being reviewed (2014) to integrate global guidance contained in the CBD’s Strategic Plan (2011-2020) and the Aichi Targets agreed at the 2010 Nagoya Conference of Parties. As the overarching management tool at the national level, there is need to ensure that the NBSAP is effectively implemented. Given the pressing development priorities that Botswana faces, this requires innovative sources of funding for biodiversity management that can be sustained over the long term. To effectively utilize existing sources of finance, and identify new innovative financing mechanisms, there is need to conduct detailed national level finance assessments to provide more robust information on the biodiversity finance gap. The Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is designed to address the biodiversity finance challenge by building a sound business case for increased investments in the conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems and biodiversity.
In light of the above, UNDP and other partners in the Initiative are seeking the services of a Policy and Institutional expert, to conduct an analysis/assessment of: a) the sectoral policies and practices that drive biodiversity and ecosystem change; and b) identify and assess the specific institutions that both affect and depend upon biodiversity and ecosystems. The Policy and Institutional Review exercise will utilise an existing tool/workbook to assess four (4) key areas of biodiversity management as outlined below:
• Biodiversity mainstreaming into sectoral and national development plan;
• Protection of ecosystems, species and genetic diversity;
• Restoration of ecosystems and habitats;
• Access and benefits sharing from the use of genetic resources |
