| Overview : The Government of Botswana in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are implementing a project called “Promoting production and utilization of Biogas from Agro-waste in South-Eastern Botswana (Biogas Project)”. This follows the realization that waste has not been taken as a resource in the country and this waste could be used for other uses. The reuse of waste to generate energy is an opportunity that Botswana must tap into for future use. Several waste streams are available in various agro-industrial facilities which can be utilized for generation of energy. Some of the agro-waste for consideration in bio-gas production include chicken manure, cow dung and goat/sheep droppings. Despite this immense potential presented by the abundance of livestock manure, agricultural/animal waste and other forms of biomass in the country, generation of energy from this waste resources remains a challenge. The Biogas project seeks to facilitate low-carbon investments and public-private partnerships in the production and utilization of biogas from agro-waste in the districts of South-eastern Botswana. It has been realized that there are no suitable demonstration projects for technology penetration as the current use of biogas in Botswana is limited to small-scale applications and there is no institutional biogas plant operating at either an abattoir or a landfill. Also, there is insufficient knowledge among various stakeholders (Government, private companies, farmers, communities, women, consumers) about the benefits of biogas and the available technologies. One of the objectives of the project is to support the monitoring and enforcement of Trade Effluent Agreements in Botswana. As part of this, the project aims to capacitate the Water Utilities Corporation personnel in complete management of sludge; handling, treatment, storage and disposal of sludge and the Pre-Treatment of waste-water. To that end, UNDP requires the services of an individual consultant to train/capacitate WUC officers and other key stakeholders on sludge management and pre-treatment methods. |
