NATIONAL CBNRM ASSOCIATION TAKES SHAPE AS COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATIONS RESOLVE TO SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE.
Oshinka Tsiang
Botswana’s Community Based Organisations, (CBOs) have kick started the formation of what they hope will be an umbrella body that will champion the course of Community Based Organisations with a single voice in their drive to harness value from their natural resources. More than two hundred delegates from CBOs across the country met in Maun last week for the CBNRM forum organized by the Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations. (NCONGO) where they resolved to form an association in order to galvanize community voices across the country which face similar challenges but lack a coordinated national platform to address their concerns. The forum appointed a 10 person interim committee to facilitate the registration of the association provisionally called the National CBNRM Association of Botswana, CNAB. The committee has been given twelve months to complete the work after which a substantive board will be elected. The interim committee is headed by Tiego Mpho, a veteran in conservation matters who currently chairs Fauna Foundation based in Maun. The interim committee is expected to produce a draft constitution for the association, advice on requisite structure, membership eligibility, and association budgets. The objectives of the association include, to provide a unified national voice for CBNRM organisations; • elevate community-level concerns to district and national policy levels; • improve coordination and communication among CBOs; • strengthen governance and accountability within member organisations; • support sustainable community benefits from natural resources; • mobilize resources and partnerships for members; and • improve the visibility, credibility and sustainability of the CBNRM sector. It was noted that the Association would serve as a national body that would serve as a national or umbrella body that supports, rather than replace the mandates and objectives of its members.
According to Tiego, a key priority for the association after its registration will be to advocate for its recognition in the CBNRM Act. The current act which was promulgated early this year does not recognize existence of a CBNRM association although there had been calls for it to be included in the Act. Concerned stakeholders however say that they had been assured that that the regulations which are yet to be concluded would provide for such an association. They are concerned that without any statutory recognition of the association, it may not have the strength to effectively advocate for the CBOs. It is not clear if the draft regulations which are due to be finalized soon contain any reference to the Association. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism which has been conducting consultations on the regulations is yet to give feed back to the CBOs on the final draft. The Director of the CBNRM department Kealeboga Kemoreile said as a department and Ministry they welcome the formation of the Association. He said the association will assist the department on issues such and governance, capacity building as well as advocacy. Kemoreile said the association will assist CBOs with dispute resolutions which had been bedeviling the CBOs, with many having to resort to costly legal battles to resolve disputes. The CEO for NCONGO, Siyoka Simasiku said formation of the association was an implementation of a resolution that was first taken in 2012 at the first CBNRM forum which also gave rise to the now implemented CBNRM Act. He said a CBNRM association will enable national dialogue on an annual basis, Semasiku welcomed the establishment of department of CBNRM which now has a director because it provides certainty for the future of CBOs. He assured the forum that NCOGO will support the work of the interim committee. One of the tasks of the associations will be to identify representatives to the National CBNRM Board which is appointed by the Minister. Currently the act is silent as to how the four representative of CBOs to the national board are to be selected.
CBNRM Associations from Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe also shared their experiences with the forum. Present at the forum were Communities Based organisations from Bobirwa, Boteti, Gaborone, Gantsi, Kgalagadi, Chobe, Ngamiland and Nata.
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