Okavango Delta Management Plan - Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

1.6.3.1 Project Design Phase
Following Botswana’s accession to the <strong>Ramsar</strong> <strong>Convention</strong> in 1997, the Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) (formerly National Conservation Strategy Coordinating Agency,
(NCSA) through the support of the <strong>Ramsar</strong> Bureau commissioned a design mission, which
detailed a proposal for the development of a management plan for the <strong>Okavango</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> in
2001 (HOORC, et al, 2001). A parallel exercise to formulate the National Wetlands Policy
and Strategy was also initiated.
The proposal identified the key management issues, formulated objectives, outlined project
activities and funding requirements. This was followed by a situational analysis which
entailed information gathering, review of existing literature and stakeholder consultations.
200 issues were identified, clustered into thematic areas and developed into major project
components (HOORC, et. al, 2001). This process was followed by an appraisal mission in
2001 to determine the adequacy of the proposal, confirm management issues and
recommended a “hot spots approach” to deal with priority issues to be addressed under the
ODMP planning (Appraisal Mission Debriefing Notes, 2001).
1.6.3.2 Inception Phase
Stakeholder buy-in was key at the initial planning stages of the ODMP. The process made a
deliberate effort to consult and allow for feedback to confirm and prioritise issues identified
during the design phase.(ODMP – Inception Report, 2005).
The various stakeholders were engaged as individual groups through the different fora
which, culminated in a multi-stakeholder workshop which was held in November, 2004 and
a report on the proceedings was produced (ODMP – Inception Report Workshop
Proceedings, 2004). Drawing from the stakeholder analysis that was carried out during the
ODMP planning, the stakeholder consultation took an approach which engaged different
stakeholder groupings as outlined below.
Community engagement
The community stakeholders were engaged through a series of kgotla meetings and
workshops. In November and December 2003 and February and March 2004, 33 kgotla
meetings were held in most of the major villages in and around the <strong>Delta</strong>. Detailed reports
on the issues and their prioritization as well as analysis of the consultative processes were
produced to guide the planning process in determining the areas which need management
interventions (ODMP – Community Consultation and Feedback Report, 2004, ODMP –
Analysis of the Participatory Process of the <strong>Okavango</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong>, 2004).
Private sector engagement
In January 2004, a special meeting dedicated to representatives of the private tourism
sector was organised and held in Maun. From the 120 invitations sent out, approximately
60 different companies comprised of 81 representatives attended reflecting the high level of
interest from the tourism sector in the project. The meeting was structured in a similar way
to the kgotla meetings although in this instance members of the Project Secretariat made
presentations not only on the project as a whole but also on each individual component.
There was again an extensive question and answer session and representatives were given
an opportunity to raise issues and concerns and make suggestions. These were captured in
a report (ODMP – Private Sector Workshop Proceedings, 2004).
Institutional engagement
Direct consultations were undertaken by the Project Secretariat with local NGOs,
government offices and many other institutions in the district, including both those directly
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