Botswana Launches Grassroots Green Fund
Botswana's latest initiative is the National Environmental Fund (NEF) which aims to shore up community-based projects related to environmental protection, climate change mitigation and adaption, waste management and pollution control.
The first call for potential NEF projects took place in January 2016 and funding for the ten qualifying projects (out of 191 proposals) was recently released to the tune of 12.4 million pula (approximately US$1 million).
Drought, land degradation, severe desertification and climate change are some of the biggest environmental issues facing this small nation of just over two million people, but Botswana has also been applauded for its robust wildlife protection policies, which include the protection of the Okavango Delta and a tough anti-poaching stance.
Aftab Uzzaman