- Kazungula/Kasane won the award for Chobe
- Creates prospects for listing of Chobe River as Ramsar site
The Chobe District is set to be bestowed with the prestigious RAMSAR Wetland City Accreditation award at the upcoming 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) of the Ramsar Convention which is scheduled for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in July 2025.
Last year, the RAMSAR Convention Secretariat called on member states to nominate cities with natural or manmade wetlands for possible accreditation as wetlands cities.
Chobe District Council in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection set up a committee to oversee this task and Kasane – Kazungula was submitted as a potential candidate in recognition of its proximity to the Chobe River. Following that Kasane-Kazungula was successfully accredited as a RAMSAR Wetland City.
This was revealed by Chobe District Council Chairperson Johane Chenjekwa during the full council meeting that was held in Kasane last week. According to Chenjekwa, the accreditation has the potential to open many opportunities for the Chobe District and contribute to the upliftment of livelihoods of communities as more tourists are likely to visit the district.
“I would like to take this opportunity to call upon all of us to embrace this development and position ourselves to fully make use of all the anticipated benefits from this prestigious status we have been accorded by the Ramsar Convention,” he said.
Chenjekwa has further told this publication that they would also utilise the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) of the Ramsar Convention as a platform to lobby for the listing of the Chobe River as a Ramsar Site. He noted that the accreditation of the Kasane-Kazungula as a RAMSAR Wetland City was an indication that Chobe River has what it takes to be listed as a Ramsar Site.
Chenjekwa noted that Chobe River is unique in its nature and supports large population of animal and plants species therefore it is eligible to be listed as a Ramsar Site. He further stated that for the past years sustainable conservation measures have been practiced within the Chobe River which has been meaningfully supporting the livelihoods.
Meanwhile, deliberations were made during the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) workshop that was held in Kasane last year to propose nomination for the listing of Kasane-Kazungula as a Ramsar Accredited City.
During the workshop District Environment Coordinator Otsile Dikgang stated that the accreditation of Kasane-Kazungula as a Wetland City would not only bring international recognition/publicity to the region but also lead to increased tourist arrivals, tourism product development and marketing.
He said that it would also position Kasane- Kazungula as a competitor to other tourism destinations such as Victoria Falls and Cape Town and provide opportunities for funding and technical support to enhance conservation efforts of the Chobe River. Botswana as a signatory to the Ramsar convention started commemorating this day in 1997 and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) facilitates the commemoration of this day every year.
