Project Reports

Publication name Publication Type Description File Attachment
Status of Globally and Nationally Threatened Birds in Botswana 2008 Project Reports

BirdLife Botswana has been monitoring various globally and nationally threatened birds since 2001, starting with the Wattled Crane, and now has data on several species. The existing data have been compiled in this report in order to make what is currently known easily available to decision- makers and other interested parties, but also to highlight gaps in our knowledge and chart a way forward. Of course, information on a species’ status and trend is just the first step towards compiling a strategy to conserve it – BirdLife Botswana’s research is of necessity practical and applied, and leads to conservation action. For some species, threats to their
continued survival are relatively well known, and where this is the case, this report highlights the next steps to be taken to address them. It is BirdLife Botswana’s intention to produce a report of this nature on a regular basis, updating the situation as changes occur – for better or for worse.
World Migratory Birth day 2011 Project Reports

BirdLife Botswana received a grant of $9,661 from the Embassy of the United States of America to organize a celebration titled “World Migratory Bird Day - Promoting Indigenous Knowledge of Bird Conservation in Botswana.” It was an annual global awarenss-raising campaign day for BirdLife to highlight the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. The event took place in Otse on the 9th of April with the participation of over 500 school children, OVCs (Orphans & Vulnerable Children), teachers, local community members, and our stakeholders. The day was a resounding success and the collaboration with the local community was meaningful. 

The celebration aimed at:

  • to raise awareness and promote conservation of migratory bird species,
  • to develop an interest and knowledge of birds among children,
  • to promote Botswana’s indigenous knowledge on conservation at the grassroots level.

The atmosphere was electric as the children performed choral singing, dancing, drama, playing musical instruments, and reading poetry depicting conservation issues. The sparkle in the children’s eyes and their rapt attention were testimony to their enjoyment of the occasion. The children proudly wore their T-shirts, depicting a migrating swallow in full flight and specially prepared for the day, and obviously thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Lastly, BirdLife would like to acknowledge their appreciation to the Embassy of the United States of America for providing this outstanding opportunity to implement such a rewarding project for the children in Botswana. 

 PDF icon wmbd_report.pdf
Strategic Partnerships to Improve the Financial and Operational Sustainability of Protected Areas Project Reports

Inadequate management effectiveness of small protected areas, epitomised in this case by the Makgadikgadi Pans/Nxai Pan National Parks, is a key challenge facing small protected areas in Botswana; hitherto, most of the state-mobilised resources meant for PAs are invested in the larger protected areas such as Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, and the Kgalagadi Trans-frontier Park. Despite this ‘marginalisation’, small protected areas are rich in biodiversity, and worthy of receiving meaningful conservation efforts.

In Botswana, the responsibility for managing protected areas currently solely lies with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and has proved to be very expensive and a mammoth task. This project investigates an alternative way of managing protected areas which will improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of management, ensuring that scarce PA funds are optimally employed, thus maximizing impact-per-unit investment. Local communities residing around protected areas will be capacitated to co-manage these areas, together with government, the private sector and NGOs, to reduce the current expenses, and also the resentment which exists towards conserving these areas. Nature-based tourism initiatives will be developed so that local communities realise direct economic benefits from conserving these eco-systems.

 PDF icon strategic_partnerships_protected_areas.pdf
World Bird Watch Magazine 2014 Project Reports

Species are our currency. Their rarity, their declines and their distribution inform and instruct the work of the BirdLife Partnership. The data they provide tell us about many things—from the effects of climate change to the unsustainable use of marine resources; from the results of illegal hunting to agricultural intensification Not surprisingly, we are often asked at BirdLife how much it costs to save a species from extinction. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules; it depends on the species, the location, the scale of the problem and what needs to be done to fix it. However, for a particular species in the middle of the Pacific— Tahiti Monarch—I can tell you that to prevent the last 10 breeding pairs from going extinct this coming year will cost $55,000. Not a huge amount of money in the scheme of things. These beautiful birds are threatened by introduced rats and ants which destroy their nests and eat their babies. You’ll find out how you can help them in this issue. Also this issue, we take look at the project being funded by an exciting new initiative developed by our Israeli Partner to raise funds for migratory bird conservation—Champions of the Flyways. The project, based in Georgia, is protecting birds at the Batumi Bottleneck. With more than one million migrating raptors of up to 35 species passing through the area each autumn, it is simply the greatest bottleneck for migrating birds of prey in all Eurasia.  

The BirdLife Partnership is engaged in threatened species conservation across the globe. One Partner leading the way is BirdLife South Africa. You can find out what they are achieving on p.14. These all exemplify our commitment to prevent extinctions in the wild and to maintain and where possible improve the conservation status of all bird species. Saving species, that’s what we do.

 PDF icon wbw_march_2014.pdf

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