Water resources policy and administrative management

The water profile of Botswana consists of a sparse human population subsisting on arid to semi-arid land. As a landlocked country, Botswana lies in the center of Southern Africa surrounded by Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. As a result, all the river basins from which Botswana imports its water (Okavango, Zambezi, Orange-Senqu and Shashe-Limpopo) are shared sources. Because water is scarce in Africa, including Botswana, trans-boundary water management is an increasingly important issue. Because access to safe water is very high in Botswana, the idea of conservation may not seem important to all Batswana. However, there are many factors acting as stressors on Botswana s water system. Firstly, the formal policy framework on water in Botswana does not cover Trans-boundary water management, and the Botswana National Water Master Plan (NWMP) is in need of updating, as it is over 20 years old. Second, Botswana is susceptible to droughts due to lack of rain, and a lack of policy on shared water sources has the potential to aggravate drought conditions. Finally, future subsidy cuts by the government threaten to drive the price of water up for Batswana families. Although action to create change is required in the political sphere, we at Ghetto Artists believe that change can be made through more creative ways as well. Therefore, Ghetto Artists would like to implement a program that will educate the youth about the significance of Water Resource and Sanitation Management. This program will use performing arts as a way to increase awareness and capture the attention of Batswana youth. The campaign will focus on challenges in the water sector and ways of overcoming them as well as education and adopting the Youth Africa Water and Sanitation Strategy (developed in 2012). Youth are recognized as key actors in the future stability of international water policies and water conservation, and so the program will be implemented through schools in rural areas surrounding Francistown. In alignment with the SGP/SEF Country Programme Strategy for Botswana, Section 7.2 talks about the aspiration to work more closely with the Government of Botswana and notable ministries such as the Department of Youth, Department of Arts and Culture and The Ministry of Mineral, Energy and Water Resources. Ghetto Artists has existing partnerships with these departments, and will be reaching out to them for support of this project. We believe that thorough the dissemination of information to the youth of Botswana, more people will start talking about water issues and what the Government can do to help.

Botswana