The PIR has been completed and is being readied for publishing. The process included a review of the policies, legal instruments and institutional set ups for biodiversity financing. Through the PIR, Botswana has been able to identify the priority sectors of focus for BIOFIN as well as recommendations of some of the finance solutions for consideration. Good policies and strategies are in place to guide the processes, however, weak institutional mechanisms to support implementation, fragmented responsibilities, and resource inadequacies, centralised decision making which also results in the resource burden on the side of government.

Government Expenditure

The expenditure review focused on the priority sectors as identified through the Biodiversity Policy and Institutional Review (PIR) namely, water security, food security and sustainable tourism. These priorities are primarily the responsibility of the Ministries of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services (MLWS), Agricultural Development and Food Security (MoA) and that of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism (MENT). Historic expenditures for these government institutions starting in the 2012/13 fiscal year, and for key NGOs, were reviewed and biodiversity-related expenditures were identified and analysed. Sources of revenue linked to biodiversity were also assessed with a focus on MENT.

Total biodiversity expenditure was P 5.26 billion for 2012/2013 to 2018/2019 amounting to approximately 1.08% of total government expenditure. Average annual biodiversity expenditure for this period was P 751 million (see Table i). MENT is by far the largest spender on biodiversity amounting to P 4 billion which is equivalent to 67% of MENT’s total expenditure. MLWS spend the second highest amount, P 780 million which is equivalent to 5.6% of the ministry’s total expenditure, followed by MoA with biodiversity-related expenditure of P 489 million, equal to 3.6% of the ministry’s total expenditure.

The total projected future government expenditure on biodiversity management in Botswana between 2019/20 and 2025/26, is P 7.6 billion based on past expenditure by MENT, MoA and MLWS, a ‘business-as-usual’ expenditure scenario, and a conservative budget growth scenario.

In terms of the six biodiversity management concerns, government biodiversity-related expenditure is projected to be split almost evenly between mainstreaming use (46%) and protection (54%).

Civil-society expenditure

Total expenditure which can be attributed to six of Botswana’s largest NGOs were collected. In total, the NGO’s surveyed undertook P 210 million in biodiversity-related expenditure over the 2012/13 to 2018/19 period with overall expenditure growing roughly in line with inflation.

This Finance Needs Assessment (FNA) serves to estimate the “finance gap” associated with implementing Botswana’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). It therefore quantifies the additional costs associated with the implementation of the NBSAP’s strategies and actions. A programme-based approach to costing the actions was adopted for this process and the assessment was guided by the BIOFIN methodology.

The results of the cost estimation process show that the additional funds required to implement the NBSAP would amount to approximately P833 million (US$79 million) including inflation over the 10 years of the NBSAP starting in 2016. This translates to an average of P83 million (US$8 million) per year although funding needs vary substantially between years and are particularly high in the early years of implementation. Note that this amount excludes the salary costs for existing staff, some of whom would be responsible for the implementation of the NBSAP. The Biodiversity Finance Plan should therefore aim to lessen this funding/finance gap

An initial list of 29 finance solutions has been compiled and subjected to a three-step screening and prioritization process in October 2018.

The Biodiversity Finance Plan builds on progress already made in Botswana to suggest finance solutions that expand the country’s biodiversity finance agenda. This offers a means to encourage action and support partnerships for investing in biodiversity. The Plan is composed of:

1. A prioritization of eight key finance solutions based on a participatory selection process;
2. Brief technical proposals to guide the implementation of the prioritized biodiversity finance solutions;
3. Consolidated estimates of the expected finance outcomes associated with the finance solutions where possible; and
4. An outline of the links between solutions forming an integrated Plan.

The eight prioritized biodiversity finance solutions in the Plan can be grouped logically according to their primary focus on

1. Protected areas,
2. Sustainable utilization and mainstreaming
3.  Ecological management and restoration.

The total net financial gains, associated with the implementation of all the solutions where quantitative estimates were possible, would start relatively modestly at P37 million in 2020 climbing to P63 million by 2022 before decreasing and stabilizing at P33 million to P36 million from 2026 to 2028. Total cumulative net financial gains would amount to approximately P474 million (US$45.2 million) in current terms (un-discounted over 10 years). Note that these gains are inherently conservative as they include only three out of the eight solutions where quantification was possible. Implementing this Plan would thus make a highly significant contribution to reaching the country’s biodiversity conservation goals. In terms of their relative contributions, climate change funds have the potential to contribute the largest share to this total at 49%. The contribution of this solution would, however, not be sustained over the long term as grant funding would be temporary. PAs fee revenue would be the next largest contributor at 42%, followed by biodiversity offsets (9%). In addition, the CBNRM solution would contribute to increased benefits sharing with local communities that would cumulatively sum to P44 million (US$4.2 million) over 10 years.

11 finance solutions have been prioritized and technical proposals for all 11 solutions are developed to form part of the Botswana Biodiversity Finance Plan.