Lake Xau, when it holds water, is one of the most important wetlands for waterfowl in Southern Africa. Although it has been dry for much of the last 30 years due to the highly dynamic and changeable nature of the Okavango Delta that feeds it, since 2010 a shift in water flows within the Delta has seen increasing amounts of water reaching the Lake. During the period 2010 to 2014, it flooded to over 10 km2 in extent, and attracted birders from all over the subcontinent, as well as fishermen from outside of the Makgadikgadi. No benefits from these visitors and fishermen accrued to the local community surrounding the Lake, due to their not recognising the economic potential of birding tourism (avitourism) and fishing, and through not having the capacity to embark on avitourism nor fishing enterprises. This project, by Lenao la ga Kwalabe Conservation Trust (based in Kedia, neighbouring Lake Xau), aims to create a situation whereby local communities living around Lake Xau see the birds and fish as a valuable resource that contributes directly to their livelihoods, to the extent that they become involved in the monitoring and protection of the birds, fish and their habitat.

Although not yet formally designated as an Important Bird Area, Lake Xau meets all the international criteria specified by BirdLife International (Fishpool and Evans, 2001 ), as follows: (1) It supports significant numbers of globally threatened birds; (2) It supports important populations of range- or biome-restricted birds (birds with relatively small distributions such as would make them vulnerable); and (3) It supports large numbers (>0,5% of the regional or global population) of congregatory waterbirds. The lake is also a major breeding ground for waterbirds from all over southern Africa.

A comparison with other wetland Important Bird Areas in the southern African region shows that Lake Xau is rivaled only by Lake Ngami and the Okavango Delta ? there are no other wetlands with the same diversity and abundance of key bird and fish species. This is due mainly to the area being a nutrient sink, with very high productivity. The lake currently supports at least 10 globally threatened birds (including three vulture species, declining in Botswana due to poisoning), two range/biome restricted species and three species of congregatory waterbirds which occur in internationally important numbers. There are over 300 bird species recorded in the area which is 1% of the size of the Okavango Delta (which has a total of 450 bird species). During the formulation of the Makgadikgadi Framework Management Plan, Lake Xau was identified as one of the top 10 biodiversity hotspots in the Makgadikgadi basin i.e. the area is important not just for birds alone.

In light of the above, the lake has considerable potential for birding tourism and fishing, and can thereby contribute to diversification of Botswana?s existing tourism product, and improve livelihoods and economic development in the area. The lake is surrounded by impoverished communities, some of which have mobilised themselves into registered community Trusts e.g. Kedia Village has set up Lenao-la-ga-Kwalabe Conservation Trust, and this is the CBO that will lead on this project, and be the main beneficiaries of birding tourism and fisheries activities.

There are however existing threats mitigating against the realisation of this vision. The main threats to be tackled through this GEF/SGP project are (1) disturbance to breeding birds (which prohibits bird tourism at the site); (2) Over-fishing (largely by people from outside the region, which prohibits locals from maximising and diversifying livelihood opportunities from the fisheries), and (3) bush encroachment around the lake (which diminishes the lake?s productivity). For example, firstly, during 2011, Great White Pelicans (which only breed regularly at five sites in the whole of southern Africa) started nesting on an island at Lake Xau but when several were shot by an unknown hunter, all 500 nests with eggs and chicks were abandoned and the birds left the lake. Secondly, from 2010 to late 2014, unregulated fishing at the lake resulted in overfishing, pollution and unsanitary conditions at the lake, which challenges led to DWNP suspending fishing activities for the entirety of 2015 . Thirdly, range degradation is emerging as a serious problem in the Lake Xau environs as it has begun to affect the productivity of the range, and this has implications for the people living in the area as a significant percentage of them are dependent on livestock farming as a source of livelihood. Specifically, the main cause seems to be the overstocking of cattle that feed on one place of the Lake; because of this a species of grass known as "Moshanje" grows and its unpalatable to cattle, and the grass cannot used for anything else, and this project seeks to undertake field trials to reduce the extent across which this grass grows, with this rehabilitation ensuring native and palatable grasses re-introduced (expertise will be sort from DFRR, BCA and other experts as required). In the medium to long term (>5 years), some cattle should be taken to graze at the Hima ranch (owned by Trust ) to relieve the area by the lake.

Against this background, Lenao-la-ga-Kwalabe Conservation Trust wishes to achieve the following:
1. It is proposed that Lake Xau be declared a wildlife sanctuary to safeguard the habitats and breeding sites of the important bird and fish species found at the lake. The boundaries should follow the co-ordinates prescribed in the Annex 6, and GEF/SGP is requested to support the achievement of this protected area status. Regulations for the area would subsequently be promulgated (following guidance from the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act) to ensure long-term protection of the site.
2. Bird hunting should be banned in the area as it would impact heavily on breeding waterbirds; this would diminish the potential of the site as a biodiversity hotspot, and disrupt its potential for photographic tourism.
3. The CBO?s capacity for livelihood enhancement will be improved so that the local community can derive direct benefits from fisheries, photographic tourism and bird watching activities conducted at the lake.
4. A management plan for the lake should be developed in a participatory manner involving relevant stakeholders, under the guidance of a Reference Group which includes the Technical Advisory Committee and other appropriate members.
5. The moratorium placed on fishing at Lake Xau should be maintained, until the logistics of establishing a sustainable, environmentally acceptable fishery are in place; the Trust will need support to ensure they can manage this fisheries enterprise.

With regards beneficiaries, the community around Lake Xau is relatively small (<1300 people, 2011 census) and therefore manageable, and the project would be able to provide some realistic returns. It is expected that some 100 people (~10% of Kedia population) would initially benefit directly from the project in terms of being employed (by tourism and fisheries), with linkages to other dependants (perhaps totaling 30-60% of the village population). However, other benefits in terms of capacity building and empowerment would extend to the whole community. People living around Lake Xau are mainly pastoralists who are not employed in the formal sector. Most do not have a cash income per se, so it is very difficult to gauge their levels of economic well-being (an assessment of economic status, livelihood options etc will be conducted as part of the baseline, and end-of-project targets then set against this baseline). However, infrastructure (housing) around the Lake is meager, with no services (electricity and water). This includes Government infrastructure. Very few people have vehicles, and use horses and donkeys for transport. People use firewood for cooking, and draw water manually from hand-dug wells. Literacy levels are low and women are particularly disadvantaged. Some people have relatively large numbers of cattle, but the area is semi-arid; very few crops are grown, except when the Lake has water.

At present, Lake Xau is undesignated in terms of land use i.e. its use has not been assigned to any private company or community, nor has it been specified for which activities it may be used. Its long-term status hangs in the balance subject to commitment being shown by interested and affected parties, many of whom will be mobilized through this project.

The overall objectives are (1) conserving biodiversity and integrity of the Lake Xau ecosystem by empowering and involving communities in biodiversity conservation, and (2) improving livelihoods and quality of life of communities through community based birding tourism, maximizing community benefits from fisheries at the lake and minimizing extent of range degradation in the lake environs.