Stakeholder communities will be involved in conceptualization of criteria to be used, priority landscape identification, priority landscape baseline and identification of issues that could be tackled during OP7 (planning and design of possible projects) as well as design of project implementation modalities and M&E for the CPS. The design and workplan as proposed by BirdLife Botswana thus ensures participation, at all steps of the process. Consequently, there is and will be active involvement and ownership by all stakeholders for all project steps.

The project has strong livelihood enhancement objectives and deliverables, as the objective of developing the CPS is to identify geographic and thematic areas through which the GEF/SGP could invest in civil society-led development projects which concurrently benefit the global environment. Baselines and end-of-project targets for each of these deliverables will be outlined in the CPS.

The project will develop a new CPS for the country, however largely focusing on OP 6 landscape priority through which beneficiaries should be resourced to implement existing policy, including the significant policy developments that have impacted the GEF strategic priorities. Moreover, the BirdLife Botswana drafting team will seek to mainstream the OP7 in other sectors, notably through the national conservation structures (e.g. National Biodiversity Authority, national climate change committee etc), and links to strategic national documents, such as Vision 2036, NDP 11 etc. This strategic project will be used by NGOs and CBOs to fully interrogate national policies and also instigate actions that would enable local communities derive maximum value from such policies; this represents the primary means through which this project will impact on new policy formulation and implementation.

The stakeholder communities (those that will be participating in all steps of the CPS development) will be involved by directly leading on the conceptualisation and development of the Botswana CPS. Local authorities (including local government, dikgosi, Councillors etc.), CBOs, VDCs, farmers associations etc. would also take part in the field-visits to help design priority activities/projects/ and project modalities within the priority landscape, and in discussions and presentations on their respective projects so that others may learn best practices and some of the potential pitfalls that may be encountered in running such projects. BirdLife Botswana will provide technical backstopping in logistics, presentation skills, data analysis and interpretation, outreach, advocacy and communication, but with these responsibilities increasingly passed to the NGO/CBO representatives (within their ability, competence and comfort). As far as possible, BirdLife will develop templates for use by the CBOs. It is hoped that the participation of BirdLife International will allow for sharing of best-practises from across the regional, and internationally. The project partners will continually explore other funding sources and technical support to ensure that especially the CBO?s and TAC capacity is enhanced during the project life.

Women are often more vulnerable than men to environmental degradation and resource scarcity. They typically have weaker and insecure rights to the resources they manage (especially land), and spend longer hours on collection of water, firewood, etc. Women are also more often excluded from other social, economic, and political development processes. In view of this, this proposal is crafted to significantly impact gender equality and women?s empowerment. As far as is practically possible, all project activities will directly and indirectly contribute towards improving the condition of women (e.g. when consulting stakeholders, a gender balance will be encouraged). This would be through enhancing women?s capacity to participate in decision-making processes, and engaging in activities that have the potential to improve their economic situation Consequently, the proposed project will have variable impacts on women and men, different ethnic groups, and social classes. Specific village/CBO-level activities (suggested as possible projects for OP7) will involve participation of different members of the community, including different ethnic groups and social classes involved in different aspects of GEF priorities. Their participation will invariably affect their conditions in different ways, either directly or indirectly, depending on the activities they will engage in. Overall, the economic condition of these groups is expected to be impacted on positively by the project, and with the CPS providing very clear messaging on how the currently under-represented or under-privileged groups could be supported by the SGP during OP7.

Youth development and empowerment is an important issue in Botswana as youth is seen as future leaders in all spectrum of the economic development. Therefore issues in building the human capital that allows young people to avoid poverty and lead better, and more fulfilling lives are important. The government of Botswana has taken the lead in engaging and supporting the engagement of youth in all aspects of developmental forumns of structures. The CPS must as well intregrate youth aspiration and would be gathered during some of the consulatitive process. Human capital developed in the youth is thus an important determinant of long term growth in which a nation can invest. Hence, making sure that youth are well prepared for their future is enormously significant in the course of environmental growth, social policy, poverty eradication, and growth. At all stakeholder consultation process youth involvement will be key and the CPS must as well spell out involvement of youth to avoid them naturally being sidelined during the implementation phase of the system. In terms of social policy dynamics in Botswana with respect to formulation, implementation, evaluation, and underlying factors involved in youth programmes youth programmes are generally fragmented where institutions and organisations are highly individualised and there seemed to be little investment in joint information. Hence it is imperative for the CPS to focus on supporting intergration of initiatives geared towards youth involvement.