The objectives of the project and expected activities as in the Agreement are presented below, with some indication of how well these have been met.

Objective 1. Increase awareness of the project and its objectives

1.1 Publish 7-8 October workshop proceedings

These have been published in Babbler no. 44; this is BirdLife Botswana?s own journal, copies of which are available on request.

1.2 Publish Birds of Concern and IBA posters

Five hundred (500) copies each of ?Birds of conservation concern? and ?Important Bird Areas, IBA? we published and distributed across Botswana, and some countries in southern Africa. Due to their popularity, we subsequently approached BP Botswana, and with their assistance reprinted 1, 500 copies of the Birds of concern posters. We are currently in the process of reprinting the IBA posters, with funding from the European Commission-funded BirdLife Botswana project, Instituting effective monitoring of Protected Areas (Important Bird Areas) as a contribution to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in Africa.

1.3 Stakeholder meetings and popular articles

Meetings were held with Community Based Organizations (CBOs; in Otse, Nata and Sehithwa), government departments (primarily DWNP and DEA), private sector (BotAsh, Nata Lodge), individuals with an interest in some of the IBAs (e.g. Dr. Graham McCulloch who works in the Makgadikgadi Pans) etc. Numerous popular articles were published in DWNP?s Motlhose, Air Botswana?s Peolwane ( a six-part series on Botswana?s threatened birds), DEA?s Conservation News, national newspapers etc. as well as BirdLife Botswana?s own publications (Familiar Chat, Bird Conservation Newsletter, Babbler, website etc.) and in external newsletters (e.g. World BirdWatch, Africa Birds and Birding etc.).

Objective 2. Develop a local-level monitoring framework with communities at IBAs

2.1 Develop standardized data collection sheets

These have been developed, and will be developed further through the Instituting effective monitoring of Protected Areas (Important Bird Areas) as a contribution to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in Africa. This project enable us training collaborators (CBOs, DWNP, private sector etc) on how to use the data collection forms, basic data analysis, and agree further roles and responsibilities relating to monitoring data threatened birds in Protected Areas.

2.2 Develop bird checklists for all IBAs

Currently, these can only be obtained from the Botswana Tickbird programme (see http://www.worldbirds.org/v2/botswana.php), which was launched through the support of this GEF SGP project. However, there are plans to avail hard copies in those IBAs to be covered by the EC-funded IBA project mentioned above.

2.3 Develop an IBA monitoring 'toolkit'

This has not been fully developed due large differences in Botswana?s IBAs e.g. in terms of size, ownership, management etc. For example, Bokaa Dam is managed by Water Utilities Corporation, Tsholofelo Sewage Ponds by the Gaborone City Council, Mannyelanong Hill by DWNP, South east Botswana is unprotected, part of Makgadikgadi (i.e. Nata Sanctuary) by a CBO etc. However, there are some specific monitoring protocols for some of the IBAs (e.g. Okavango Delta), and through the IBA-focused EC-project, we aim to develop and operationalise such site-specific plans at a further 6 sites by the end of 2008. It should be re-emphasized that the GEF SGP grant enabled us to lay the foundation for this EC-project, which is mainly rolling out what we piloted through the GEF SGP project.

2.4 Site Support Groups (SSG) establishment

This has been achieved, primarily through co-financing from BirdLife Botswana?s Swedbio and GEF Medium Scale project PDF B grants. We have been working with three (SSGs/CBOs) at Otse, Nata and around Lake Ngami, and due to their different stages of development, work at these sites has also been varied. For example, Nata Sanctuary (which has been operational the longest) is being assisted through the GEF MSP to enhance management effectiveness of their site; the GEF SGP National Coordinator attended one such planning meeting held August 2006 in Nata. The Otse SSG (Cape Vultures Environmental Club) was supported to attend a Birds of Prey meeting in South Africa (March 2008) and subsequently hosted a workshop to draft their 2007/8 workplan, an advocacy strategy, and develop publicity materials to market themselves. On the other hand, the SSG around Lake Ngami (comprising the villages of Sehithwa, Legothwana and Botlhatlogo) was assisted to formally register their CBO ? Bosele Lake Ngami Conservation Trust in early 2007. In addition, all have been assisted with capacity building e.g. we undertook Capacity Assessment at all sites to identify capacity needs, and all were assisted to participate at the 2007 World Environment Day commemorations in Ghanzi, in efforts to expose them to opportunities open for CBOs in Botswana.

2.5 Establish an information-sharing network for birds in Botswana and regionally

Our working with CBOs, DWNP, tour operators and other collaborators is testimony that we have met this target, whereby people who prior to this project had no programmes targeting birds now have bird-focused activities e.g. through our support, CVEC hosted for the first time in their history, a clean-up campaign and a ?Vulture Day? (the first of its kind in the country) in Otse in August 2007.

Objective 3. Capacity building

Objective 4. Identification and prioritization of conservation action

4.1 Contribution of data for conservation action

We undertook baseline surveys to document for the first time ever basic ecological parameters of several birds (e.g. Slaty Egret) and in some cases documented the extent and prevalence of suspected threats (e.g. poaching of Kori Bustard). Additionally, our records have been forwarded to the Global team based at BirdLife International?s Cambridge for input in the revision of the Global Red Data Book of threatened species. Nationally, we have interacted with for example the DEA, who have acknowledged BirdLife Botswana an authority on birds, and we will thus have a role a play (using birds as environmental indicators) in the newly developed District State of the Environment Reporting process.

4.2 Educational material on birds & general environmental awareness

We have met this objective, epitomized by production of a bi-lingual introductory guide to birds of Botswana (the first of its kind in the country; this is available for free to wildlife clubs in Botswana, in and outside school). To support educators in using the aforementioned Beginner?s Guide, we published a Bird Activity Book, which is again available free of charge to teachers. Other materials meeting this objective include the over 2, 500 posters, numerous articles in newspapers and newsletter ? in and outside Botswana, a Bird-of-the-month series on our website (www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw) etc. Our Environmental Officer (EE) Officer also attended the World EE Conference in Durban (South Africa), 2 ? 7 July 2007, supported by this project.

4.3 Projects to improve bird conservation

All the activities of this project contribute somehow towards meeting this goal. Moreover the GEF SGP grant enabled us to leverage significant amounts of funding (e.g. from the EU (IBA monitoring), ?big? GEF (enhancing bird tourism in Botswana), Okavango Delta Management Project (threatened species research) and Canada Fund (publication of Bird Activity Book). All these projects helped us better meet the above-mentioned goal.

4.4 Red Data Book chapters for the 13 birds

After consulting with the BirdLife International?s Global team revising of the Global Red Data Book (RDB) of threatened species, we realized that if we published a Botswana-only Red Data Book just a few months before the Global Bird RDB was finalized we stood a risk of publishing a document in discordant with the Global RDB. For example, this global review is only due to be finalised in March 2008, with the RDB launched in September 2008 at the IUCN and BirdLife Conferences. A way around this, which we trust the GEF SGP will be amenable to, is to publish the Botswana RDB as a summary/extract of the relevant sections/birds from the Global RDB. This will avoid confusion between the two lists, allowing us to tap into the best evidence provided by both documents (i.e. the global RDB and our own drafts). Opportunities for financing this process are being explored.

Objective 5. Result dissemination and project impact

5.1 Dissemination of project results & exchange of lessons learnt

Project results have been disseminated in popular articles locally (e.g. 6-part ?Threatened Birds of Botswana? series in Air Botswana?s Peolwane,), regionally (e.g. Africa Birds and Birding) and internationally (e.g. World BirdWatch). Moreover numerous newspaper articles, web articles (e.g. http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2005/11/kori.html) and scientific papers (e.g. Ostrich Vol. 78 (3): 213 ? 219) were published to disseminate project results and exchange lessons learnt. We also made several presentations on the project to students, government departments (e.g. a presentation on Kori Bustard poaching was made to the DWNP Director and senior management at the department), BirdLife Botswana membership, and to international audiences (e.g. other BirdLife partners in Africa). We also used the project to cover costs of complimentary copies of advocacy materials to various dignitaries (e.g. former president H.E. Ketumile Masire and current Vice President H.E. Ian Khama), and young people (e.g. Boy Scouts who converged in Maun for the Scout jamboree in March 2006). Consequently, in our view, this goal was adequately met.

5.2 Increased bird-related tourism in Botswana

The CBOs we work with have received basic training in bird guiding and are being assisted to realize the potential of this otherwise untapped specialized industry. Most effort has been put on Nata Sanctuary (it has the basic infrastructure), and their capacity will further be enhanced through a GEF Medium Scale Project we are developing with them, DEA, KCS and DWNP.