National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2026 - 2030.

This updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) represents a renewed national commitment to safeguarding Botswana’s natural heritage and placing biodiversity at the centre of the country’s development pathway. It provides a clear and coherent framework for the conservation, sustainable use and equitable management of biodiversity, while aligning national priorities with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Building on lessons learned from previous national biodiversity strategies, the NBSAP adopts a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, recognising that biodiversity conservation is both a shared responsibility and a national development priority. The NBSAP 2026–2030 provides an important opportunity to ensure that Botswana’s economic transformation is green, inclusive and resilient, while contributing to the achievement of the aspirations of Vision 2036, particularly those relating to sustainable economic development, environmental sustainability, human and social development, and good governance. The NBSAP provides a practical, government-wide framework for protecting and sustainably managing the country’s natural heritage, strengthening livelihoods, supporting economic diversification, enhancing ecosystem resilience and ensuring that the benefits derived from biodiversity are shared equitably among present and future generations. In doing so, it seeks to embed biodiversity considerations across national development planning and decision-making, ensuring that the conservation and sustainable use of nature contribute directly to Botswana’s long-term prosperity and the well-being of its people.
The NBSAP update aims to strengthen policy coherence, mainstream biodiversity across national development planning, and align conservation efforts with Botswana’s Vision 2036, National Development Plans, climate commitments, and sustainable economic diversification goals. It serves as the principal national framework for translating the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) into actionable targets and measures to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 while advancing sustainable development and human well-being. The NBSAP is structured around the following 4 strategic pillars aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) (1) reducing threats to biodiversity; (2) meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing; (3) strengthening capacity for implementation and mainstreaming; (4) mobilizing resources. While the first two pillars directly reflect the KM-GBF thematic areas, the implementation and mainstreaming area has been divided into capacity building and resource mobilization to address national priorities and lessons learned from previous biodiversity programmes.
The updated NBSAP establishes 23 national biodiversity targets, aligned with the 4 goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), and translates the 23 KM-GBF targets into Botswana-specific commitments that reflect national biodiversity priorities and development aspirations, including Vision 2036 and the National Development Plans. Under Goal A – Protect and Restore, Botswana’s Targets 1-8 focus on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, ecosystem restoration and conservation, species and genetic diversity, sustainable harvesting, invasive alien species, pollution reduction, and climate resilience; under Goal B – Prosper with Nature, national tragets 9-12 promote the sustainable use of biodiversity, sustainable management of productive sectors, nature-based solutions, and biodiversity-inclusive urban and regional planning; Goal C – Share Benefits Fairly, comprises Target 13, which focuses on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, including associated traditional knowledge and digital sequence information; Goal D – Invest and Collaborate, includes national Targets 14–23, addressing biodiversity mainstreaming in policies and planning, business accountability, sustainable consumption, biosafety, harmful incentives, biodiversity financing, capacity and technology development, knowledge and information systems, and inclusive and gender-responsive participation.
The framework includes a Communication Plan aiming to ensure effective communication, dialogue, and information exchange among stakeholders across different levels of NBSAP implementation, from local, national, regional, and international stakeholders, thereby directly contributing to the GBF 2030 Mission and the 2050 Vision of Living in Harmony with Nature.