Programming
Climate Change Education and Awareness
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Greening The Young Minds
The program is a nation-wide pilot initiative that is meant to integrate sustainable initiatives through all levels of education and school portfolio. And utilize the school as an exit point for sustainable agriculture, climate change information and renewable energy. The program appreciates the need to instil sustainability from a young age, in order to prepare the young people to tackle climate change in their early stages, consequently building a climate resilient generation that upholds green pathways and is responsive to current developments in climate change agenda.
Climate Change Response Dialogues
The Botswana Climate Change Network facilitates dialogue on climate change agenda through organising dialogues among various stakeholders. The Network has since 2013 facilitated Pre and Post Conference of Parties dialogues, Africa Ministerial Conference on Environment preparatory meetings, national stakeholder and civil society dialogues on climate change among others. The dialogues provides an opportunity for practitioners , communities, policy makers and scientists to discuss and engage on a number of interconnected themes , and debate on topical issues , share innovations and demonstrate best practices.
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Research and Development
The program aims to explore innovative research in order to advance the understanding of physical, chemical and biological components of the earth system, the causes and consequences of climate and land use change, and vulnerability and resilience to such changes.
Advocacy, Training and Capacity Building
The program includes as its components, training of trainers in project planning and management, skills transfer in climate change adaptation and green technologies. The Network partners with research and vocational training institutions which are making practical means to climate change adaptation. The program provides capacity building on climate change for various stakeholders – Journalists, Unions, Parliamentarians, and private companies among others. The Network sees the need to work with various stakeholders in advocacy initiatives in order to generate stronger public attention, monitor and influence climate negotiations and policies.
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Greening Women Enterprises: Renewable Energy Products and Services
The Botswana Climate Change Network (BCCN) is partnering with the United States Embassy (E-USA) to launch a two-year initiative aimed at empowering women's enterprises in green energy. The initiative, which spans three Southern African countries, aims to identify sustainable green energy solutions for rural women, enhancing their livelihoods and facilitating their transition to cleaner energy sources. The initiative also welcomes participation from grassroots female entrepreneurs from other Southern African nations, including South Africa.
Renewable Energy Promotion
Through this program, Botswana Climate Change Network focuses on raising awareness and sensitizing communities on small scale alternative green energy, energy diversification, off-grid and energy efficiency solutions
Climate Smart Agriculture
In a time of ever increasing awareness of climatic and ecological problems, conservation agriculture has engaged the attention of communities as well as consumers as a way of addressing both health and environmental concerns. Conservation agriculture is an easy way of production using efficient technologies, and using less water, energy and resources.
Gender Network on Climate Change
The aim of this initiative is to integrate women into climate change agenda, especially those in marginalized areas. The initiative intends to have women participate in climate change talks and projects on the ground, and be able to make decisions as well as capacitate themselves with knowledge that they lack.
Youth Network on Climate Change
This initiative was launched in 2019 during the youth climate change festival under the climate Diplomacy Initiative. The Botswana Youth Network on climate Change was founded on the premise of building a more robust and active movement of youth across the country who can take fourth the climate change agenda and ensure the identification and implementation of targeted response action. the network aims to build the capacity of young people in their efforts to address climate change, other environmental issues and advocate for climate change from the perspective of the youth.
The network supports actions the empower the youth to translate climate change programs into effective policies that will have a measurable impact on the well being of the youth. The youth network links projects around the country in order to develop common actions and campaigns.
Adopt A Village
Adopt a village is an initiative that BCCN implements at the sub-district level to engage with the villages to promote targeted response climate actions.
Holding Governments Accountable
Support civil society and other relevant non-state actors and citizens to play an active role in monitoring the compliance of government to international and sovereign commitments in the context of environmental and climate justice.
Public Engagement and Mobilization
The aim is to raise public awareness, mobilize and empower citizens to influence government decisions on environmental rights issues, and ensure participation of vulnerable peoples in policy formulation and action to realize sustainable development within the context of the UN SDGs. The BCCN takes advantage of the key moments in climate change agenda and utilizes these to mobilize and showcase the urgency to tackle climate change and call for climate justice.
Climate Change , Agriculture and Food Security
Climate change has far reaching impacts on crop, livestock and fisheries production and can change the prevalence of crop pests. Botswana Climate Change Network focuses on action oriented agenda , where it works to address climate challenges by ensuring agriculture research , adaptation actions are relevant to those most vulnerable to climate change , and combination of adaptation and mitigation actions .
Renewable Energy and Sustainable Transport
In an effort to ensure that Botswana moves towards a low carbon trajectory, Botswana Climate Change Network explores the adoption of renewable energy and improved transport systems through demonstration projects. Renewable energy is one of the most effective tools that we can we utilise to fight climate change. Renewable energy has over the years experienced tremendous growth and huge costs improvements. Prices area declining and renewable energy is becoming increasingly competitive with fossil fuels .Installation of low energy, zero polluting street PV powered street lighting and traffic signals can save lives especially in accident prone areas, while cycling can contribute to achieving lower greenhouse gas emissions throughout Botswana.
Mining and Community Development
Botswana Climate Change Network is working closely with communities to raise awareness and sensitise about the impacts of coal mining on the environment. BCCN focuses on capacitating the local communities about the threats of mining , its severe ecological , social and economic damage . The organisations assists communities to create platforms where villagers and relevant authorities are able to communicate the ongoing mine developments in their respective village’s future prospects of these developments. It is important that regulations are put in place to mandate mines to plan for environmental consequences brought by mining during operation through to decommissioning. Regulatory certainties with regards to greenhouse gas mitigation need to be establiblished before mitigation efforts take hold in the mining sector.
Gender and Climate Change
There is evidence of lack of integration of gender equality as a cross cutting issue in responding to the impacts of climate change. This is further perpetuated by lack of gender disaggregated vulnerability and capacity data that can effectively assist in addressing disaster risk reduction and response interventions.Â
Women are better positioned than men to build a more climate resilient society and to put into place climate change mitigation measures in the home, in small farms and also in the work place. To this end, the Botswana Climate Change Network is committed to mainstreaming gender in its projects, governance, working structures, programmes and project delivery. The Botswana Climate Change Network is aware that gender sensitivities are particularly pronounced in the areas of disaster risk reduction, public health, water resources management, and agriculture and food security. However, there is an opportunity to align with emerging adaptation and resilience efforts with NAP’s, NAPA’s and INDC’s, including national response actions for disaster risk reduction. The development and implementation of gender responsive frameworks presents an opportunity to mainstream gender and ensure that countries adopt gender-responsive adaptation actions and does not leave anyone behind. Further, it is the inclusion of women in the development of such policies and participation at the UNFCCC COP negotiations. Creation of space for women at the climate change negotiations and strengthening of women’s voices will ensure that women’s concerns are adequately addressed in climate agreements, national and regional adaptation plans. National development plans that resonate well with gender sensitive sustainable climate programmes for climate resilience can go a long way in ensuring that communities withstand climate shocks. The BCCN 2016-2020 Strategic Plan will include projects and measures that amplify awareness in civil society of the role of women and campaign to empower them to maximise this potential.