mainstreaming hiv and aids and gender into odmp process background paper

8/8/2019 Mainstreaming HIV and AIDS and gender into ODMP Process Background Paper

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MAINSTREAMING THE LIVELIHOOD ELEMENTS OF HIV/AIDS, GENDER AND POVERTY INTO THE OKAVANGO DELTA MANAGEMENT PLAN

(ODMP) PROCESS

A Strategy for Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Okavango DeltaRamsar Site

1.0. Introduction.

Gender, HIV/AIDS, and Poverty) are considered key to the ODMP planning processwhich is largely an environmental management planning project, with specific orientationto wetlands management. One of the key principles in the ODMP planning process is toenhance livelihoods through mainstreaming HIV/AIDS, gender and poverty elements intodevelopment initiatives.

Mainstreaming of the above cross cutting issues will help in the realization of theoverall ODMP goal which is To integrate resource management for the Okavangodelta that will ensure its long term conservation and that will provide benefits for the

present and future wellbeing of the people, through sustainable use of its natural resources Framework Plan, 2006 .

The ODMP project was designed under the main principle of strengthening ownershipthrough accountability and active participation of all stakeholders both duringdevelopment and implementation of the plan. The ODMP project takes place within theOkavango Delta Ramsar Site area, (ODRS).

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Socio-economic characteristics of the ODRS

In an arid country like Botswana, water is a very precious commodity and thus the deltawith its attendant vegetation and wildlife resources has always supported socio-economic

activities of communities living in and around the Delta. The ODRS has a number of ethnic groups who still depend directly on the utilization of natural resources for subsistence and to a smaller extent for commercial purposes. Such ethnic groups includethe Bayei, Batawana, the Hambukushu, the Ovaherero and the San people, (Basarwa),Bolaane, M., (2001). The population within the ODRS/North West District is 124,712most of it residing on the periphery/margins of the permanently flooded swamps. Themain socio-economic activities of these communities can be explained by ethnic group toinclude but not limited to the following:

(i) The Bayei who are found at the pan handle of the delta use the delta mainlyfor fishing purposes and plough on its banks when floods recedes. They

mainly plough cereals like sorghum and maize. They are also responsible for introducing the dug out canoe, (mokoro) which has become a symbol of travelin the delta itself.

(ii) The Hambukushu who are found on the eastern side of the pan handle aroundEtsha settlements, practice fishing and dryland farming. They make basketsusing palm fronds and sell these baskets.

(iii) The Baherero are more to pastoral farming than arable farming. They arefound around Sehithwa area.

(iv) The Batawana are found around Toteng and Maun and they practice botharable and pastoral farming.

(v) The Basarwa are mostly found in the fringes of the delta in Gudigwa andKhwai area. They depend on the delta animals for livelihood through hunting.They also gather wild fruits.

The above groups except the san people use the delta vegetation for food, for examplewater lilies. Reeds and thatching grass are used for housing needs. Traditionally most

people including the san in the delta use delta vegetation for medicinal purposes.

Policy Framework

The mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS, gender and poverty within the ODMP planning process is premised within the policy framework which could be described as below:

3.1 Vision 2016 - One of the pillars of Botswanas Vision 2016 is to have a moral andtolerant nation. This pillar suggests that no citizen of the future Botswana will bedisadvantaged as a result of gender, age, religion, ethnic group, location and politicalopinion. The future Botswana would have eradicated negative attitudes and practicestowards women, youth, the elderly and the disabled, Vision 2016, (1997).

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3.2 National Policy for Rural Development recognizes land, natural resources and gender as some major areas to be tackled in order to achieve economic growth and development.The policy notes that women have less access and control of resources such as land andcattle than men (Rural Development Policy, Republic of Botswana, 2002). The

government intends to address these concerns by ensuring equal access by both men andwomen to the use of natural resources during implementation of the NationalDevelopment Plan 9

3.3 Beijing Platform for Action - Out of the twelve critical areas of concern in the BeijingPlatform for Action, Botswana has prioritized six areas for achieving gender equality.These are:

Women and poverty including womens economic empowerment. Women in decision making. Education and training for women Women and health The girl chil dls Violence against women including human rights.

3.4 National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS - The government has developed the National Strategic Framework (N.S.F.) for HIV/AIDS which is intended to facilitate amulti sectoral response with a central aim of ensuring and driving implementation,Botswana National Strategy Framework (N.S.F), for HIV/AIDS, 2003 2009, (2003).The N.S.F. defines HIV/AIDS mainstreaming as a process by which HIV/AIDS becomes

part of the normal routine functions and core business of the ministry of health.The N.S.F also intends to mainstream HIV/AIDS into development planning to ensurethat HIV/AIDS is adequately captured within the national planning and budgeting cycle

and be given the necessary endorsement

3.5 The 1991 policy on agriculture aims at enhancing livelihood for those involved inagriculture in order to increase both livestock and arable out puts and also to increasefood security and alleviate poverty through sustainable use of natural resources,(Agricultural Policy, 1991). Gender equality for both men and women are some of thestrategies suggested to alleviate poverty in rural areas

Cross cutting issues (HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Gender) in the ODRS

Gender, Poverty, HIV/AIDS are social ills which if not taken on board in the ODMP process would result in a biased plan towards those who are favourably positioned to benefit from its provisions, which may contribute to inequalities in benefit sharing andthereby intensify the poverty situation in rural areas within the ODRS. If HIV infection isnot controlled, it could wipe productive human resource in the ODRS and very few

people would remain. The absence of healthy and productive people in the ODRS wouldfrustrate the attainment of the main objective of the management plan for the Okavango

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Delta which is to provide benefits for the present and future well-being of people. Thesethree elements are closely related and mainstreaming one may clear ground for mainstreaming the other two, hence, consideration for the three within the ODMP

process.

Gender

To provide the context which guides discussions on this aspects a definition of gender isadopted not to mean sex which is the biological difference between men and women butrefers the social construction of femininity and masculinity (Peil, M.,1982).

No region in the world can boast equal opportunities between women equal to men inlegal, social and economic terms, Botswana is no exception. Gender gaps in access tocontrol and management of natural resources are wide spread. Equal rights for men andwomen to productive resources are an important aspect of sustainable development,Cassidy,L.,(1999). .

Most people in Botswanas rural areas use, natural resources as the primary source of livelihood, (Every River Has its People Survey, 2002). The right of access to naturalresources and control over and use of productive resources are guided by ones positionand power within the socio structural and political hierarchies in the community.Compared to women, men tend to be more visible by holding decision making positionsin natural resource fora like the Community Based Natural Resource Management

projects. Researches done by various institutions indicate that access toeconomic/productive resources, employment and other opportunities is unequallydistributed among men and women in rural areas, Bolaane, M.,(2000) Women and menhave different economic opportunities; women are over represented among the poor. Ithas been observed from a lot of studies that women lag behind in as far as the policies,

programmes and initiatives for enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of Botswanaare concerned. It is therefore in light of the above, that the Government of Botswana hasengaged into the process of gender mainstreaming to ensure that both men and women

participate fully in the development agenda, agricultural development in particular.

Gender mainstreaming is the process of ensuring that women and men have equal accessand control over resources, development benefits and decision making at all stages of thedevelopment process, Gender Mainstreaming Series, (2002).

Gender mainstreaming into the ODMP process will ensure that men and women benefitequally, and natural resources management interventions will be designed in such a wayas to empower women and men to participate and benefit equally from the sustainableutilization of the Okavango Delta resources. This will in turn reduce poverty levels andultimately provide resources which could be used for fighting HIV/AIDS in the ODRS.

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Poverty

According to UNDP report of 2003, people living below the poverty datum line in

Botswana was 30.6 %, whereas for Ngamiland it was 43.8%. This trend has probably notchanged a lot. Ngamiland is a very remote and vast district and therefore it is difficult to provide sevicies and facilities for livelihood improvement. Economic stratification inBotswana is related to remoteness and ethnicity, Cassidy,L.,(1982). This is becausedevelopment has been focused on more viable areas. Poverty and remoteness aretherefore linked through the limited potential of land. For various historical reasons,inhabitants of these marginal areas are largely Basarwa who have lost access to their traditional nomadic lifestyle without having found adequate alternative means of income.

The law is quite clear that all citizens are equal in their rights to use the countrys naturalresources, however, not all people are in a position to take advantage of these rights.

Differences in ability to use the resource can be seen in terms of gender, ethinicity andsocial class. The difference relate to the way various groups of these three categories usethe resource base. Women, Basarwa and non-cattle owners are less likely to be able to getwhat they need. Actual control of most resources is based on the tragedy of the commons.People with less means of using the resources base tend to be squeezed out by those whocan exploit more fully. The latter are usually men, cattle owners and those from dominantethnic groups, (Cassidy,L. (1982).

Growing inequalities and marginalisation are not fully perceived. It is also those whodepend most on natural resources use who lose access to them. These inequalities toresources breed and perpetuate poverty in rural areas, Bolaane, M. (2000).

The majority of people in Ngamiland maintain a diversified income generation system asa means of reducing risks in an unusual environment, Kgathi,L.D. (2006). The maineconomic activities in the district are rainfed and flood recession cultivation, livestock management, fishing, hunting and gathering of veld products, small scale commercialenterprises like the production and sale of crafts, local food and beverages, wage labour in the tourism and related services and formal employment in government and in the

private sector. The importance of the individual economic activities varies fromhousehold to household, from community to community, from season to season and fromyear to year in response to variations in rainfall and flooding.

The skewed distribution of cattle is symptomatic of the growing gap between the rich fewand the poor majority. It is problematic for two reasons,

1. The majority practically lose access to and use of land that is theoreticallycommon or tribal land.

2. The rich tend to be those who make decisions at both national and communitylevel . They may also make land use decisions that do not necessarily reflect thewishes and needs of those who are most dependent on the resource base

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Poverty has become one of the factors that fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS especially to alarger part of unemployed youth. A research study conducted by the Ministry of Health,Family Welfare Division, and entitled Urban Youth Study reveals that there is a highcorrelation between HIV infection rates and poverty, Urban Youth Study, (2001).

Studies have shown that HIV infection thrive more in the environment of poverty anddestabilization and in rapid urbanization. The disease particularly affects women becauseof culture and economic circumstances. Imbalances in power between women and menlimit womens sexual autonomy and expand mens freedom, Report on the study of SocioEconomic Implications of Violence Against Women, (1999). This increases thevulnerability of HIV for the entire community. Some of the reasons accounting for thehigh spread of the virus in rural Botswana are:

Deepening poverty and social inequality. Limited access to employment. Limited access to capital.

According to the study of the socio economic implications of violence against women of 1999, above factors leave women with few economic options. They are often obliged toexchange sex for money or favor hence HIV infection. It is therefore of paramountimportance to mainstream poverty alleviation strategies into the ODMP process to reduce

poverty levels in the ODRS and reduce vulnerability of females to HIV infection.

HIV/AIDS .

HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to be a major impediment to national development

programmes. A huge proportion of the national budget is used for HIV/AIDSintervention programmes. According to the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey of 2004, HIV prevalence rate amongst pregnant women in Ngamiland was; 35.3 %, 40.7% and 40.9%for 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively. The disaggregated prevalence rate by age was asfollows:

15-19 yrs = 26.0 %20-24 yrs =37.2 %25-29 yrs =48.7%30-34 yrs = 40.4 %35-39 yrs = 41.4 %

It has been established that factors that lead to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Ngamiland aresocio-economic in nature, Botswana AIDS Impact Survey II, (2004). Poverty,unemployment, gender inequalities, communication barriers between youth and elders onissues relating to sexuality as well as drug and substance abuse are the basicdeterminants. However, the response strategies put in place did not address these factors,i.e( gender inequalities, poverty and alcohol abuse) instead focused on educationcampaigns about HIV/AIDS, community mobilization, awareness raising and medicaltreatment, ( Ngamiland District HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Plan, (1999).

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This situation was described in a report on Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS prevention into Local Government Planning and Delivery Systems, (2002) which reported that In themid 1990s, Botswana faced an outbreak of cattle lung disease which resulted in theslaughter of more than 300,000 head of cattle. As an emergency response to the out

break, the government reimbursed cattle farmers, many of whom were totally dependenton their cattle for their livelihood. Some of the men, who received compensation for their cattle, spent their money on alcohol and sex, facilitating the transmission of HIV withintheir communities.

According to Majelantle, 2004 in Kgathi, 2005, life expectancy in Ngamiland decreasedfrom 65.3 years in 1991 to 55.6 years in 2001. The Botswana AIDS Impact Survey II of 2004 revealed that the percentage of people who get infected is increasing.

The increase in HIV infection in the area has put and continues to put pressure on alreadylittle rural household income because of increased costs for transporting patients to health

services, payments for medical fees and increased funeral costs. It also puts pressure onlabour in the agricultural sector. Loss in employment occurs because of the long termillness of some of the household members especially the bread winners, Kgathi,L. (2006).Despite the increase of HIV infection in the country, the Government of Botswana isdoing all in its power to fight the pandemic and its related repercussions on households..Building on its extensive experience with consultative planning process, the Governmentof Botswana is now encouraging a mixture of bottom-down and top-down planning torespond to HIV/AIDS, N.S.F. (2003).

Mainstreaming into district or sub districts planning activities is expected to bringHIV/AIDS issues and responses to the center of the development agenda. However, thisis proving to be difficult because no user friendly tools have been developed yet for district planners. This is a challenge to the ODMP process to develop mainstreamingtools for project components, as well as to monitor and evaluate such mainstreaming

processes.

Mainstreaming and Ecosystem Approach

The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water andliving resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.Thus, the application of the ecosystem approach will help to reach a balance of the threeobjectives of the Convention: conservation; sustainable use; and the fair and equitablesharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

The ecosystem approach to development therefore does not only focus on environmentand economic factors, it includes social factors such as HIV/AIDS, Gender and Poverty.It also has the mixture of bottom up and top down approach in addressing developmentissues, (Draft Final Framework Management Plan, (2006). To achieve aims of the

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ecosystem approach to development, mainstreaming of cross cutting issues must be takenon board. The ecosystem approach has twelve principles as developed by IUCNCommission on Ecosystems Management. The following are directly related to themainstreaming of cross-cutting issues:

Principle 1: The objectives of management of land, water and living resources area matter of societal choice.Rationale: Different sectors of society view ecosystems in terms of their own

economic, cultural and societal needs. Indigenous peoples and other localcommunities living on the land are important stakeholders and their rightsand interests should be recognised. Both cultural and biological diversityare central components of the ecosystem approach, and managementshould take this into account. Societal choices should be expressed asclearly as possible. Ecosystems should be managed for their intrinsicvalues and for the tangible or intangible benefits for humans, in a fair andequitable way.

Principle 2: Management should be decentralised to the lowest appropriate level.Rationale: Decentralised systems may lead to greater efficiency, effectiveness and

equity. Management should involve all stakeholders and balance localinterests with the wider public interest. The closer management is to theecosystem, the greater the responsibility, ownership, accountability,

participation, and use of local knowledge.

Principle 11: The ecosystem approach should consider all forms of relevantinformation, including scientific and indigenous and local knowledge,innovations and practices.

Rationale: Information from all sources is critical to arriving at effective ecosystemmanagement strategies. A much better knowledge of ecosystem functionsand the impact of human use is desirable. All relevant information fromany concerned area should be shared with all stakeholders and actors,taking into account, inter alia, any decision to be taken under Article 8(j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Assumptions behind proposedmanagement decisions should be made explicit and checked againstavailable knowledge and views of stakeholders.

Principle 12: The ecosystem approach should involve all relevant sectors of societyand scientific disciplines.

Rationale: Most problems of biological-diversity management are complex, withmany interactions, side-effects and implications, and therefore shouldinvolve the necessary expertise and stakeholders at the local, national,regional and international level, as appropriate.

Mainstreaming process

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Mainstreaming is the process of making the subject at hand, in this case gender,HIV/AIDS and poverty) an integral part of legislation, policies, structures, programmes,resource allocation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation, Mainstreaming

HIV/AIDS into local government planning and delivery systems, (2002).

If mainstreaming of gender, HIV/AIDS and Poverty is to be done in a ministry or adepartment, it will involve change of policies, programmes and implementation styles of the ministry or department at hand. Mainstreaming is a long and highly consultative

process.

Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS, Gender and Poverty into the ODMP process

The ODMP has twelve components implemented across different departments andministries. These components are:

Component Principal objective Ministry Department

Policy planning andstrategy To develop and implement amanagement plan with a view tocontribute to sustainable naturalresources management and improvedlivelihood.

Ministry of EnvironmentWildlife andTourism

Department of EnvironmentalAffairs.

Communication To develop communication programme for enhanced dialogue,information exchange andnetworking


Department of EnvironmentalAffairs

Research, datamanagement and

participatory planning.

To develop a comprehensive anduser friendly data and information

management system for developmentand implementation of ODMP.

University of Botswana

HarryOppenheimmer

OkavangoResearch Centre.

Hydrology andwater resources.

To enhance understanding of currentsituation and assess future impacts of hydrological changes.

Minerals, Energyand Water resources.

Department of Water Affairs.

Wildlifemanagement

To sustainably manage the wildlife population in relation to the well being of communities andinteractions with the livestock sector and tourism industry.


Department of Wildlife and

National Parks.

Sustainable Tourismand CBNRM To create an enabling environmentfor conservation, sustainableutilization management of resources

by local communities.

Ministry of EnvironmentWildlife andTourism andMinistry of localgovernments.

Department of Tourism and North WestDistrict Council.

Sustainable fisheriesutilization and

To ensure sustainable use of theOkavango Deltas fish resources.

Ministry of Environment

Department of Wildlife and

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management. Wildlife andTourism

National Parks

Vegetationresourcesmanagement

To ensure sustainable managementof vegetation resources andresolution of conflicts.

Ministry of Environment,Wildlife and

Tourism

Department of Forestry RangeResources.

SettlementDevelopmentPlanning

To prepare development plan for thevillage of Shakawe, as pilot for other settlement and infrastructure plansacross the unique environment of thedelta.

Ministry of LocalGovernment andMinistry of Landsand Housing

North WestDistrict Counciland Departmentof Town andRegionalPlanning

Sustainable LandUse

To develop an integrated land usemanagement plan of the Ramsar site.

Ministry of Landsand Housing

Tawana LandBoard

Waste Management To develop a solid and liquid wastemanagement system for theOkavango Delta Ramsar Site.

Ministry of localgovernments.

North WestDistrict Council

( EnvironmentalHealth Unit)

SustainableLivestock management.

Ensure sustainable management of livestock and the concomitantconservation of wildlife.

Ministry of Agriculture

Department of Animal Healthand Production.

Mainstreaming three cross cutting issues into the above components with divergentmandates is possible but it is a process which would take time. The mainstreamingapproach to be used in the ODMP process is such that the ODMP Secretariat arrange that

project focal persons be taken through a coaching programme on mainstreaming the threecross cutting issues as part of their annual work plans and into their day to day plans. TheSecretariat will also provide mainstreaming tools to help project focal personsmainstream cross cutting issues into their individual planning processes. Monitoring andevaluation tools will be prepared to evaluate the mainstreaming process during the

planning and implementation phases of the ODMP process.

Audit of the Draft Final Framework Management Plan

The draft Final Framework Management Plan is structured into five sections, these arethe introduction, site description which includes an inventory of the Okavango DeltaRamsar Site, (ODRS), evaluation, objectives and action plans.

The audit of the Framework Management Plan was done with objectives to determine theextent to which the report covered the cross cutting elements; determine areas where the

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three elements could be conspicuously covered; and to make suggestions for incorporation of crosscutting issues as part of the ODMP process.

The audit of the Draft Final Management plan, with particular reference to the Evaluationsection of the report, revealed that an attempt was made but the following shortcomings

were identified:

1. Poverty : The Draft final framework management plan used a blanket statement bytreating all rural people of the ODRS as homogeneous without outlining dominantsources of livelihood in a particular ethnic group and at a particular geographiclocality. In a particular geographic locality it did not go to the details of explaining which ethnic group own and control dominant means of productionand what could inhibit the poor from accessing productive resources.

2. Gender: The Draft final framework Management Plan did not come up with sexsegregation in different geographic locations of the ODRS as to which sex controlmeans of production within a certain location and from which ethnic group.

However, in the tourism industry and the CBNRM programme, the draft finalframework management plan was very clear that men dominate such economicentities and relegates women to non paying activities such as basketry.

3. HIV/AIDS: The Draft Final Framework Plan touched on the HIV infections in theODRS. It went on to elaborate that issues relating to HIV infection are Socioeconomic in nature. The above document however did not go into details on theimpacts of the diseases on the rural households.

8.0 Workshop for mainstreaming cross cutting issues into the ODMP process.

On the 14 March, 2006 the ODMP Secretariat together with some experts from ACHAP,Womens Affairs Department and the University of Botswana co- facilitated a workshopwhich was aimed at introducing component focal persons to mainstreaming cross cuttingissues into their daily planning processes. Due to time constraints, the workshop did notyield enough data to be used to determine the knowledge project focal people have in sofar as mainstreaming cross cutting issues is concerned.

From the little data generated, it was very clear that, project components needed another training and constant technical backstopping.

Conclusions

Given the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS, high poverty rate and intense gender imbalancesof access and control to natural resources between men and women, the ODMP wouldmake an impact if it could equip the natural resource planners in the district with skills totake on board the three cross cutting elements as part of their day-to-day planningactivities. The audit of the Draft Final Framework Management Plan has also shown thatmainstreaming of cross cutting issues is highly needed to balance the plan. The workshopalso revealed that focal persons of the ODMP need to be trained on mainstreaming crosscutting issues into their planning processes. Mainstreaming tools need to be designed and

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used by such planning officers. Technical back stopping will regularly be provided tothem.

It is of paramount importance to mainstream cross cutting issues into the planning andimplementation phase of the ODMP.

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Bibliography.

Bolaane, M. (2001), The Common Property Regime , in Common Southern AfricaJournal, Vol.2. Part 2. Pyramid Publishing, Harare.

Botswana National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS, 2003 2009, (2003), PyramidPublishing, Gaborone.

Cassidy, L, Social Geography , in Environmental Studies of Okavango Region,OKACOM Diagnostic Assessment, (1982), Government Printers, Gaborone.

Cassidy, L., Improving Womens Participation of the CBNRM in Botswana, (1999), BayPublishing, (pty), l.t.d., Gaborone.

Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism., Draft Final Framework ManagementPlan, (2006), Maun.

Gender Mainstreaming Series, A step by step guide to gender mainstreaming , (2002),Fineline Services, (pty) ltd, Gaborone.

Kalahari Conservation Society, (2002), Data for Every RIVER Has Its People research project , Gaborone.

Kgathi,L. Shocks and Rural Livelihood in the Okavango Delta , Botswana : A case studyof selected areas , in Development in Southern Africa Journal, (2006).

Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS Prevention into Local Government Planning and DeliverySystem, (2002) , Frontline Electronic Publishing, Harare.

Peil, M, Social Science Research Methods; An African Handbook, (1982), Hodder AridStoughton Publishing, London.

Report on the Study of the Socio-Economic Implications of Violence Against Women inBotswana, (1999), Government Printers, Gaborone.

Republic Of Botswana, (1991) Policy on Agricultural Development.

Republic of Botswana, (2002), Revised National Policy for Rural Development,Government Printers, Gaborone.

Vision 2016, Towards Prosperity for All, (1997) Government Printer, Gaborone.

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Okavango Delta Management Plan

Project. ( ODMP).

Background Paper on Mainstreaming

Poverty, HIV/AIDS and Gender into

The ODMP.

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mainstreaming hiv and aids and gender into odmp process background paper

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