Botswana’s government unveiled a comprehensive five-year anti-poaching strategy on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, aimed at protecting the country’s wildlife through enhanced law enforcement collaboration and community involvement.
The 2025-2030 National Anti-Poaching Strategy, launched by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, establishes joint operational centres to coordinate intelligence and response to wildlife crime at national and district levels.
“This strategy is critically important for the conservation and sustainability of our biodiversity, our economy, and the interests of future generations,” said Environment and Tourism Minister, Wynter Mmolotsi, during the launch in Gaborone.
Botswana houses the world’s largest population of African elephants and has positioned itself as a conservation leader on the continent.
The initiative comes amid growing global concern over declining wildlife populations threatened by poaching, habitat destruction and human-wildlife conflict.
Balázs Horváth, UNDP Resident Representative in Botswana, pledged continued support through “resource mobilisation, policy dialogue, and institutional capacity building.”
Horváth highlighted the Kgalagadi-Ghanzi Drylands Ecosystem Project as an example of integrated conservation, describing its four strategic pillars, including “strengthening law enforcement coordination, increasing community participation, promoting sustainable land use, and embedding gender equality.”
The strategy emphasises multi-sectoral coordination between government agencies, law enforcement, civil society organisations and local communities.