The Minister of Natural Resources Hon. Mohlomi Moleko met with the Development Partners to discuss ways of improving cooperation between the Government of Lesotho and Development agencies on the management of natural resources and climate change commitments in the country.
The introductory meeting gave the development partners an opportunity to brief the Minister on programmes being implemented and ways in which the partners are collaborating to better deliver programmes for Basotho.
During the meeting, which was held in Maseru on Wednesday 25th January 2023, the two sides talked about achieving progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and working together to help address climate change, and several issues of mutual concern.
They then highlighted the deep-rooted relations between the government of Lesotho and the Development Partners and their keenness to boost their bilateral ties, most notably on energy, infrastructure, climate action, the environment and natural resources.
Minister Moleko shared the government of Lesotho’s vision of the priorities for natural resources management. “Forums like this one are very necessary because I have realized that people work in siloes, they are not well informed of what others are doing and this leads to wasted resources due to the duplication of efforts”.
The minister emphasised the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, citing that when people are engaged and are involved in the matters that affect them, they are willing to participate. “For instance, in environmental conservation initiatives, let’s work with the chiefs because they are leaders in their communities, let’s engage everyone to ensure that we have full participation”, he said.
Hon. Moleko also pointed out that he has already met with the National Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) programme Coordinator, Makomoreng Fanana to discuss how ReNOKA can be institutionalised for it to be sustainable.
The co-chairperson of the group Philipp Baumgartner from IFAD said their goal is to engage with the government as best as possible to have the maximum impact and contribution towards the development of Lesotho.
“The group discusses practical and adaptable measures on how to meet the most pressing needs relating to the environment, natural resources and climate resilience. These measures will contribute to long-term structural changes towards a more resilient Lesotho”, he said.
The Development Partners’ Group for Environment, Natural Resources Management and Resilience in Lesotho is co-chaired by IFAD’s Philipp Baumgartner and UNDP’s Nessie Golakai. It serves as a strong coordination mechanism for international development partners and donors active in Lesotho for developing and providing valuable support to Lesotho’s national efforts to tackle vulnerability issues of environment, natural resources and climate change.
The group meets regularly to update each other on current and upcoming programmes which enables them to identify opportunities for collaboration and exchange of ideas. Through this approach the development partners seek to not replicate efforts and invest wisely towards assisting Lesotho in achieving its sustainable development goals.
