08 December 2022
Multi stakeholders vow support for ICM
Multi stakeholders involved in Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) vowed their commitment and sustainability initiatives and acceleration of collaborations to restore land and water resources in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho during the ReNOKA Operational Planning (OP) process in Maseru.
The stakeholders from NGO’s, private and public sectors, made this commitment after coming together to discuss the issues of natural resources management and pledged to work together during a two-day workshop that began on November 23rd.
Recognizing the imperative for an effective, collective responsibility to the urgent threats of land and water, the commitment also includes the stakeholders’ deployment of innovative and collaborative interventions with sustainable, positive impacts on supply chains and value chains.
It is important for stakeholders to work together to ensure success of ICM. This is according to the national ICM programme Coordinator Makomoreng Fanana.
“Engaging with different perspectives provides opportunities for learning and potentially changing collaborations to ensure they fit the needs of the community”.
He further went on to say the effective stakeholder engagement is critical to building lasting credibility and trust amongst partners and ensuring that there is no duplication of efforts. Engaging with stakeholders is central to improving accountability and improving transparency in order to be clear about the outcomes you are hoping to achieve and the steps on the way.
Private, public partnership
During the planning process, stakeholders outlined their activities and discussed which support activities could be needed.
ICM Technical Advisor from CRS Mpho Mosiuoa emphasized that a government and private sector partnership aligned towards sustainability targets is critical for shared success in integrated catchment management and climate risk resilience.
“Understanding the views and interests of all stakeholders in ICM is leading to more effective decision-making. This is more than just getting the language right. In understanding issues and concerns, it provides an opportunity to reflect on what will and will not work, and why”, he said.
Proper planning requires that the partners be given the chance to spell out their activities and priorities to ensure that the limited resources are focused on areas where they can impact maximally on the lives of the common man instead of budgeting on issues that only catch the fancy of the elites. This is according to Ts’ele Rants’o at the Department of Range in the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation.