Hon. Wynter Boipuso Mmolotsi, Minister of Environment and Tourism in Botswana and Lovita Ramguttee, UNDP Resident Representative, Botswana  

Botswana stands at a rare crossroads: as it seeks to diversify beyond diamonds, its national parks and game reserves could be the key to a more diversified, services-led economy. 

For more than half a century, diamonds have played a key role in Botswana’s development. They financed the construction of schools, roads, healthcare, and various public institutions, helping transform a young nation into one of Africa’s most stable and prosperous economies.  

However, each generation carries the responsibility of renewing the foundations of prosperity. Today, Botswana stands at such a critical juncture. 

The global diamond market is undergoing significant transformation. Emerging technologies and evolving consumer preferences are reshaping an industry that has long been a cornerstone of Botswana’s economy. This evolution does not mean that diamonds will lose their importance; rather, they will continue to constitute a vital national asset. However, it is imperative for Botswana to now pose a strategic question: which alternative sectors or initiatives can propel growth, generate employment, increase exports, and bolster resilience in the decades ahead? 

Earlier this year, Botswana’s Vice President, Honourable Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe, described tourism as Botswana’s “new diamond”, recognising the immense economic potential of the country’s wildlife and natural heritage to drive revenues, generate foreign exchange, and anchor long-term economic resilience.  

As articulated in our National Development Plan (NDP 12), Botswana is shifting from a mineral-dependent growth model towards a diversified, export-led and sustainable economy, with tourism emerging as a key growth engine already contributing significantly to GDP, employment, and investment across the economy.  These ambitions converge in the floodplains of the Okavango Delta, along the Chobe River, in the extensive migration of elephants across the northern region, and within the protected areas that establish Botswana as one of the world’s premier safari destinations. 

This is the right moment for such a pivot. 

Botswana already possesses what many countries spend decades trying to build: a globally recognised nature brand. The Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s few inland delta systems.  

Botswana is also home to approximately 140,000 African elephants, the largest elephant population of any country. National Parks and Game Reserves such as Chobe, Moremi and the broader Okavango system are ecological treasures.  

The opportunity is especially significant because Botswana’s tourism model is already oriented towards high-value experiences. If expanded strategically, this model can generate foreign exchange, create skilled jobs, support local enterprises and strengthen incentives to conserve the ecosystems on which the sector depends. 

The question is how to convert this natural advantage into a durable engine for economic growth. 

Botswana already has evidence of what is possible. With support from UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative, Botswana revised entrance and related fees for protected areas after more than two decades of fee stagnation. The results are remarkable. Recent figures show approximately US$37.5 million in cumulative post-reform revenues, around US$12 million more than would have been generated under the previous fee structure.  

But revenue generation is only the first step. 

For nature to power Botswana’s next chapter of growth, the country must reinvest in the protected areas that generate this value. Better conservation, improved infrastructure, stronger ranger capacity, modern payment systems and improved park management will enhance the visitor experience, reduce revenue leakages and strengthen protection against poaching. In this way, conservation becomes not a cost to the state, but a strategic investment in Botswana’s future prosperity. 

The protected area fee reform has demonstrated that Botswana’s parks can generate greater economic value. The next challenge is to ensure that this value is reinvested to strengthen the Protected Areas (PAs) that produced it. 

Achieving this will require practical reforms. One priority is digitalisation. Manual revenue collection at park gates limits real-time tracking, complicates financial reconciliation and increases risks of revenue leakage. UNDP is already supporting a pilot digital payment and booking system for two national parks. If implemented effectively, this system can streamline revenue collection, reduce administrative burdens, improve transparency and enable staff to focus more on conservation and visitor services. 

A second priority is reinvestment. Botswana should consider mechanisms that allow a fair and strategic share of protected-area revenue to be reinvested into protected areas’ infrastructure and management. This need not undermine national budgeting, but it can strengthen it. When visitors experience better roads, safer facilities and high-quality services, their willingness to pay increases. When PAs are better managed, tourism value rises. When revenue grows, the government has a stronger fiscal case for investing in conservation. 

Timing is also important. Around the world, official development assistance is under significant pressure. The OECD reports that overseas development assistance declined by 23.1 percent in 2025, the largest annual contraction on record, with further reductions projected (OECD). For many countries, this creates real risks that conservation efforts will become underfunded.  

Botswana, however, has a different opportunity. The protected area fee reform demonstrates that sound policy can unlock domestic finance. The digital payments pilot can make that financing more transparent and efficient. At the same time, the National Development Plan provides a national framework for tourism to play a significant role in economic diversification, exports and job creation.  

Better-managed protected areas could also position Botswana to benefit from high-integrity carbon markets, particularly where conservation efforts protect wetlands, woodlands and savannah ecosystems that store significant amounts of carbon. 

The task now is to connect these elements into a coherent national investment agenda for nature with support from our development partners, including the Global Environment Facility, the EU and Germany.   

Globally, an emergent nature-positive economy is expected to generate up to $10.1 trillion in annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. With UNDP support, countries have mobilized more than $3.3 billion in nature finance through domestic revenues and capital markets.  

If Botswana invests strategically in its protected areas and continues to build a high-value tourism economy grounded in conservation, nature can become one of the driving forces behind the country’s long-term economic prosperity.