Overview
I initiated, created and managed three small and medium enterprises. I also set up the respective business and financial plans. The businesses are natural resource based (timber-, venison- and fruit processing as well as tourism) and provide employment for more than 150 permanent and temporary staff. In this context I secured more than 220000 US$ in grants. Furthermore, I evaluated and optimized several CBNRM projects (community based natural resource management) on behalf of the national CBNRM coordinator. In order to enhance the management of natural resources I developed studies on commodities and provided input for legislative guidelines, regulations and acts in the forest and tourism sector that influenced the adopted laws. Moreover, I successfully strengthened the capacity of the Botswana forest service to carry out their core mandate through various technical supports like organizational consultation, creating access-based databases for wildfires and natural resources management as well as trainings on project and quality management and a wide variety of well received technical and scientific publications.

1) Project Management:
Overall, I have carried out projects for 3 Community Trusts consisting of 9 villages and about 14,500 inhabitants. In the final stage of development over 60 direct jobs and more than 100 indirect jobs are provided. The proceeds go to charitable trusts for village development.
a) MATSHENG Community Development Trust.
The Trust has been given a wooded area with a high proportion of fruit tree left to protection and use. Besides management planning I established a privately organized company with production building.
- PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal workshops.
- Successful application for external funding (EUR 220,000.00).
- Forest Inventory (220 ha core area plus 70 ha buffer zone).
- Creation of a sustainable forest management plan for the timber and non-timber products inclusive maps (104 pages).
- Business plan and economic feasibility study for a Thotayamarula Fruit & Oil Company (jam, juice, toiletries, snacks and oil products) (59 pages) - transfer of land rights to build a fruit and oil processing plant and a tree nursery. - Capacity transfer to 21 individuals in the fields of beekeeping, forestry and food industry.
- Construction of a factory building (300m2) including the necessary machinery equipment.
- Construction of a nursery building, shadow halls and necessary equipment (2500m2).

b) MOSEMA Community Development Trust.
Around a historically important tourist attraction a game park with camping area has been established.
- PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal workshops.
- Forest inventory and determine the wildlife carrying capacity of common land.
- Surveying for-Sekekeme Heritage Park (736 ha).
- Creation of-Sekekeme Heritage Park Management Plan (44 pages).

c) Kawii Community Development Trust.
For the settlement of a disadvantaged group (San, Basarwa) a venison farm plus processing butchery was created. To combat illegal forest felling large areas of natural forest have been handed over to the community for the protection and sustainable use.
- PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal workshops.
- Forest Inventory of Spirostachys africana (Morukuru) stocks (3120 ha).
- Determination of sustainable wildlife carrying capacity of common lands (736 ha).
- Surveying for a Game Farm and 4-Morukuru concessions.
- Creation of-Kawii Game Farm and Morukuru Concession Area Management Plan (page 48).

2) Project Evaluation
On behalf of the national CBNRM (community-based natural resource management) coordinator I have evaluated various public or NGO funded rural projects focusing on timber or non-timber products and made suggestions for improvements.
- GWEZOTSHA Community Development Trust (tourism, reed grass production, marula processing).
- MAKOMOTO Community (firewood marketing).
- Mowana Community Development Trust (Carving and basketry, chicken production).
- ITHUSENG Community Development Trust (reforestation of multipurpose trees).
- TLHARE SEGOLO Foundation Ngamiland Community Development Trust (urban greening).
- CHAN GATE Conservation and Development Trust (Local tree nurseries).
- SEBOBA Community Development Trust (tourism, carving and basketry).

3) Studies, guidelines and laws.
Overall, I have created three questionnaire-based studies, 1 project preparatory study, 2 guidelines, one strategy and input for two bills.
- Ecotourism guideline for forest reserves (64 pages).
- Guidance on the assessment of deadwood (CBFWA method, community based fuel wood assessment) (19 pages).
- Study:-Ecological and socio-economic aspects of harvesting phane-(22 pages).
- Study:-Ecological and socio-economic aspects of harvesting thatching grass-(23 pages).
- Article about the study:-Attributes of differently successful micro tree nurseries in Botswana (11 pages).
- Preliminary study project: Effects of utilization or changes in climate on distribution pattern of H. petersiana (Mokolwane) (6 pages).
- Strategy Template:-CBNRM strategy for timber and non-timber products (14 pages).
- Revision of the "Agricultural Resources Conservation Act (Utilization of Veld Products)" Regulations (Cap. 35:06)".
- Technical input for the review for the recasting of the Forest Act.

4) Technical support of the Department through
- Development of 3 access-based databases for an automated system for improved fire management and fire archiving (WILDFIRE): 1 NFFE Fire fighting equipment, 2 NFII National Fire Incident Inventory and 3 NFSD National Fire Database situation.
- Development of 2 access-based databases to record companies in the field of natural resources and natural resource stocks: 1 Database CBO (community based organizations in Botswana) and 2 Veld product resource database (geographic distribution and characteristics).
- Creation of 14 editions of the booklet-DFRR Veld Product Series: 1 Conservation (Rangeland Resources) 2, Grapple plant (Harpagophytum procumbens), 3rd Hoodia (Hoodia gordonii), 4 Fever bush (Lippia javanica), 5 Phane (Imbrasia belina), 6 Real fan palm (Hyphaene petersiana) 7, Monkey orange (Strychnos cocculoides) 8, Blue sour plum (Ximenia americana), 9 Red milkwood (Mimusops zeyheri) 10, Wild medlar (Vangueria infausta), 11 Morama bean (Tylosema esculentum) 12, Kalahari truffles (Kalaharituber pfeilii), 13 Thatching grass (poa species), 14 Wild melon (Citrullus lanatus).
- Development of various initiatives on renewable energy (methane and decentralized use of bush encroachment wood to generate electricity), research on devil's claw (harvesting time and frequency) and information sharing (Veld Product Conference).
- Promotion of skills in management of natural resources, project management and quality management.