After expressing a strong interest in undertaking a national ecosystem assessment, Botswana subsequently developed a scoping report in 2021, funded by the Japan Biodiversity Fund, determining the need for the assessment and defining key policy questions to address.

In April 2022, the International Climate Initiative (IKI) offered to financially support Botswana’s full national ecosystem assessment project through the NEA Initiative.

Significant progress has been achieved by the southern African country since then: Botswana has identified the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) as its project manager, and reviewed and updated the preliminary scoping exercise completed in 2021 to include missing elements such as climate change and indigenous and local knowledge.

In 2023, the team officially launched the start its national ecosystem assessment.