Environmental considerations in military operations was the focus of a U.S. Africa Command environmental security workshop held jointly with the Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) June 28-30, 2011, in Gaborone, Botswana.

The conference, led by a team of five U.S. Defense Department technical experts and funded jointly by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Environmental International Cooperation and AFRICOM’S military-to-military programs, was attended by representatives from the BDF and several non-military agencies, including: Gaborone Police Department; Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control; Ministry of Trade and Industry; Division of Plant Protection; Department of Roads; and Department of Transportation and Safety.

Key objectives of the workshop included information exchange and capacity building in the area of environmental considerations in military operations, with a focus on waste management and contaminated land and Unexploded Ordnance site investigation and cleanup for fixed installations and contingency operations.

"Continued engagement by U.S. AFRICOM and its component environmental stewards is very important to maintain the momentum gained during this workshop and to continue fostering the development of the BDF’s environmental and contingency engineering capacities," said Art Kolodziejski, U.S. AFRICOM's Environmental Security Branch chief.