Established in 1988 Nata Conservation Trust started operation in 1993, to not only conserve wildlife but also help in the development and livelihood improvement of neighboring villages namely, Nata, Sepako, Maposa, and Manxotae. The CBO is run by a board of trustees elected by communities from representative villages (Nata, Manxotai, Sepako, and Maposa). The CBO manages a very important wetland in the Makgadikgadi Wetland System (i.e Nata Bird Sanctuary) in addition to the other concession area provided by the government. The Sanctuary is legally gazetted and covers an area of 595.7 km². This is an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area as identified by BirdLife International. The CBO works with conservation stakeholders to monitor birds within the area, especially with BirdLife Botswana. Other key supporters are Botash and Botswana government. All proceeds from visiting the site go back into the conservation of this wetland and improvement of livelihood in the area.

• To reduce the rate of unemployment in the area the Nata and surrounding villages, the community formed a Community Based Organization that manages and oversees Nata Sanctuary Trust.
• To foster, through interpretive exhibits, programs and
  publication, an awareness of, and an appreciation for, the variety of birds and animals in Nata Bird Sanctuary ecosystems;
• To build up under controlled conditions, populations of various species of sanctuary birds and animals threatened with extinction in the wild state;
• The Sanctuary has considerable potential for birding tourism (also called avitourism), and can thereby contribute to diversification of Botswana’s existing tourism product, and improve livelihoods and economic development in the area.