We don’t need more oil because we have enough proven reserves to supply demand as the world transitions to a more sustainable low-carbon economy.
Check out new investigative reporting on this issue in Rolling Stone and National Geographic.
Click here to support Okavango activists in Namibia and Botswana.
Yet, Canadian oil company ReconAfrica has its sights set on the Okavango River Basin—including Namibia’s Kavango regions and Botswana’s Okavango Delta—an ecosystem that supports the livelihood of tens of thousands of people and serves as home to endangered wildlife, from lions and giraffes to African Wild Dogs and the world’s largest remaining population of Endangered Savanna Elephants. The Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Key Biodiversity Area, is also a lifeline to a desert delta and the main source of water for nearly one million people, relying on rivers originating in Angola, flowing through Namibia and emptying into northern Botswana.
We, the undersigned, are part of a growing community that defines progress not as the destruction of our planet to benefit a few, but as the protection of our irreplaceable natural resources to the benefit of all.
We stand in solidarity with the people of the Okavango River Basin in demanding a full moratorium on all oil and gas exploration and development in the Okavango River Basin, which includes the Kavango region of Namibia and is home to the famed Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Local communities in Namibia’s Kavango East and West regions deserve an independent and impartial public commission to examine oil and gas exploration in a way that is transparent, involves extensive consultation with them, and makes clear how this industry would affect their lives, rights, water, food security, and the natural environments of which they are custodians.
We further encourage the governments of Namibia and Botswana to consider sustainable, alternative energy so that they can meet their global climate and biodiversity commitments, while building a green economy that will benefit both countries’ people and wildlife in the long-term.
By signing this letter, we also pledge to use our collective voice to expose irresponsible extractive industry projects that pose a threat to ecosystems and the people who depend on them across the region by bringing sustained local, regional and international attention to them.
The choice is simple–either we preserve the wild and its benefits to humanity, or permanently destroy it through exploitation. We have made our choice by standing with local communities in embracing the former, protecting the irreplaceable Okavango River Basin for generations to come.
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Waorani Leader, Ceibo Alliance & Amazon Frontlines
Elephants Without Borders, Botswana
Namibia Chamber of Environment (Representing 70 NGOs in Namibia)
Women’s Leadership Centre
Environmental Investigation Agency
Meet the iconic species and characteristics of this region–and the people who rely on it.
We’ve created a social toolkit for you to spread the word about protecting the Okavango.
26,995 | Han Fonseca | Apr 03, 2024 | ||
26,994 | Andreas Staub | Apr 02, 2024 | ||
26,993 | Ivo Pesev | Apr 01, 2024 | ||
26,992 | Julie Jacob | Mar 31, 2024 | ||
26,991 | Sarah Ames | Mar 31, 2024 | ||
26,990 | Jerrica Russell | Mar 31, 2024 | ||
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26,988 | Marieke Bragt | Mar 31, 2024 | ||
26,987 | Araceli Benassai | Mar 31, 2024 | ||
26,986 | Dalila Magalhaes | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
26,985 | Flavia Cristini | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
26,984 | Sara Cardi Cigoli | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
26,983 | Madlen Boubau | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
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26,980 | Allan Hobbs | MaxLaser | Mar 30, 2024 | |
26,979 | Laura Ospina | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
26,978 | Sophi Lawrence | Mar 30, 2024 | ||
26,977 | Veronika Lucza | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,976 | Roald Arts | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,975 | Amy Price | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,974 | Megan Cross | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,973 | Tarryn Jackson | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,972 | Lucie Poláková | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,971 | Amy Dawnay | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,970 | Lucinda Brook | N/A | Mar 29, 2024 | |
26,969 | REBECCA LANE-NOHL | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,968 | Dylan Herrera | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,967 | Kristian Johannsen | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,966 | juliana loaiza | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,965 | Daniel Vosburgh | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,964 | Melanie Romer | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,963 | Sarah McGregor | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,962 | Jan Descheemaecker | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,961 | Amy Mahery | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,960 | Robbe Descheemaecker | / | Mar 29, 2024 | |
26,959 | Giuseppe Buonodono | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,958 | Esterina Giannese | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,957 | Maddalena Buonodono | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,956 | Adriano Mottironi | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,955 | Isabel Erice | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,954 | Jacob Boogaard | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,953 | Riley Stratton | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,952 | Pam Ooms | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,951 | Sharon Cediel | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,950 | Monika Richardson | California state university Humboldt | Mar 29, 2024 | |
26,949 | Marie Connolly | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,948 | Alejandra Briseño | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,947 | Anne Mette Hansen | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
26,946 | Sylvia Borgonovo | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
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Image Credits
Cover Photo: Frans Lanting
Carousel: The Women’s Leadership Centre, Windhoek; Cory Richards
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