#SAVETHEOKAVANGO

Re:wild is standing with the people of Namibia and Botswana fighting the decision to allow oil exploration in the Okavango. Sign the open letter today.

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We need more biodiversity, not extractives.

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.

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.

  • Local leaders and activists have expressed their concern that the company did not adequately consult the people affected most by oil exploration and drilling in this region.
  • Re:wild and the international conservation community is standing with the people of Namibia and Botswana, activists on the ground and around the world as well as Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in calling for an immediate moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Kavango River Basin to stop this irreversible and irresponsible treatment of our planet’s precious resources.
SIGN THE OPEN LETTER

Save the Okavango

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. 

SIGN THE OPEN LETTER

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KEY SIGNATORIES

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex

Reinhold Mangundu

Namibian environmental activist

Forest Whitaker

Academy Award winning actor and activist

Nemonte Nenquimo

Waorani Leader, Ceibo Alliance & Amazon Frontlines

Dr. Wes Sechrest

Re:wild

Leonardo DiCaprio

Actor and environmentalist

Djimon Hounsou

Actor and activist 

Michael Chase

Elephants Without Borders, Botswana

Max Muyemburuko

KEW Regional Conservancy and Community Forestry Association

Veruschka Dumeni

Namibian climate and environmental activist

Rinaani Musutua

Economic and Social Justice Trust, Namibia 

Dr. Chris Brown

Namibia Chamber of Environment (Representing 70 NGOs in Namibia)

Joram Useb

Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee

Anita Lekgowa

Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee

Nadia April

Women’s Leadership Centre

Mary Rice

Environmental Investigation Agency

Kweku Mandela

Film producer

Mike Holding

Director, cinematographer, Afriscreen

Dereck Joubert

CEO Great Plains, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence

Frans Lanting

Author and photographer “Okavango: Africa’s Last Eden”

Christine Eckstrom

Editor “Okavango: Africa’s Last Eden”

Colin Bell

Director, Natural Selection Travel

Global Citizen

Eriel Deranger

Indigenous Climate Action

Lourence S. Lirumba

Muduva Nyangana Conservancy

Thomas H. Muronga

Kapinga kaMwalye Conservancy

Eveline N. Kauma

Joseph Mbambangandu Conservancy

Johanes M. Sivava

Mbeyo Community Forest

Gervatius Mukuve

Ambrosius Haingura Community Forest

Kleopas Shaningwa

Katope Community Forest

Raymond Kafene

Maurusi Nekaro Conservancy

Stephanes Kudumo

Ambrosius Haingura Conservancy

Ellen DeGeneres

Entertainer and someone who cares
#SAVETHEOKAVANGO

MORE TO DISCOVER

Explore the Okavango

Meet the iconic species and characteristics of this region–and the people who rely on it.

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ALL SIGNATORIES

Latest Signatures
17,819 Jan Tullis Brown University Dec 01, 2021
17,818 Janette Dean Dec 01, 2021
17,817 Kathryn Muir Dec 01, 2021
17,816 Joshua Braun Dec 01, 2021
17,815 Mark Feldman TSA Dec 01, 2021
17,814 Taneal Trojak Dec 01, 2021
17,813 Marija Minic Dec 01, 2021
17,812 Paola Palencia Customer.io Nov 30, 2021
17,811 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Houston Nov 30, 2021
17,810 Shams Al aqel Nov 30, 2021
17,809 Max Gilluly Nov 30, 2021
17,808 Lebogang Seitshiro Saving Okavango's Unique Life (SOUL) Nov 30, 2021
17,807 Ronny Bakowskie DGHT German Chelonian Group Nov 30, 2021
17,806 Alexander Schlake Nov 30, 2021
17,805 Beate Pfau DGHT - German Herpetological Society Nov 30, 2021
17,804 Ramon Mascort private Nov 30, 2021
17,803 Christina Sukop Nov 30, 2021
17,802 claude nottebaert Nov 30, 2021
17,801 cara artman Nov 30, 2021
17,800 Meta Bollinger-Fritz Nov 30, 2021
17,799 Pierre Moisson A Cupulatta Nov 30, 2021
17,798 Jan Michels Nov 30, 2021
17,797 Jess Hawthorne Nov 30, 2021
17,796 Marcie Clutter Nov 30, 2021
17,795 Katrina Yurenka Nov 30, 2021
17,794 Gerald Slotkin Gerald Slotkin Nov 30, 2021
17,793 Robert Semmler Nov 29, 2021
17,792 Susan Waters Turtles Nov 29, 2021
17,791 Tracie Bunton Nov 29, 2021
17,790 Holger Vetter Holger Vetter Nov 29, 2021
17,789 Frank Van Loon Nov 29, 2021
17,788 Arnie Schildhaus Nov 29, 2021
17,787 Jerry Lee UMWA Nov 29, 2021
17,786 Uwe Fritz Senckenberg Nov 29, 2021
17,785 Susan Gresens Towson University Nov 29, 2021
17,784 Judy Holding Nov 29, 2021
17,783 Katarina Lang Nov 29, 2021
17,782 Mary Anne Karren Nov 29, 2021
17,781 Julia Klumpp Nov 29, 2021
17,780 Murray Tiffany Nov 29, 2021
17,779 Paige Mawhinney Activist Nov 29, 2021
17,778 Lakshya Karnawat Jewellery Nov 28, 2021
17,777 Corinna Raznikov Nov 28, 2021
17,776 Mila Jolies Nov 28, 2021
17,775 Mila Siric Nov 28, 2021
17,774 Paul Dold Nov 28, 2021
17,773 Hannah Wenrich Select Nov 27, 2021
17,772 Tooraj Sayyadpoor PhD student Nov 27, 2021
17,771 Kai Kim Nov 27, 2021
17,770 Zahra Saberian Nov 27, 2021
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Image Credits
Cover Photo: Frans Lanting
Carousel: The Women’s Leadership Centre, Windhoek; Cory Richards

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