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.
26,622 | Marieke Dailey | May 30, 2023 | ||
26,621 | Karen Kelleher | May 28, 2023 | ||
26,620 | JOAO SILVA | JPBT LDA | May 22, 2023 | |
26,619 | Paul Stanislas | Ferndown Properties | May 21, 2023 | |
26,618 | Wendy Rae Johnson | Elwha legacy forests coalition | May 17, 2023 | |
26,617 | Fiona Bryant | May 15, 2023 | ||
26,616 | Kaarina Tuhkalainen | May 14, 2023 | ||
26,615 | colleen kebonyemodisa | Charing Cross Hospital | May 14, 2023 | |
26,614 | Amanda Croft | May 14, 2023 | ||
26,613 | Shanna Keown | May 13, 2023 | ||
26,612 | Kjersti Dorotea Gullaksen | May 13, 2023 | ||
26,611 | Isabel Rowe | May 13, 2023 | ||
26,610 | Emily Ford | May 12, 2023 | ||
26,609 | Fabienne Raissle | May 12, 2023 | ||
26,608 | Macha Roesink | Rhizome & Soil | May 10, 2023 | |
26,607 | Holly Rawlings | May 10, 2023 | ||
26,606 | clea cornet | May 09, 2023 | ||
26,605 | Michelle Harvey-Hyde | May 08, 2023 | ||
26,604 | Nedra Eldridge | May 06, 2023 | ||
26,603 | Fondy Zande | May 06, 2023 | ||
26,602 | Sarah Tarmey | May 03, 2023 | ||
26,601 | Ola O | Apr 30, 2023 | ||
26,600 | kim davis | Apr 28, 2023 | ||
26,599 | Alex Narracott | Much Better Adventures | Apr 28, 2023 | |
26,598 | Kate Foster | Apr 27, 2023 | ||
26,597 | Bekindman Dontbemankind | Apr 27, 2023 | ||
26,596 | Edward Sanders | Apr 26, 2023 | ||
26,595 | Theresa Taplin | Apr 24, 2023 | ||
26,594 | Guillermina BORGHI | Apr 23, 2023 | ||
26,593 | Sandra de Witt | 2 Mokolo | Apr 22, 2023 | |
26,592 | Alana Hendrickson | Apr 21, 2023 | ||
26,591 | Bianca Steyn | Sanctuary retreats | Apr 18, 2023 | |
26,590 | Kathryn Wills | Apr 16, 2023 | ||
26,589 | Pauline Fallon | Apr 16, 2023 | ||
26,588 | David Pedersen | Apr 16, 2023 | ||
26,587 | Lexus Williams | Apr 15, 2023 | ||
26,586 | James Frank | Apr 15, 2023 | ||
26,585 | Mathilde Dhjan | Apr 14, 2023 | ||
26,584 | Anna Simmons | Apr 13, 2023 | ||
26,583 | Blue Truth | Apr 12, 2023 | ||
26,582 | diana zaheu | greenpeace | Apr 11, 2023 | |
26,581 | Fran Fitzgerald | Apr 10, 2023 | ||
26,580 | Judy Carmick | Apr 08, 2023 | ||
26,579 | Ruth Ridgewell | None | Apr 08, 2023 | |
26,578 | Nicole Hannig | Apr 07, 2023 | ||
26,577 | Meagan Romeo | Apr 05, 2023 | ||
26,576 | Gerald Hallead | Apr 05, 2023 | ||
26,575 | Jim Loveland | Apr 04, 2023 | ||
26,574 | Mokoya Mokoya | The Okavango Delta of Botswana fb page owner | Apr 04, 2023 | |
26,573 | Mark Pezzati | Apr 04, 2023 | ||
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Image Credits
Cover Photo: Frans Lanting
Carousel: The Women’s Leadership Centre, Windhoek; Cory Richards
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