#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. 

Check out the latest developments here. 

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.
  • Protecting the Okavango from oil and gas drilling is in line with IUCN Resolution 136.
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.

READ MORE

Share with Friends

We’ve created a social toolkit for you to spread the word about protecting the Okavango.

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ALL SIGNATORIES

Latest Signatures
26,102 Silke Bandermann Mar 22, 2023
26,101 Melissa Behrend Mar 20, 2023
26,100 Cindy Lang Mar 19, 2023
26,099 Susan Schmidt Schmidt Family Farms Mar 18, 2023
26,098 Nanna Ståhl Mar 18, 2023
26,097 Rachael Mclellan Mar 18, 2023
26,096 Balazs Latranyi Mar 18, 2023
26,095 Cordula Brockmann Mar 18, 2023
26,094 Cassidy Gee Mar 17, 2023
26,093 Sandy Varndell Mar 17, 2023
26,092 Beth Onan self Mar 17, 2023
26,091 Jacqueline Treutner Travelstoriesforyou Mar 14, 2023
26,090 Friedemann Bernstein Mar 12, 2023
26,089 Stefan Hirsch Mar 09, 2023
26,088 Elsa Van Staden Mar 05, 2023
26,087 Alessandra Sgarbossa Legambiente Medio Brenta (Veneto regione) Mar 04, 2023
26,086 Rheanna McCollum Mar 04, 2023
26,085 Torben Kragsbjerg Mar 01, 2023
26,084 Alexis Turner Feb 23, 2023
26,083 Anita Collins Feb 23, 2023
26,082 Natali DiCaprio DiCaprio Enterprises Feb 22, 2023
26,081 Claire Fabre créatrice et habilleuse Feb 22, 2023
26,080 Keetah Nicole Konstant Feb 22, 2023
26,079 Abir ELTAIEF Feb 22, 2023
26,078 Gaëlle Guérin Feb 22, 2023
26,077 Isabel Fitzmann Feb 22, 2023
26,076 Chen GuanHuei Feb 22, 2023
26,075 Daniela Böhme private Feb 22, 2023
26,074 Toni Achey Feb 22, 2023
26,073 Alex Armando Cárdenas Medina Feb 22, 2023
26,072 Reena Doss Author Feb 22, 2023
26,071 Kendell Gruendell Feb 22, 2023
26,070 Michael Marcoux Feb 22, 2023
26,069 Lis Addison The Singing Tree Institute Feb 12, 2023
26,068 Rhys King Feb 10, 2023
26,067 bryan kirshon Zoological Feb 07, 2023
26,066 Marla Katz Feb 07, 2023
26,065 Julia Böning Feb 06, 2023
26,064 Abrielle Mannino Rollins College Feb 03, 2023
26,063 Olivier de Froberville Feb 01, 2023
26,062 Margot Semonite Feb 01, 2023
26,061 Tom Johnson Feb 01, 2023
26,060 Romana Dlasková Jan 31, 2023
26,059 Tiffany Lee Jan 31, 2023
26,058 Vanessa Brown BLK to Nature Jan 31, 2023
26,057 Sreejit Bakshi Prowl Of Nature Jan 31, 2023
26,056 DeAnna Park Jan 31, 2023
26,055 Jane Jenkins Jan 31, 2023
26,054 Carla Winterbottom Jan 31, 2023
26,053 Alessandro Durando Jan 30, 2023
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Image Credits
Cover Photo: Frans Lanting
Carousel: The Women’s Leadership Centre, Windhoek; Cory Richards

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