Those with a vested interest

This post will just be another brief introductory post about the various stakeholders who have an interest and share the waters of the Okavango.

The Stakeholders:

There are three main stakeholders who rely on the Okavango River – Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Water abstraction from the river are unequal as Angola requires 51.4%, Namibia abstracts 39.1 % and Botswana 9.5% (FAO, 2015).

Angola-

There are 5 main ethnic groups who live in different parts of the basin: the Umbundo, Ganguela, Lunda-Tchokwe, Ambó and Xindonga (OKACOM, n/d). Other than the Ambó and Xindonga groups who are cattle farmers, the other communities practice traditional farming techniques. In the Ganguela community around 50% of them live in the basin – the highest proportion compared to the other ethnic groups (OKACOM, n/d).

Namibia-

Similarly there are 5 different communities that occupy the river basin from the West to East. The Kwangali and Mbunza groups make up 50% of the basin population. The other 3 main groups are the Shabyu, Gciriku and Mbukushu (OKACOM, n/d). The Bugakw group use traditional methods to catch fish, hunt and gather wild plant and the Xanekwe settlements heavily rely on the river for tier resources (OKACOM, n/d).

Botswana-

There are three main ethic societies who live near the river (Bahambukushu, Bayeyi and Batawana) whilst in the delta there are five separate ethnic groups who, like most of these communities, have their own languages and cultural traditions.

In all three stakeholder countries the traditional use of the river by different ethnic groups may lead to conflict especially if climate change and population growth means there is an increased demand but a reduced supply. Clashes between different communities over water are not uncommon for example, in Nigeria due to damming upstream in the Hadejia-Jama’are rivers’ reduced river flow caused tension between local farmers and nomadic pastoralists as farming became more difficult and so the grazing by cattle caused more damage than in the past.

The varying uses of the Okavango by its riparians may also cause conflict as a growing population may want to use the water for urban supply but nations who have a strong tourism industry based on the river and delta may need water levels to remain the same. International stakeholder may also have a vested interest  in the river for example tour-operators who plan recreational activities based on the river and even conservation groups such as WWF who may argue against upstream dams in order to protect the biodiversity found in the delta. 

Traditional fishing methods along the Okavango (source: National Geographic)