Through support from various International Cooperating Partners which include the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU), the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) Strategic Action Plan (SAP) 2018-2022 was implemented.
Then followed the Resilient Water’s Program (RWP); a five-year (2018-2023) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded program implemented by Chemonics International with associated partners, Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST), Chemonics International, Inc, Genesis Analytics (Genesis), JG Afrika (JGA) and Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) at the total cost of US$32 million. Its goal is to build more resilient and water secure African communities and ecosystems through improved management of trans-boundary natural resources and increased access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.
The past year, under the theme “25 Years Towards Sustainable Development in the Cubango Okavango River Basin”, OKACOM celebrated silver jubilee of its existence. The celebration was a platform for OKACOM to introspect and reflect with a view to form a re-focused vision for the Commission. This was of great importance as the Commission has evolved from being water conservation-based organisation to a tripartite organisation which advices on resource utilisation based on the development needs and priorities of various stakeholders co-existing and managing the CORB.
Last week, a handover and signing ceremony took place at the OKACOM Secretariat in Gaborone to receive equipment and materials for the five-year European Union-OKACOM (EU-OKACOM) Programme for the Transboundary Water Management of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin.
The equipment handover document was signed by the EU Ambassador to Botswana Jan Sadek and the OKACOM Executive Secretary, Phera Ramoeli. The EU’s support to OKACOM is improving governance within the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) through an enhanced Decision Support System.
The EU procured equipment valued at 2 million Euros to improve water monitoring across the member states of Angola, Botswana and Namibia. The event was also attended by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Land Management, Water and
Sanitation, Bonolo Khumotaka, who also serves as Co-Chairperson for Botswana on the OKACOM Council of Commissioners, on behalf of the three member states.
The transfer includes equipment for eight hydro-meteorological stations within the Basin, water monitoring boats and sediment coring boats, vehicles and ICT equipment to enhance data analysis. The technology will allow OKACOM to gather different streams of data, including water levels, flows, temperatures, biological and chemical water quality, sediment dynamics, and historical patterns of droughts and floods. Collected from water, land and space, this data will feed into an EU-supported Decision Support System to provide science-based advice to policy-makers in the three member states. The ceremony also viewed and recognised a newly refurbished office wing housed at the OKACOM Secretariat which accommodates the EU funded Project Management Unit team.
“The Okavango Delta is a globally important wetland oasis for a myriad of bird species, a World Heritage Site, and one of the most iconic wilderness areas on the planet, “said Jan Sadek.
“But the entire Okavango Basin is under threat from pollution, excess water extraction, deforestation, climate change, and potential oil drilling. The main reasons the EU is supporting OKACOM’s water management programme is to help protect the river, its priceless flora and fauna, and the half a million people who depend on it for their livelihoods, from these serious threats.”
Speaking at the event, the OKACOM Executive Secretary noted that “The objective of the EU support is very much aligned to the OKACOM Strategic Action Plan which looks at promoting and strengthening the integrated, sustainable management, use and development of the Basin’s resources. The member states welcome the opportunity to benefit from this partnership which is well in line with the Basin’s shared vision.”
The programme aims to support strengthening of governance in the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) and promote the sustainable management of the basin’s water and land resources. The EU programme has three key result areas: Improve the Decision Support Systems (DSS) used in the Basin Development Management Framework (BDMF) which will enable OKACOM to provide effective advice to Member States; Strengthen water management through improved water resources data availability and establish an early warning system; and strengthen land management through improved land use planning, reduction of environmental degradation and improved livelihoods.
The Technical Assistance component of the EU -OKACOM Programme was mobilised on 9th April 2018, and the Programme Management Unit established in an office in the OKASEC offices in Gaborone, Botswana.
Sometime in 2012, a legislator for Nkange, Edwin Batshu pleaded with the government to help communities whose livelihoods depend on fishing in the Okavango River.
H said the communities in the area bitterly complain that they are not deriving maximum benefit from the Okavango River while their Namibian counterparts do. The communities according to Batshu are crying out loud that while they are unable to fish during off season periods, their counterparts in Namibia freely go on fishing expeditions in the same river during the off-season period.
When quizzed on how the OKACOM worked with communities within the vicinity of the Basin, OKACOM spokesperson, Nelao Sheila Haimbodi highlighted that several projects are implemented in consultation and cooperation with communities there.
“OKACOM has extensive projects with grassroots communities in the area. There are projects that help with challenges of land management, Conservation agriculture for reduction of soil erosion and several others. Different funders assist financially; such as UNDP, Small Grants Program (SGP), Global Environment Facility (GEF),” said Haimbodi.
Information from the commission’s website indicates that the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) is home to approximately 921,890 people. By 2025, this is projected to increase to more than 1.28 million people, with 62 per cent living in Angola, 16 per cent in Botswana and 22 per cent in Namibia. With the commonly practiced activity to sustain their livelihoods being agriculture, many cattle farmers are present within the CORB.
Agricultural project’s beneficiaries like Chatiwa Gaekgotswe of Latia Farmer testified that a few years ago, she and her family were farming mainly cabbage, maize and tomatoes in the open field farm of 6,4 hectares. Hard times hit when there was a drought which saw water supply from the Thamalakane River drying up.
“The river was dry and we had no means to drill our own well points,” she recalls. This project came at just the right time for us, because we were not coping.” Their farm now serves as demonstration point.
