The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has called Botswana out following government’s controversial decision to award an oil drilling license in the Okavango Delta and Tsodilo Hill area to a Canadian based company without going through the UN agency.
Both Tsodilo Hill and the Okavango delta are UNESCO heritage sites. The UN agency aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture has expressed concern that Botswana may have breached its Organisational Guidelines (OGs) by going behind their back to grant the license to Reconnaissance Energy Africa to start exploration in the Okavango River Basin.
Environmentalists have expressed concern that the oil drilling could have an impact on the Okavango Delta watercourses and wildlife.
The Namibian Government has also issued a similar license to the company to start drilling for oil in the Kavango Basin area which shares watercourses with the Okavango Delta.
Conservationists who are pushing back against the controversial decision have alerted UNESCO to the possible impact the oil drilling could have on the Okavango River Basin which flows into the Okavango Delta.
Responding to Sunday Standard queries, UNESCO Chief of Unit, Guy Debonnet explained that following reports that explorations was underway in the areas nearby the Okavango Delta, UNESCO wrote letters in November 2020 to the authorities of Botswana and Namibia, to request more information on the reported planned oil exploration activities and to remind them of paragraph 172 of the OGs.
Under the paragraph State Parties to the Convention are expected to inform the World Heritage Committee as soon as possible through the World Heritage Centre about any intention to undertake or authorize projects which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse.
The Okavango Delta which is one of the most iconic natural areas in the world was listed as 1000th World site by UNESCO in 2014. The delta is home to some of the most threatened large mammals such as the cheetah, the white and black rhinos, the wild dog and sustains more than 130 000 elephants as well as endangered vultures. Treading with caution as the issue is a sensitive matter and fearing an international backlash, the government took a decision to review the license.
While UNESCO confirmed that it was monitoring how the exploration was likely to impact the Okavango Delta, the United Nations agency forced Botswana and the company to amend the license which encompassed another listed heritage site-The Tsodilo Hills.
“The State Parties were also reminded of the need to ensure that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), including an assessment of potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, be undertaken and shared with the Centre for review by IUCN before initiating any exploration activity. In follow up to this letter, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre also convened a meeting with the Permanent Delegates of the Republic of Botswana and Namibia to UNESCO on 26 November 2020,” he said.
Debonnet further explained that during this meeting, the Delegates reiterated their countries’ commitment to the World Heritage Convention and their guarantee not to undertake any measures that might directly or indirectly impact negatively the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of any World Heritage properties.
“The Botswana Delegation certified its agreement with the company to varying the licensed area in order to exclude the Tsodilo Hills World Heritage site, which was previously erroneously included. This information was later confirmed by letter. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre will continue the dialogue with both States Parties in order to ensure the protection of the OUV of the World Heritage sites of Tsodilo and the Okavango Delta.”
He added that “The UNESCO World Heritage Centre will continue the dialogue with both States Parties in order to ensure the protection of the OUV of the World Heritage sites of Tsodilo and the Okavango Delta.”
Debonnet further explained that the World Heritage Convention as per procedure invites the States Parties to the Convention to inform it, through the World Heritage Centre and as soon as possible, any intention to undertake projects, which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the property before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse.
“The procedures also foresee that the World Heritage Centre can request the States Parties information on such projects on the basis of third-party information, as happened here,” said Debonnet.
He said the States Parties of Botswana and Namibia provided assurances that they will keep the World Heritage Centre informed on all future steps. The State of Conservation of the Okavango Delta will also be discussed at the upcoming session of the World Heritage Committee in June-July 2021 and the Committee is likely to provide further guidance on this to the States Parties in its Decision on the property.
For his part, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Green Technology acknowledged receipt of a questionnaire from the Sunday Standard but had not responded at the time of going to press.
In a statement, Reconnaissance energy Africa stated that it recognizes and accepts the importance of pertinent cultural and historical sites. “As a direct result of our collaborative process, the Republic of Botswana has now issued an updated License to RencoAfrica excluding RencoAfrica‘s entire Core and Buffer areas of the Tsodilo Hills.” The company described itself as a junior oil and gas company engaged in the opening of the newly discovered deep Kavango Sedimentary Basin, in northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana where it holds petroleum licenses comprising approximately 8.5 million contiguous acres.
