Botswana’s decision to grant a mining license to a Canadian company to explore oil and gas in the iconic Okavango Delta is the subject of
parallel investigations by a Canadian Ombudsman and United States legislators, Sunday Standard investigations have revealed.
The investigation by Canada follows a recent petition presented before the Canadian Parliament by Member of Parliament Elizabeth May on behalf of petitioners who identified themselves as concerned Canadian citizens. The petition states that the Canadian-based company, ReconAfrica, is engaging in oil and gas exploration and potential hydraulic fracturing in the protected Kavango Basin region of Namibia and Botswana and that the Kavango Basin region is a biodiversity hotspot with conservation areas and parks, wildlife reserves, the Okavango Delta and the Tsodilo Hills, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
“The ReconAfrica project poses threats to the human rights of the indigenous San people of Southern Africa and local Namibian and Botswana citizens. Local people have reported respiratory problems such as asthma, sinusitis and other conditions after years of inhaling dust from nearby mining activity,” the petition states.
“By failing to act, the petitioners said, Canada will undermine various international commitments signed for the purposes of protecting the Okavango Delta and the local inhabitants of the region.
The petition further states that, “We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: Investigate the complaints coming from concerned Namibians, Botswana citizens, environmentalists, global citizens, and the San people of southern Africa regarding ReconAfrica’s project in the Kavango Basin region.”
The petitioners also call for adequate funding and equipping of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) to properly conduct this investigation and respond to these types of complaints.
They also want their Government to ensure that CORE reports on their findings, recommends the appropriate remedy for abuses and monitor their implementation; and provide a response that clearly explains how the Kavango basin region and the people of Botswana and Namibia will be protected and respected by Canadian companies operating in the region.
Members of the United States Congress have also called for an investigation into Okavango oil exploration.
According to National Geographic, two members of the United States Congress have sent a plea to the secretary of state, the attorney general, and other top officials urging a “thorough and coordinated investigation” into concerns raised by a series of articles by the publication about oil and gas exploration in southern Africa’s spectacular and delicate Okavango region.
It says ReconAfrica has licenses to explore in a 13,200-square-mile area in Namibia and Botswana, including part of the vital watershed of the Okavango Delta, one of the largest inland deltas in the world. The delta’s ecosystem is a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site. Its watershed supports more than a million people and bountiful wildlife, from lions, giraffes, and slaty egrets to African wild dogs and the world’s largest remaining population of endangered savanna elephants.
National Geographic reported that in the letter dated June 16, 2021, and shared with the publication Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, reportedly cited five articles by the publication during the past months as source material for their call for an investigation by the US federal agencies.
A spokesperson for ReconAfrica said: “We sincerely believe that the region’s stable energy industry can be developed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner that is accountable and supports the development and delivery of much-needed economic and social benefits, as well as funding investments in local wildlife and ecological conservation.
“We are committed to continuing to work closely with, and under the direct oversight of, the governments in both countries, as well as their regional and traditional authorities, to ensure we continue to comply with relevant laws and regulations throughout all the stages of our operation.
“ReconAfrica is exploring in Namibia and Botswana at the invitation of the national governments. In Namibia, ReconAfrica has a joint operating agreement with the state-owned oil-and-gas company, NAMCOR. Ultimately, the people of Namibia and Botswana, through their traditional authorities, elected governments, and regulatory agencies, will determine how they will manage their natural resources.”
Sunday Standard reported recently that UNESCO warned Botswana that it was concerned, “about the granting of oil exploration licenses in environmentally sensitive areas within the Okavango River basin in north-western Botswana and north-eastern Namibia that could result in potential negative impact on the property in case of spills or pollution.”
In a report that this publication quoted, UNESCO warned that, “The granting of oil exploration licenses in Botswana and Namibia is of significant concern. While the licensed areas do not overlap with the property or its buffer zone, they are situated in environmentally sensitive areas of CORB, with a potential negative impact on the property in case of spills or pollution.”
In a previous interview with Sunday Standard, the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for minerals, Mmetla Masire said that the exploration licence on its own does not give the company the right to drill as the Environmental Assessment Act requires that all trans-boundary projects, and prospecting and exploration for oil, coalbed methane, natural gas, heavy metals and radioactive minerals must be subjected to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to commencement.
“Therefore, in the case of Reconnaissance Energy Botswana’s exploration licence, such an assessment is yet to be undertaken. To this end, Reconnaissance Energy Botswana cannot undertake any invasive exploration work for oil and gas under their current licence, until they have done an EIA and it has been approved: undertaking an EIA is part of the work programme for their exploration licence and is scheduled for in the third year of the programme of Work,” he said.
Reports also indicate that Prince Harry has warned that the ongoing oil drilling in Botswana and Namibia would lead to irreversible and devastating damage to the environment which supports the livelihoods of more than one million people. He said this in an opinion article published in the Washington Post in which Prince Harry added that the search for oil would only enrich a few.
