Gobonamang Kgetho has a deep affection for Africa’s largest inland delta, the Okavango. It is his home.
FILE - Elephants in the Chobe National Park in Botswana on March 3, 2013. In Africa's Okavango delta, drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change, has altered the landscape that so many people and wildlife species rely on. Nearby Chobe National Park has seen a decline in river quality partly due to its burgeoning tourism industry, a study found. –
“The fish sizes have shrunk, and stocks are declining,” Kgetho, whose life and livelihood depends on the health of the ecosystem, told The Associated Press. “The rivers draining into the delta have less volumes of water.” In a written statement, ReconAfrica, the firm's African arm, said it safeguards water resources through “regular monitoring and reporting on hydrological data to the appropriate local, regional and national water authorities” and is “applying rigorous safety and environmental protection standards.”
Locals have persisted with legal avenues but have had little luck. In a separate case, Namibia’s high court postponed a decision on whether local communities should pay up for filing a case opposing the company’s actions. There are similar fears of deterioration across Botswana and the wider region. Much of the country’s diverse ecosystem has been under threat from various development plans. Nearby Chobe National Park, for example, has seen a decline in river quality partly due to its burgeoning tourism industry, a study found.
Sechrest added that “local communities are going to bear the heaviest costs of oil exploration" and “deserve to be properly consulted about any extractive industry projects, including the many likely environmental damages, and decide if those projects are acceptable to them.”
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