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Protecting the Cubango-Okavango River to support livelihoods

Now CIWA is funding the preparation of a and trees for energy has led to of. And it’s important that, while
livelihoods program as part of its deforestation and degradation, Molefi countries commit to working together
support to the RCRP. The project will says. It could also support expansion toward conservation of the resource,
build on existing initiatives to provide and replication of the demonstration they also ensure that benefits accrue to
short-term interventions and deliver climate-smart horticulture livelihoods the people.”
relatively quick returns over projects with access to markets.
three-to-five years. This will “This support from CIWA to build this
demonstrate the proof of concept for a “What is important,” Molefi says, “is the program is critical,” Molefi adds. “And it’s
longer-term sustained livelihoods long-term sustainability of the resource also coming at the right time, when
initiative. and enhanced livelihoods options that OKACOM has completed the
support the co-existence of human and implementation of the demonstration
CIWA’s Bank-executed grant has three natural resources of the CORB. It is our project, which provides good lessons
components. First, it will develop a responsibility, as managers of OKACOM, learned for possible replication under
program to prioritize pro-poor and to ensure that the people are taken care the CIWA support.”
resilient investments and assess the
contribution of basin activities to job
creation, economic growth, and
environmental and social well-being that
takes into consideration gender and
social inclusion. Second, it will strengthen
the enabling environment for the The CIWA project will
execution of a long-term livelihoods
program and provide support for the
operations of the CORB Endowment address livelihoods
Fund, a unique entity created to mobilize
resources for livelihoods and sustainable
resource use. Third, it will provide from a climate-
institutional support to the OKACOM
Secretariat to implement the project.
resilience perspective.
Benefits must “accrue to
the people”
he CORB, as elsewhere in Africa,
T
is experiencing extreme rainfall
variability and weather events ranging
from dry spells to floods. The reduction
in the river’s water level in Angola in 2021
and 2022, for example, forced the
suspension of some livelihoods
demonstration projects using
climate-smart agricultural approaches
because there wasn’t enough water for
farmers to grow their vegetables.

The MSIOA found that the Delta is more
sensitive to climate change than other
parts of the Basin, especially to
ecological and biodiversity impacts, and
recommended a focus on mitigation of
a drying climate.

The CIWA project will address
livelihoods from a climate-resilience
perspective. For example, it could
support non-timber options for
livelihoods, as people’s use of charcoal Tracy Molefi working on a community water project project site, Bubisa, Kenya. ©James Origa Otieno

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