Cubango-Okavango Basin Sustaining a Crucial Water Source for the Living

Posted in : Latest on 11 May 2023

The environmental integrity and long-term protection of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin depend on addressing the underlying drivers of poverty. Accelerated environmental changes in the basin are largely driven by four factors – population dynamics, land use change, poverty, and climate change – leading to deterioration in water quality, changes in the flood pulse and diminishing biota. The near pristine nature of the basin is a product of the relatively low level of economic development within the basin – the result of a complex geo-political history and the fact that the basin populations are remote relative to the countries’ capital cities and main centers of economic activity. CIWA’s Cubango-Okavango Livelihood Enhancement Program is to support the Multisector Investment Opportunities Analysis used to develop long-term investment and livelihood improvement programs. There is an ongoing support for developing the next phase following MSIOA. The anticipated benefit for the region would be: Increased income, access to water, sanitation and sustainable energy, actions to address hunger and disease, and promotion of gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.