Conservation and Protection of the Cubango-Okavango Basin in Southern Africa

Posted in : Podcast on 5 June 2022

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.

Listen to CIWA’s Senior Water Management Specialist, Aleix Capdevilla, to know more on this region of Southern Africa and discover how CIWA is supporting the transboundary water cooperation in Cubango/Okavango River Basin and to better understand the importance of preservation and conservation in that region.