Drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change leading to more erratic rainfall patterns and water abstraction and diversion for development and commercial agriculture, has altered the landscape that Kgetho, and so many other people and wildlife species, rely on.
In Africa's Okavango delta, drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change leading to more erratic rainfall patterns and water abstraction and diversion for development and commercial agriculture, has altered the landscape that so many people and wildlife species rely on. The delta’s defenders are now hoping to block at least one of those threats oil exploration. A planned hearing by Namibia’s environment ministry will consider revoking the drilling license of oil and gas firm ReconAfrica. Local communities and environmental groups claimed that land was bulldozed and cut through without their permission. In a statement the company said it is “applying rigorous safety and environmental protection standards” and has held over 700 community consultations.
Gobonamang Kgetho has a deep affection for Africa’s largest inland delta, the Okavango. It is his home. The water and wildlife-rich land is fed by rivers in the Angolan highlands that flow into northern Botswana before draining into Namibia’s Kalahari Desert sands. Several Indigenous and local communities and a vast array of species including African…