* CORB aims to enhance livelihoods * Basin threatened by proposed large-scale projects, irrigation schemes, hydroelectric power dams
The secretariat of the Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) based in Gaborone is embarking on a novel and ambitious multi country fundraising initiative named Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB).
The CORB aims to enhance the livelihoods, improve ecosystem resilience, and provide equitable benefits to the riparian states of Angola, Botswana and Namibia in their shared river basin.
A report named Cubango- Okavango River Basin (CORB) Fund; Value Proposition shows that these are assessed in the context of two distinct development scenarios that would lead to environmental degradation and
persistent poverty, while the Resilient Scenario would address ecological threats, protect natural resources and biodiversity, and provide socioeconomic benefits to over a million people who depend on this unique ecosystem.
The CORB is a transboundary basin with a network of river systems traversing through Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It comprises a network of rivers whose head waters are in the Angolan highlands where Cuito and Cubango rivers originate.
The CORB has approximately 700 000 square kilometers yet its rivers, water courses, swamps, and aquifers derive their principal flow from 120 000 square kilometers of sub-humid and semi-arid rangeland in the Cuando Cubango province of Angola.
The Cubango-Okavango stretches approximately 1,100 kilometers and is drained by the Cubango also referred as Kavango in Namibia and Okavango in Botswana. The Cubango-Okavango River forms the boundary of the Namibia and Angola, and on its own stretch is joined by the main tributary, the Cuito, before through the panhandle as it enters Botswana and spills into the Okavango Delta
The CORB’s low human population density, numerous habitat types, and the intact ecosystems support thousands of species of plants and animals, making it one of the most important areas for biodiversity conservation in the world.
Critically the basin also supports the livelihoods of over a million people who directly rely on its natural resources and ecosystem services. The Okavango Delta is the best known feature of CORB. It is one of the largest and most pristine wetlands anywhere.
The rich biodiversity, land and water resources of the Basin, in particular its wetlands, channels, riparian woodlands and adjacent dryland woodlands, form the basis of the critical ecosystem services that underpin the socio economic development and livelihoods of rural communities within the basin, as well as for millions of people living downstream.
The Executive summary of the document states that CORB is still relatively underdeveloped. The 30 Years Civil war in Angola significantly hindered economic development in the upper catchment, yet now with a more stable political landscape in Angola, significant economic development is expected.
Several large-scale projects, including extensive irrigation schemes and hydroelectric power dams, have been proposed. These could significantly affect hydrological flows and water quality within Basin, and lead to further population growth, infrastructure development and land use changes.
Impacts from poorly planned or executed agricultural and energy development projects would exacerbate worrisome trends related to an array of existing, interrelated threats to the fragile CORB ecosystem.
Over the past 20 years, more than 200 000 hectares of forest have been lost, and some 830 000 hectares of forest have been degraded, due to the commercial logging.
This is equivalent to 67000 football fields worth of forest each year, and over 1.3 million football fields in total. Given the current trends, an additional 105, 000 hectares could disappear in the upper in the upper Okavango Basin over the next 30 years. Forest loss of this magnitude would seriously undermine the CORB’s ability to its inhabitants, the riparian states, and the globe.
Additionally, if major upper basin development projects, including the hydroelectric dams, irrigation schemes and water supply diversions, do not implement necessary safeguards, they would negatively impact long term social economic benefits and threaten the continued viability of the CORB ecosystem.
The Health of the Okavango Delta depends on the duration and depth of seasonal flooding, as well as on the frequency of the flooding events over time. The transition areas between biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate, evolves year to year, and from decade to decade.
This evolution is an essential, defining characteristic of the Delta. It determines the health of the entire ecosystems because it affects primary productivity and core ecosystems functions such as carbon cycling.
The CORB’s larger populations of herbivorous ungulates, including the Basin’s iconic giraffes, hippos and rhinos as well as numerous water dependent bird species owe their existence to the ever-evolving mixture of wetland
and dryland habitats made possible by regular flooding and consistently changing water.
Under the business-as-usual scenario, floodplain areas in the Angolan catchment below the Mucundi Hydroelectric power (HEP) Dam on the Cubango- Okavango River would likely deteriorate due to hydrological alteration of flows downstream of the dam.
The project 26b percent loss of floodplain area would undermine riverbank and floodplain recession farming as well as rural livelihoods from reed harvesting and subsistence fishing.
The data also shows that seasonally flooded grassland and sedgeland, which provide crucial dry season forage for livestock and wildlife, serve as breeding habitant for fish populations, and replenish groundwater, could
decrease by as much as 18 percent.
Other major threats include uncontrolled fires, over harvesting over fishing, and climate change. Inadequate natural resources management and widespread poverty among the Basin’s growing population compound these threats, placing tremendous pressures on the natural resources and negatively impacting biodiversity.
Collectively, these threats impact heavily on the habitants of the CORB who also must contend with the growing unpredictability of the impact of climate change, including potential drying and increasing rainfall variability.
The report states that fortunately OKACOM’s member states recognise that poverty and environmental degradation are inextricably linked, and that the well-planned development and sustainable land use practices will protect critical natural land use practices will protect critical natural resources and enhance the livelihoods and wellbeing of the over a million people who directly depend on the CORBs natural resources and the ecological services they supply.
Under the Resilient Development Scenario, the CORB Fund would make crucial investments in social and environmental interventions that protect globally important biodiversity, build more resilient communities in the face of climate change, and promote the kinds of livelihoods and socioeconomic development that are articulated in the CORB Strategic Action Programme (SAP).
The report further states that the Value Proposition demonstrates a clear economic basis for the Resilient Development investments that blend lower impact, ecological infrastructure investments, tourism development and livelihood development interventions with traditional, well sited, conventional infrastructure in a way that, that through calculated trade-offs, could optimise delivery of the desired development outcomes while safeguarding the vital ecological assists.
The over 30-year analysis period shows that the Fund’s socially and environmentally focused interventions would have a combined Return of Investment (ROI) of 7 to 1 meaning that for every dollar spent on the Resilient Development communities in the basin will accrue USD7 worth of benefits.
The report states that now, for transforming the shared vision, for the CORB Fund, into reality requires the continued dedication of the member states and the government agencies to be mandated with the sustainability of developing the basin.
It also depends on expanding public and private support from the stakeholders who rely on the CORB as the essential ecosystem services it supplies. Importantly, it depends on securing purposeful investments by development partners and private capital providers who share developed CORB Fund’s vision of enhanced livelihoods of, improved ecosystem resilience and equitable benefits for Angola, Botswana and Namibia.
The CORB aims to enhance the livelihoods, improve ecosystem resilience, and provide equitable benefits to the riparian states of Angola, Botswana and Namibia in their shared river basin.
A report named Cubango- Okavango River Basin (CORB) Fund; Value Proposition shows that these are assessed in the context of two distinct development scenarios that would lead to environmental degradation and
persistent poverty, while the Resilient Scenario would address ecological threats, protect natural resources and biodiversity, and provide socioeconomic benefits to over a million people who depend on this unique ecosystem.
The CORB is a transboundary basin with a network of river systems traversing through Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It comprises a network of rivers whose head waters are in the Angolan highlands where Cuito and Cubango rivers originate.
The CORB has approximately 700 000 square kilometers yet its rivers, water courses, swamps, and aquifers derive their principal flow from 120 000 square kilometers of sub-humid and semi-arid rangeland in the Cuando Cubango province of Angola.
The Cubango-Okavango stretches approximately 1,100 kilometers and is drained by the Cubango also referred as Kavango in Namibia and Okavango in Botswana. The Cubango-Okavango River forms the boundary of the Namibia and Angola, and on its own stretch is joined by the main tributary, the Cuito, before through the panhandle as it enters Botswana and spills into the Okavango Delta
The CORB’s low human population density, numerous habitat types, and the intact ecosystems support thousands of species of plants and animals, making it one of the most important areas for biodiversity conservation in the world.
Critically the basin also supports the livelihoods of over a million people who directly rely on its natural resources and ecosystem services. The Okavango Delta is the best known feature of CORB. It is one of the largest and most pristine wetlands anywhere.
The rich biodiversity, land and water resources of the Basin, in particular its wetlands, channels, riparian woodlands and adjacent dryland woodlands, form the basis of the critical ecosystem services that underpin the socio economic development and livelihoods of rural communities within the basin, as well as for millions of people living downstream.
The Executive summary of the document states that CORB is still relatively underdeveloped. The 30 Years Civil war in Angola significantly hindered economic development in the upper catchment, yet now with a more stable political landscape in Angola, significant economic development is expected.
Several large-scale projects, including extensive irrigation schemes and hydroelectric power dams, have been proposed. These could significantly affect hydrological flows and water quality within Basin, and lead to further population growth, infrastructure development and land use changes.
Impacts from poorly planned or executed agricultural and energy development projects would exacerbate worrisome trends related to an array of existing, interrelated threats to the fragile CORB ecosystem.
Over the past 20 years, more than 200 000 hectares of forest have been lost, and some 830 000 hectares of forest have been degraded, due to the commercial logging.
This is equivalent to 67000 football fields worth of forest each year, and over 1.3 million football fields in total. Given the current trends, an additional 105, 000 hectares could disappear in the upper in the upper Okavango Basin over the next 30 years. Forest loss of this magnitude would seriously undermine the CORB’s ability to its inhabitants, the riparian states, and the globe.
Additionally, if major upper basin development projects, including the hydroelectric dams, irrigation schemes and water supply diversions, do not implement necessary safeguards, they would negatively impact long term social economic benefits and threaten the continued viability of the CORB ecosystem.
The Health of the Okavango Delta depends on the duration and depth of seasonal flooding, as well as on the frequency of the flooding events over time. The transition areas between biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate, evolves year to year, and from decade to decade.
This evolution is an essential, defining characteristic of the Delta. It determines the health of the entire ecosystems because it affects primary productivity and core ecosystems functions such as carbon cycling.
The CORB’s larger populations of herbivorous ungulates, including the Basin’s iconic giraffes, hippos and rhinos as well as numerous water dependent bird species owe their existence to the ever-evolving mixture of wetland
and dryland habitats made possible by regular flooding and consistently changing water.
Under the business-as-usual scenario, floodplain areas in the Angolan catchment below the Mucundi Hydroelectric power (HEP) Dam on the Cubango- Okavango River would likely deteriorate due to hydrological alteration of flows downstream of the dam.
The project 26b percent loss of floodplain area would undermine riverbank and floodplain recession farming as well as rural livelihoods from reed harvesting and subsistence fishing.
The data also shows that seasonally flooded grassland and sedgeland, which provide crucial dry season forage for livestock and wildlife, serve as breeding habitant for fish populations, and replenish groundwater, could
decrease by as much as 18 percent.
Other major threats include uncontrolled fires, over harvesting over fishing, and climate change. Inadequate natural resources management and widespread poverty among the Basin’s growing population compound these threats, placing tremendous pressures on the natural resources and negatively impacting biodiversity.
Collectively, these threats impact heavily on the habitants of the CORB who also must contend with the growing unpredictability of the impact of climate change, including potential drying and increasing rainfall variability.
The report states that fortunately OKACOM’s member states recognise that poverty and environmental degradation are inextricably linked, and that the well-planned development and sustainable land use practices will protect critical natural land use practices will protect critical natural resources and enhance the livelihoods and wellbeing of the over a million people who directly depend on the CORBs natural resources and the ecological services they supply.
Under the Resilient Development Scenario, the CORB Fund would make crucial investments in social and environmental interventions that protect globally important biodiversity, build more resilient communities in the face of climate change, and promote the kinds of livelihoods and socioeconomic development that are articulated in the CORB Strategic Action Programme (SAP).
The report further states that the Value Proposition demonstrates a clear economic basis for the Resilient Development investments that blend lower impact, ecological infrastructure investments, tourism development and livelihood development interventions with traditional, well sited, conventional infrastructure in a way that, that through calculated trade-offs, could optimise delivery of the desired development outcomes while safeguarding the vital ecological assists.
The over 30-year analysis period shows that the Fund’s socially and environmentally focused interventions would have a combined Return of Investment (ROI) of 7 to 1 meaning that for every dollar spent on the Resilient Development communities in the basin will accrue USD7 worth of benefits.
The report states that now, for transforming the shared vision, for the CORB Fund, into reality requires the continued dedication of the member states and the government agencies to be mandated with the sustainability of developing the basin.
It also depends on expanding public and private support from the stakeholders who rely on the CORB as the essential ecosystem services it supplies. Importantly, it depends on securing purposeful investments by development partners and private capital providers who share developed CORB Fund’s vision of enhanced livelihoods of, improved ecosystem resilience and equitable benefits for Angola, Botswana and Namibia.
