Okavango Basin

Abigail Tomasek

Okavango Basin

http://www.okacom.org/okavango.htm

• Approximately 1600 km long

• Majority of basin undeveloped and one of the few “near pristine” rivers in the world

• Only perennial river in Africa that flows eastward without reaching an ocean

Basin Statistics

Percentage of Basin in Country

Percentage of Catchment in Country

Contribution to Streamflow

Population in Basin

Mean Annual Rainfall [mm]

Avg. Max Annual Rainfall [mm]

Angola 28% 48% 94.5% 845,880 865 1320

Namibia 23% 37% 2.9% 144,690 465 595

Botswana 46% 15% 2.6% 122,430 495 570

• Basin area estimates range from 320,000-725,000 km2

• Okavango catchment listed as 413,550 km2 and Basin as 725,293 km2 by OKACOM

Precipitation Distribution

sfrc.ufl.edu/ecohydrology/.../Ecohydrology_Lecture2_F11.pptx

• Rainfall not equally distributed across basin

• Majority of water from rainfall in Angola highlands

• Angola receives three times as much rainfall as Botswana

• Water is limited and in demand

Pictures from the Delta

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2010/mar/04/okavango-delta-floods-of-life#/

Okavango Delta• Largest inland delta• Delta developed in Kalahari depression• Situated in a semi-arid region• Annual inflow ranges between 7-15 km3

• Approximately 97% of inflow lost to ET and seepage• Approximately 3900 km2 are protected as the Moremi Game

Reserve• UNESCO World Heritage tentative list• Supports over 500 species of birds, 150 species of mammals, and 90 species of fish

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51190

Current Issues of the Delta• Growing water demand• Local contamination from chemicals• Invasive species• Increasing elephant population• Clearing the channels• Climate change• Drying of the delta?

http://www.orc.ub.bw/downloads/FS2_drying.pdf

Period Average Annual Rainfall [mm]

Average Annual Inflow [million m3]

1970 – 1979 542 9,909

1980 – 1989 391 9,443

1990 – 1999 380 6,834

Current Water Usage• Angola

– Assuming 350,000 people, expected usage of 6 million m3 annually– Only one dam (40ha) on tributary

• Namibia– 16.5 million m3 per year taken for irrigating 1100 ha, and

approximately 5.5 million m3 for water supply to Rundu and villages

• Botswana– Approximately 2 million m3 annually for Sepupa, Shakawe and

Mahembo– Maun uses 3 million m3 annually but mostly from GW

• Abstractions 41 million m3 annually, about 0.44% of water flowing in Okavango River

Potential Sources of Conflict• Return of refugees to the Angola highlands with

large developmental needs• Failed plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on

Popa Falls along Angola-Namibia border• Failed plans for Namibia’s Eastern National Water Carrier• Water scarcity in area• Botswana’s reliance on the health of the delta

http://www.tripmondo.com/namibia/caprivi/bagani/picture-gallery-of-bagani/

• OKACOM agreement signed in 1994• OKACOM Agreement gives it legal responsibility to:– Determine the long term safe yield of the river basin– Estimate reasonable demand from the consumers– Prepare criteria for conservation, equitable allocation and

sustainable utilization of water– Conduct investigations related to water infrastructure– Recommend pollution prevention measures– Develop measures for the alleviation of short term

difficulties, such as temporary droughts– Address other matters determined by the commission

OKACOM StructureOKACOM Commission

3 commissioners per country

Institution Task Force

Biodiversity Task Force

Hydrology Task Force

Okavango Basin Steering Commission(Angola, Botswana, Namibia)

OKACOM Secretariat(Executive Secretariat)

Direct OKASEC Contractees

Seconded Technical Staff

(Angola, Botswana, Namibia)

“to act as technical advisor to the Contracting Parties (the Governments of the three states) on matters relating to the conservation, development and utilization of the resources of common interest and shall perform such other functions pertaining to the development and utilization of such resources as the Contracting Parties may from time to time agree to assign to the Commission"

Commission's objective:

OKACOM Projects and Partners• Okavango River Basin Water Audit (ORBWA) project

(follow up of EPSMO)• Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program

(SAREP)• Environmental Protection and Sustainable

Management of the Okavango River Basin (GEF-EPSMO)

• The Every River Has Its People Project• The Integrated River Basin Management Project (IRBM)

Accomplishments of OKACOM• Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)– First step of the Environmental Protection and

Sustainable Management of the Okavango Basin (EPSMO) Project

– Designed to identify potential problems based on 3 water use scenarios– Identified river-friendly wealth creation

• Recently started discussions on self-funding the secretariat position

Possible Issues for OKACOM• All decisions during OKACOM meetings made on

basis of consensus, and agreement seems ambiguous as to what happens if consensus not made

• No exact provisions for dispute resolution in the OKACOM agreement

• Member states can leave OKACOM Agreement after providing Member States 6 months notice

• No provisions for benefit sharing• No specified repercussions for going against

agreement

Questions• How should water in a basin be allocated? Angola is expected to

have large developmental needs in the near future, and contributes the majority of the streamflow, but is less water-stressed than Botswana and Namibia. Should this be taken into account?

• How can the countries balance the protection of the Okavango River and delta while still meeting their water demands?

• Do you think OKACOM’s structure is working? Is the lack of development in the basin is because OKACOM’s success, or the political situation in the basin hindering development?

• If protection of the Okavango delta is of global concern, should nations outside the basin be expected to contribute to its preservation?

References• http://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/ce397/Readings/IW_Review_of_Legal_Ins

tl_Frameworks.pdf• http://www.okacom.org/• http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACD456.pdf• http://www.wetlands.org/reports/ris/1BW001_mgtpln.pdf• http://www.greencrossitalia.it/ita/acqua/wfp/pdf/greencrosswfp_okavango.pdf• http://www.orc.ub.bw/downloads/FS2_drying.pdf• http://www.okacom.org/TDA%20Brochure.pdf• http://www.okavango-delta.net/info.htm• http://www.economist.com/node/150959