BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE SITUATION- a thread🧵 Did you know that Canadian fossil fuel company ReconAfrica is trying to drill for oil in the sensitive Okavango watershed, upstream of the world-famous #OkavangoDelta ?
ReconAfrica is a Canadian-registered junior oil and gas company that wants to open up a huge, new sedimentary basin in Namibia and Botswana called the Kavango Basin. They have started exploratory drilling in the Kavango region in northeastern Namibia. MAP @NatGeo
ReconAfrica’s license areas, one in #Namibia and one in #Botswana, cover a total of 34,325 sq kms. These licensed areas lie over part of the Okavango River Basin and border the Okavango River, which together feed into the Okavango Delta. un.org/Depts/Cartogra…
The Okavango Delta is a large inland delta located in Botswana in the Kalahari Desert. It is an incredibly unique and delicate ecosystem and is a key habitat of many threatened species, including the largest remaining population of the endangered African savanna #elephant.
The Okavango Delta has a particularly special hydrology which makes it one of the most biodiverse places in Africa and the world, and a vital resource for the people in the region.
At the height of the dry season, rain that has flowed all the way from the Angolan highlands, through the Okavango River, expands the Okavango Delta, transforming the desert landscape and providing a much needed oasis for people and wildlife.
It is one of the seven natural wonders of Africa and is the location of one of the greatest displays of wildlife on Earth. Thousands of animals have adapted to time their arrival as the water floods in. Countless wildlife and people depend on it.
The Okavango Delta is a @UNESCO World Heritage Site and a @RamsarConv Wetland of International Importance. According to @IUCN, it is “a site of global importance for biological conservation and diversity”
It hosts 130 different species of mammals, 482 species of birds, 89 species of fish, 64 species of reptiles, and 1061 species of plants. These include the most familiar African mammals like elephants, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos, rhinos, zebras, wildebeest etc #KavangoAlive
ReconAfrica’s plans to open up the Kavango Basin for oil production threaten this irreplaceable ecosystem. We must #StopReconAfrica! #SaveOkavangoDelta #KavangoAlive
For some more information on the Okavango Delta, see:
nature.org/en-us/magazine…
whc.unesco.org/en/list/1432/
iucn.org/theme/species/…
@nature_org @UNESCO @IUCN
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