Oil exploration is once again threatening biodiversity in Africa. This time the threat extends to the south of the continent. In the Okavango Basin, Reconnaissance Africa (ReconAfrica) will conduct explorations on two concessions covering more than 35,000 km2. The company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, has secured these concessions from the governments of Botswana and Namibia.
But the prospect of oil exploitation in the region does not sit well with the environmental protection organisations, which are now against the project. “Fracking and drilling for oil, which can impact sensitive ecosystems such as the vast Okavango Basin, can be detrimental not only to local communities, but also to a wide variety of flora and fauna,” says Frack Free Namibia, which has just launched an online petition.
The organisation has also teamed up with Fridays for Future Windhoek and Eden to write to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the governments of Canada and Botswana, and the Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Mines. The objective is to raise awareness of the likely consequences of oil exploration in the Okavango River Basin. Read more…
