WINDHOEK (CU)_Canadian oil and gas company ReconAfrica recently licensed drilling areas in more than 34,000sq km of land in Southern Africa which overlap with the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area, one of the region’s last wildernesses. Moreover, the project is expected to affect the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as a large part of the licensed exploration areas fall within the Okavango River Basin which flows into the inland river delta. While it is home to about 200,000 people, it also supports the world’s largest remaining population of savanna elephants, and other endangered species such as rhinos, pangolins and wild dogs.
Accordingly, environmental campaigners have demanded that the project be halted since it is expected to threaten already endangered animals, damage the environment, and cause destruction to the delta’s ecosystem, while also posing a risk to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.
Now, the matter has gained the attention of the international community, as some prominent foreign officials have raised concerns over the matter. Last month, US Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry called for a government investigation into project under the Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals (DELTA) Act. Introduced in December 2018, the legislation directs the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development to work with Botswana, Namibia, Angola and neighbouring countries over the protection of the greater Okavango River Basin.
On the other hand, UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has emphasised the impact the project would have on hundreds of working farms that are located within the drilling area. It is “far from transparent how, or indeed if, these communities are being consulted,” the group said in a recent press release.
According to EIA, the public consultations on the matter have been conducted either in person or online, although a vast majority of the communities that will be affected by ReconAfrica’s project have no access to internet, while COVID-19 restricted travelling and public gatherings. Moreover, the meetings that did take place were conducted in English, which is not the first language to most locals. “It is unclear whether their voices are being heard,” the NGO said.
Although the licences for drilling area was granted in 2015, concerns over the project have grown over the past 18 months, after it was disclosed that in its promotions to investors, ReconAfrica suggested the possibility of fracking being used. The process, which involves blasting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks to extract oil and gas, is banned in many countries.
