By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEW YORK (IDN) \u2014 Drilling companies are on the run\u2014or at least they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A worldwide movement to reduce global warming and protect endangered supplies of water has turned its firepower on the growth of oil well drilling, particularly in areas of precious wildlife preserves in southern Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The movement has captured grassroots environmentalists, church groups and land protectors in Namibia and Botswana who are demanding a halt to drilling in the Okavango Delta\u2014a World Heritage site and a vast inland river delta known for its sprawling grassy plains that flood seasonally, becoming a lush animal habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anglican bishops in Namibia and three archbishops from around the world have expressed their opposition to oil drilling by the Canadian company ReconAfrica, saying it would disrupt the culture and ancestral heritage of the San people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will also negatively affect low-impact eco-tourism, which provides a sustainable income to guides, crafters and artists,\u201d the petition in the online EcoTourism Expert read. \u201cWe call it a sin. To destroy life and God\u2019s creation is simply wicked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Okavango Delta is one of Africa\u2019s most biodiverse habitats, home to a myriad of birds and megafauna species including the largest African elephant population left on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe rejuvenating waters of this complex and beautiful ecosystem are so vast it\u2019s visible from space,\u201d wrote Prince Harry and Reinhold Mangundu, a Namibian environmental activist, in a Washington Post<\/em> editorial that appeared this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Okavango watershed is a natural beating heart that has nourished humans and wildlife in Southern Africa for generations \u2013 and it\u2019s at risk,\u201d the authors warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drilling of boreholes for oil exploration can threaten the ecosystem through potential oil spillage, noise pollution and water contamination, said Jan Arkert, a South African-based engineering geologist with the firm Africa Exposed Consulting Engineering Geologists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven during this first phase, we don\u2019t know how they are going to dispose of their wastewater,\u201d Arkert told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ReconAfrica insists there will be no damage to the ecosystem and denies that its wells are located in the area of national parks, conservancies or World Heritage sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, a campaign called #SavetheOkavangoDelta has been started by Fridays for Future Windhoek<\/em> and Frack Free Namibia and Botswana, two local green groups. An online petition appealing to the governments of Namibia and Botswana reportedly gathered more than 150,000 signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho gave the government the right to determine the destiny of Indigenous communities? This is just another case of environmental racism,\u201d Ina-Maria Shikongo, the founder of Fridays for Future Windhoek, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy worst fear is that it could turn into a new Niger Delta,\u201d she added, referencing the ongoing fight to clean up areas polluted by oil companies there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Scot Evans, CEO of Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica), has confirmed his participation at African Energy Week taking place in Cape Town from November 9-12. Evans and senior VP Diana McQueen lead a discussion on Namibia\u2019s hydrocarbon potential and host a Women in Leadership Brunch at Africa\u2019s premier energy event. [IDN-InDepthNews \u2013 18 October 2021]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: Okawanga elephants. Source: Africa Geographic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) \u2014 Drilling companies are on the run\u2014or at least they should be. A worldwide movement to reduce global warming and protect endangered supplies of water has turned its firepower on the growth of oil well drilling, particularly in areas of precious wildlife preserves in southern Africa. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,27,55,16,32,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-environment-resources-energ","9":"category-goal15","10":"category-news","11":"category-regions","12":"category-sdgs-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4322,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions\/4322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}