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Cooperating to manage liquid waste in the

Okavango Delta Ramsar Site

Michael Ramaano, Project Manager, Global Water Partnership Botswana Secretariat;

Nkobi Mpho Moleele, Project Manager, Okavango Research Institute

he Okavango Delta, in Botswana, is one of the world’s

largest inland water systems and was placed on the

Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance

in 1997. While the ecological integrity of this wetland is still

largely intact, there are signs that anthropogenic pressures

endanger this. For instance, as the population grows and

urbanizes, risks associated with the disposal of liquid waste

and transport of hazardous substances, such as petrol and

diesel, are of increasing concern.

The Okavango Delta Ramsar Site covers nearly one tenth of Botswana

and is the heart of the country’s tourism industry, hosting many

camps and facilities for visitors to the wetlands. For the Okavango

to continue supporting its inhabitants, its unique biodiversity and

the tourist industry, which accounts for 12 per cent of Botswana’s

gross domestic product, activities within the Delta must protect the

environment from harm.

The Okavango Delta is a diverse, complex ecosystem with a wide

range of resources and users, governed by many institutions under

numerous national laws, policies and guidelines, regional and inter-

national conventions, agreements and protocols. Pollution is a major

potential threat. Of the various rules and regulations on waste disposal

and hazardous substances, none specifically address the issues of

managing liquid waste, or transporting, handling and storing danger-

ous substances in the Okavango. There was, therefore, a need for a

set of guidelines to be created, tailored to the special requirements

of the Okavango Delta Ramsar Site. Such guidelines could guide

communities and tourist operations within the Delta in preventing

pollution. The biggest challenge in developing these kinds of guide-

lines, however, is getting buy-in from those interested or affected.

Since its establishment in 1996, the Global Water Partnership

(GWP), an international network of organizations working on

water-related issues, has spearheaded cooperation initiatives to

bring together individuals, communities, institutions and govern-

ments to tackle complex challenges related to water resources

management, sanitation and pollution across the globe. GWP

provides a neutral space for stakeholders to share ideas and

solve problems. The partnership is also a channel for coopera-

tion. GWP fosters the exchange of knowledge and skills between

communities and countries, helping them to adapt and implement

successful water management solutions to maximize economic

and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of

environmental systems. The GWP network has 13 Regional

Water Partnerships, 84 Country Water Partnerships and 2,770

partner organizations in 167 countries.

Very aware that liquid waste could lead to consider-

able pollution in the Okavango, GWP Botswana grasped

a window of opportunity offered by the Integrated Water

Resource Management – Water Efficiency Project, and

Building Local Capacity for the Sustainable Use and

Conservation of Biodiversity in the Okavango Delta

(Biokavango) Project. Both of these projects are spon-

sored by the Global Environment Fund, United Nations

Development Programme and the Government of

Botswana to foster the cooperation needed to tackle the

potential problem.

As a first step, the partners set out to map the

magnitude of the problem and the various stakehold-

ers. With an understanding of who was involved and

their concerns, the next step was to bring stakeholders

together to find acceptable solutions, which they would

be likely to take on board.

Stakeholders included officials from the

Department of Waste Management and Pollution

Control, Department of Water Affairs, Department of

Environmental Affairs, Department of Wildlife and

National Parks, North West District Council, Tawana

Land Board and the Department of Tourism. Each of

these government bodies has regulations covering

various aspects of water or pollution. Private sector

stakeholders, such as tourist guides and companies

that operate tourist facilities and transport hazardous

substances within the Delta, have a commercial inter-

est. Non-governmental organizations such as Sankuyo

Tshwaragano Management Trust, Khwai Development

Trust, Mababe Conservation Trust, Okavango Polers

Trust and Kalahari Conservation Society represent

civil society concerns. Parastatal institutions such as

the Botswana Tourism Organisation and Botswana

Meat Commission are concerned with economic

development. Local and regional development projects

active in the Delta, such as the United States Agency

for International Development-sponsored Southern

African Regional Environment Programme, are inter-

ested in both social and economic development. The

Okavango Research Institute, a wing of the University

of Botswana, is a centre for the study and conservation

of wetland ecosystems. Each of these various groups

has a stake in managing liquid waste and dangerous

substances to protect the Okavango from pollution.

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