US legislator presents bill to protect Okavango Delta
Thalefang Charles | Friday January 26, 2018 17:14
Trump’s party member, Jeff Fortenberry from the US House of Representatives, presented a Bill aimed at promoting sustainable economic development and combating wildlife trafficking in the Okavango River basin.
In a January 18, 2018 release, the US Foreign Affairs Committee said Fortenberry introduced the bipartisan Bill titled ‘Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals (DELTA) Act’.
The statement noted that the Okavango River basin is critical because it “supports more than one million people in Angola, Botswana and Namibia and is home to several threatened wildlife species, including the largest remaining elephant population in the world”.
Presenting the Bill, Fortenberry said: “This transnational conservation initiative marks a new approach to protecting majestic species such as the African elephant, and rhinoceros, while creating dynamic new benefits for the surrounding countries and indigenous people.
Through innovation, creativity, and conservation, we can save and enhance one of the most beautiful and delicate ecosystems in the world”.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson, Ed Royce and member of the Republican party said: “Today the critical Okavango River basin is near a breaking point.
Unwise development and wildlife poaching and trafficking threaten to destroy this rare inland delta.
To save this unique habitat, its iconic wildlife and the communities that rely on the responsible management of the watershed, we must strengthen coordination among governments in the region and leverage public-private partnerships”.
For his part Democratic Party member, Eliot Engel said: “Closer collaboration with our partners in Angola, Namibia, and Botswana will help support both the people and the wildlife living in the greater Okavango River basin.
Working together in a spirit of mutual respect, we can help promote sustainable development, prevent wildlife trafficking, and preserve this unique and irreplaceable ecosystem.
That’s what this Bill aims to do, and I’m glad to join with Representative Fortenberry and Chairman Royce in this bipartisan effort”.
According to the release, The DELTA Act aims to “protect the vital Okavango River basin by strengthening coordination between the US, Angola, Botswana and Namibia, and leveraging partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organisations and regional bodies”.
It also seeks to, “prioritise wildlife trafficking and anti-poaching programmes in the greater Okavango River basin to protect threatened species and prevent a critical source of criminal and terror financing.”
Other aims are to promote sustainable economic growth for local communities through responsible natural resource management and help in stopping the extinction of elephants and other endangered species.
National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (NGOWP), Boyes who is leading an ambitious cross-border conservation initiative throughout the Okavango River basin welcomed the bill describing it as “a great opportunity for the Okavango Delta”.
Boyes, who has extensively worked in the Okavango Delta, believes that in order to protect this vulnerable wetland, we must look where the water comes from and protect the sources in the Angolan highlands.