One of the three main distributaries of the Okavango Delta, the Jao/Boro system, is dying.
While scientists remain hesitant to confirm its potential demise, citing the need for further studies, local communities point to glaring evidence: the deliberate diversion of water by an operator with properties in the Delta.
The Jao/Boro channel lies between the Thaoge River to the west and the Nqoga/Maunachira/Khwai system to the east. The Thaoge was once a significant distributary, flowing into Lake Ngami and passing through the historic Batawana capitals of Nokaneng and Tsau. It dried up in the 19th century, apparently due to vegetation blockages, redirecting water eastward. This shift is said to have influenced the Batawana capital’s relocation to Maun a strategic location along the Thamalakane fault line, surrounded by the Boro, Boronyane, Thamalakane, Shashe and Boteti Rivers.
Now, 110 years later, the Delta appears to be shifting again, and threatening the second major distributary – the Jao/Boro Channel. The people of Jao, an island village, have long raised alarms about a man-made channel diverting water from the Okavango River near their village, southeast of Setari Camp. Locals refer to it as the Duba Channel, starting at GPS coordinates (-18.9790925, 22.5779262) and claiming it redirects water from Okavango River towards the Duba Plains.
Mosupa Molaimang, a Jao boat driver, observes: “The strong discharge of the channel clearly shows that it is taking more water from the main channel.”
Even without using precise instruments, the diversion is visibly substantial and it is now a major river with an unusually strong current.
Tumeletso “Water” Setlabosha, a seasoned Okavango guide, also shares these concerns.
“We used to walk around that area, and that river was just a small hippo path. Nothing big. Now it’s taking all the water away.”
Setlabosha links the diversion to the drying of Boro and Thamalakane water levels in Maun, despite decent floods this year.
“Now all the water has moved to the east. Mombo Airstrip (east of Boro) is flooded for the first time in years and this is before the water could even reach Maun. I think it’s because of the Duba Channel. The water should have reached Boro first. That is who it has been for, for years,” said Setlabosha.
Molaimang says the solution is to block the Duba Channel.
“It is easy to fix; you just throw the bags of sand on the channel and it will slowly block. And eventually the water diversion will stop and the Boro River will push to Maun again.”
Dr. Piotr Wolski, a hydroclimatologist at the University of Cape Town with extensive research work in the Okavango Delta, disputes the locals’ claims.
“I do not think [the Duba Channel] would have a significant impact on the amount of water that flows into Jao/Boro. It is cut downstream from where Jao/Boro intercepts water from the Okavango,” he said.
He explains that the Jao channel is fed by water draining south from the Okavango River between Seronga and Jao village. He further says during peak floods, water sometimes flows back into the Okavango River.
But Wolski acknowledges the system’s complexity, suggesting the Duba Channel may align with broader geomorphological forces driving water eastward.
However, locals who travel by boats through these channels, attribute backflow to the Masupatsela blockage, a major obstruction south of Jao village.
Seitsanye “Sea Company” Boitumelo, a legendary guide, recalls when the government actively cleared blockages.
“Jao/Boro was our highway to Maun. Together with Water Affairs Department, we used to unblock channels. They used to hire us to help unblock these channels. They’ve left it to block because they no longer maintain the channels,” says Seitsane.
Molaimang, who also used to ferry tourists along the route, says the blocking of Jao has negatively impacted his livelihood because he can no longer take a boat from Seronga to Maun.
“If they unblocked the channel, more water would reach Maun.”
Wolski counters this view.
“Blockages are symptoms, not causes, of shifting flood distribution. I do not think Masupatsela blockage is the cause of reduced flow in Boro. It might be a symptom of less water entering the system.”
He cites historical examples of how those geological or geomorphological mechanisms work in practice when interfered with by humans.
“Clearing of the Thaoge blockage (some time in the 19th century) did not resuscitate that channel. Also, cutting of the Smith's channel in early 1970s did not redirect water towards Maunachira, and the channel soon overgrew,” argued Wolski.
Wolski says channels usually die due to geomorphological forces and no matter how much we want to keep the channel flowing, it will cease flowing.
On the question of the shifting of the Okavango Delta and the role of the Duba channel, Wolski admits uncertainty.
“Perhaps the Duba channel indeed has a stronger role than I initially suspected. I'm afraid that only a dedicated study can tell us with a higher level of confidence,” he said. “Building on my experience of years of staring at satellite images and modelling and analyses of the system - I think we might be actually witnessing a shift. “But only time and analyses will tell for sure”.
Last weekend, the Okavango seasonal floodwaters finally reached Maun via the Boro River.
Leleme la Metsi (the tongue of the water) reached Thamalakane River at Matlapana in Maun on Saturday night.
As residents collect Leleme la Metsi for various rituals, they maybe unknowingly witnessing the end of the magic, Maun drying up, much like the forgotten Batawana capitals of Nokaneng and Tsau.
