The Communities of the Okavango Delta | National Geographic

My name is Tumeletso Setlabosha. But people call me… Water. I live in the center of the Okavango Delta. It's wonderful. As a young man, I was a tracker, helping people to hunt wildlife. Elephant footprint. It came from this way. Five Zebras! But now I use my skills as a guide.

The Okavango Delta is protected, and people in Botswana can benefit from a conservation-based tourism economy. Our communities thrive because people come from all over the world to see our wildlife. Mr. Water belongs to one of many communities who rely on the water that begins thousands of kilometers north in Angola.

But upstream, local people don’t benefit from the same sustainable livelihoods. There used to be a lot of animals here before… elephants, lions, rhinos… Now hunting has become a vice in this territory. Like Mr. Water, Elias lives from what the Okavango Basin provides.

But overhunting, deforestation and unchecked commercial agriculture are putting the source waters of the Delta at risk, leaving not only Elias’ livelihood at stake, but also a million other people living across Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. We’d prefer to stop hunting so as not to destroy the lives of living things.

Working with Elias, Mr. Water, and many others across the region, National Geographic and De Beers through their Okavango Eternal partnership will support community-based conservation and help ensure that land is protected. Cooperatives, local community training, and support for sustainable agriculture and small business development all contribute to local communities prospering in harmony with nature as their stewardship safeguards the future of the entire Okavango System.