International praise for Okavango River project

NAMIBIA’S initiative on the wise use of the Okavango River Basin was praised at a recent training conference on International Water Resource Management (IWRM) in the Netherlands.

Dorothy Wamunyima, the co-ordinator for the Namibia Nature Foundation’s ‘Every River Has Its People’ project on the sustainable use of natural resources of the Okavango River Basin with local community participation, presented the programme at the conference. She told The Namibian that in Africa, the Okavango River Basin programme came out tops, and it received praise for its good methodology, approach and sustainability.Communities living along the Okavango River derive a number of benefits from the river, such as fish, reeds for building, drinking water for their animals and irrigation.Because of natural and human impact, the Okavango ecosystem is one of the most fragile in the world.Its vegetation, wildlife, water and fish contribute to its sustenance and once these are tampered with, there is a chain reaction.’Every River Has Its People’ is a transboundary project involving three countries that share the Okavango River: Namibia, Angola and Botswana.In Namibia the project is being implemented by the Namibia Nature Foundation.At a four-week training conference on water resource management held in Sweden last year, Wamunyima was awarded the International Water Resources Management Award for coming up with the programme.The conference was organised by the International Water Institute, a body that promotes river basin management.She told The Namibian that in Africa, the Okavango River Basin programme came out tops, and it received praise for its good methodology, approach and sustainability.Communities living along the Okavango River derive a number of benefits from the river, such as fish, reeds for building, drinking water for their animals and irrigation.Because of natural and human impact, the Okavango ecosystem is one of the most fragile in the world.Its vegetation, wildlife, water and fish contribute to its sustenance and once these are tampered with, there is a chain reaction.’Every River Has Its People’ is a transboundary project involving three countries that share the Okavango River: Namibia, Angola and Botswana.In Namibia the project is being implemented by the Namibia Nature Foundation.At a four-week training conference on water resource management held in Sweden last year, Wamunyima was awarded the International Water Resources Management Award for coming up with the programme.The conference was organised by the International Water Institute, a body that promotes river basin management.