Part 2: Paradisiacal Botswana embraced by water

Despite the dry Kalahari desert, Botswana is one of the most fertile countries in Africa. This is mainly due to magical rivers such as the Chobe, Linyanti and Zambezi and the unique wet landscape of the famous Okavango Delta. This combination results in a rich ecosystem, in which nature uses its own 'water engineers'.

Text: Angelique van Os | Photography: Henk Bothof

Geological wonder

We move on to the southeast of the Okavango Delta, to Qorokwe, a camp that lies under the vast Moremi Game Reserve. From the air the total area of roughly 15,000 km2, filled with canals, lagoons, swamps, reed collars and islets looks spectacular. Nowhere are asphalt roads, no electricity poles, no light pollution. Nothing but wilderness, in which earthly colors alternate. I feel very insignificant in this great country, but also happy: that I can enjoy this geological miracle.  

The world's largest inland delta, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, borders the Kalahari Desert to the northwest. The original water source can be found some 1600 kilometers upstream in the Angolan highlands. From here, countless streams and smaller rivers in the catchment area of the two main tributaries of the Okavango - the Cubango and Cuito - are fed by summer rains that fall between October and April. Between December and March the rain peak occurs, allowing the water level to rise up to two meters and the delta to expand. In the dry season, the marshland landscape decreases. However, the delta is supplied with water throughout the year, so that the migration of animals to this area is high.

Due to weaknesses in the earth's crust, formed by tectonic shifts along the Eastern African Rift Valley, the Okavango River was split millions of years ago from the Kwando and the Zambezi and therefore does not flow to the sea anywhere. Instead, the water disappears into the desolate Kalahari Desert after its fanning out. The current funnel-shaped delta was created as a result of a series of fault lines and a tectonic impoundment, such as near the town of Maun, where the watercourse was closed off. It can take four to six months for the water to flow through a large estuary throughout the delta, feeding the seasonal marshes. 

Authenticity

Opinions are divided as to the extent to which the delta has changed in recent decades. Ecologist Robert Taylor specializes in wetland studies and is a botanist. He has been working for five years on various projects within Wilderness, such as a successful rhino reintegration project. Taylor indicates that the delta has largely retained its authenticity. A visible change is that the clear water becomes darker. This may be due to the increasing number of forest fires, where peat, for example, ends up in the water and attacks the soil and plants. "There is much debate among researchers about the extent to which the delta is formed from fire; that it is part of the natural balance. Others claim that increasing fires have a negative impact on water and that this is a development of recent years. In my opinion, too little research has been done into the impact of fire on the delta's ecosystem. In addition, 50 years ago there were hardly any elephants to be found here. Now there are many of them and their presence is visible in the landscape. There are many fallen and bare trees that do not survive. But it is a dynamic system. We can't agree that because there used to be forests with tall trees, it should look like this."

Water architects

The elephant, as well as the hippopotamus and termites, also plays an important role in the landscape. These are the ecosystem engineers and water architects. Rob explains: "The termites, with their hills, create islands in the delta area. At high tide, their structures protrude above the surface of the water, allowing permanent vegetation to develop here. In wetlands, elephants and hippos can use their movements to open channels to allow water to flow. Thanks to this movement, complex networks of pathways through the wetlands are created, which ensures that there is a flow of water and that the areas remain accessible.

Issue

The sparsely populated Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with counts exceeding 130,000 since 2018. The fact that the animals thrive here is often due to the remote rich wetlands, the diverse vegetation of open savannahs and forest and shrubs. In addition, the presence of humans is limited, especially in the protected, remote areas such as the Okavango Delta and the private concessions. Because the government allows an exclusively small-scale form of sustainable tourism, it is also a costly affair to visit the wildlife parks. However, the success of the elephant now takes such a refuge that it is a major problem outside the protected areas. For example, at the end of March AG Africa Geographic reported that more than 65% of Botswana's wildlife is located outside protected areas, in the Wildlife Management Areas (AMMs), demographically speaking. These are mainly pastoral and agricultural areas, where communities live along the border. Here, elephant herds regularly cause great damage to homes and destroy agricultural crops. Sometimes with fatal consequences for the inhabitants. It is a complex discussion about which the opinions and interests of nature organizations and conservationists, politicians and the local population differ widely. The problem goes beyond the elephant problem: it is a forerunner for more human-wildlife conflicts. This is possibly the greatest challenge for the future, not only for Botswana, but also for neighbouring countries and how they should deal with these issues.

In 2014, the previous president, Ian Kaha, issued a hunting ban because of the low level of wildlife. Meanwhile, the current president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has lifted this ban since May of this year and it is legal again to hunt elephants. Worldwide, this leads to great resistance and with it, the poaching and 'pleasure hunting' that has been fought against so hard in recent years can once again celebrate victory. This is already visible in less protected areas, according to a recent report by the conservation organization Elephant Without Borders: in 2018 they identified four 'poachers' hot spots', where 87 carcasses of elephants had been found. They provided the sites with photographic evidence, ground surveys and had nine international elephant experts look at them. According to researcher Mike Chase and the BBC, the government denies the extent of this poaching and is trying to silence Chase.

READ FURTHER IN PART 3!