National Geographic & De Beers Q&A: Enhancing Water Security

The Okavango Delta is one of the most extraordinary ecosystems in Africa, sustaining people, wildlife and cultures across southern Africa. 

Yet this lifeline begins far from Botswana, in the unprotected highlands of Angola, where its source waters rise. 

Also in Botswana, natural diamonds transcend physical beauty and behind every diamond, there’s a story about national pride, economic transformation and incredible stewardship of natural resources.

Recognising both the beauty and fragility of this system, De Beers and National Geographic launched the Okavango Eternal partnership in 2021. 

Wanetsha Mosinyi is the Social Impact and Sustainability Lead at De Beers Group, based in Gaborone, Botswana. 

He is responsible for both embedding the sustainability strategy, which is called Building Forever, as well as sharing the stories of the De Beers and National Geographic partnership and impact.

Wanetsha shares his expertise with Sustainability Magazine.

What is the Okavango Eternal partnership and what are the goals?

In 2021, De Beers and National Geographic launched our Okavango Eternal partnership, to help protect the source waters of the Okavango Basin. 

Starting in Angola, these waters flow through Namibia into Botswana, sustaining more than one million people, iconic wildlife and critical ecosystems - including the Okavango Delta in Botswana. 

The Okavango Eternal partnership focuses on two core objectives: protecting the source waters of the Okavango Basin and creating livelihood opportunities for local communities. 

By 2026, we aim to safeguard 5.4 million hectares across the Basin and support up to 10,000 livelihood opportunities in the region. 

This is closely aligned to De Beers’ Building Forever commitments of supporting livelihoods, climate and nature.

It’s critical this is done in partnership with local communities, so we work through our on-the-ground implementation partners at the Wild Bird Trust, governments and the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (NGOWP) team. 

I often go back to a powerful quote from GB Kgetho, a National Geographic Explorer from Botswana: “Conservation of wildlife and the environment began with us, the people who live in the surrounding areas of the Okavango Delta.” 

Communities are really guiding us in anything we do, whether that’s a research expedition, where we’re coupling traditional knowledge with new tech; or we’re launching a new Nkashi Knowledge Centre and need to understand the biggest opportunity gaps in the Delta’s Eastern panhandle.  

What is the importance of protecting the Okavango Delta’s water source?

The Okavango Delta is one of the most biodiverse areas in Africa, so large it can be seen from space. 

The area is home to unique and threatened species including elephants, lions, cheetahs and hundreds of species of birds. 

Alongside the magnificent wildlife, the area has sustained vibrant cultures and traditions for millennia. 

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is protected and recognised as the 1000th UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

But the Delta is just one part of a larger system that begins in the Highlands of Angola.

In these Highlands, one of Africa's critical water towers provides the source waters that sustains the Delta and the entire Okavango Basin. 

Unlike the Delta, these Angolan headwaters remain unprotected and securing their protection is essential to safeguarding water and food security across the region.

Known locally as Lisima lya mwono, “the source of life”, the Angolan headwaters send downstream the equivalent of nearly 170 million Olympic swimming pools of water each year. 

These flows sustain wildlife and landscapes and support a thriving ecotourism industry in Botswana worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But this lifeline is under threat from climate change, commercial agriculture and water diversion. 

If these waters were to stop flowing, one of Africa’s most remarkable natural treasures would not be able to nourish people, wildlife, ecosystems and economies. 

We have to act now; this is one of the most urgent conservation challenges facing Africa. 

How does Okavango Eternal fit within De Beers’ broader sustainability framework?

Okavango Eternal is a key component of De Beers’ Building Forever sustainability framework, which is structured around three broad themes: Livelihoods, Climate and Nature.

These themes are all underpinned by Provenance – where a diamond comes from, how its been sourced and what impact it has had along the way. 

In our 2024 sustainability report and the partnership’s midterm progress update, we highlighted how this partnership is bringing those commitments to life.

For example, on Nature and Climate, we co-facilitated the 2024 Okavango Delta Crossing expedition. 

The annual expedition by the NGOWP team collects baseline data to compare the ecosystem’s health year over year and ensure the Delta’s water source remains healthy. 

We’re also accelerating the work of extraordinary local scientists who are studying the intricacies of the entire Basin, from Angola’s sponge-like peatlands that trap carbon and purify water, to Namibia’s small fish species that support both people’s nutrition and the Kavango’s ecological health. 

On Livelihoods, we’ve supported more than 1,500 livelihood opportunities to date. 

This includes through the opening of the Nkashi Knowledge Centre in Beetsha, Botswana, creating local jobs and serving as a hub for training and education. 

We’ve also helped expand traditional mekoro (traditional carved canoe) trails for tourism and trained early childhood development technicians to strengthen education within Okavango Community Trust villages. 

We’ve introduced new livelihood opportunities, like beekeeping and regenerative agriculture in the Angolan Highlands. 

Additionally, we have supported the training of 52 government trained and certified lecturers, expanding educational opportunities for more than 2,000 children.

We have also used our combined platforms and reach to tell the story of the Basin’s importance, to raise awareness around the world and further motivate for its protection.

That includes stories on social media, getting scientists and educators out there at community events like the annual Nkashi Classic and even supporting a short film, made in the Delta, in the Setswana language and with a team of Batswana storytellers in key positions. 

How has De Beers helped accelerate and expand the work of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project? 

Before the Okavango Eternal partnership was launched, the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (a signature program of the nonprofit National Geographic Society) had been working in the region since 2015. 

The team has an ambitious mission to protect and preserve the Okavango Basin, which comes to life through cutting edge science coupled with traditional knowledge, storytelling, engagement and capacity building. 

Having worked with the people and governments of Botswana for more than 50 years, Namibia for nearly 30 and more recently in Angola, we have been able to bring expertise and deep relationships in fields such as education, livelihoods and wildlife conservation, that have helped to scale the partnership’s work and impact. 

We also recently released the partnership’s midterm report and it has delivered important progress in a range of areas: 

• 1.25 million hectares mapped around the source waters of the Delta, helping to define boundaries and support the formalisation of conservation areas
• 10 river expeditions completed, covering thousands of kilometres, to continue monitoring the health of the water and overall ecosystem 
• 17 hydrological stations installed, many of which are the first ever to monitor the rivers in this vital system
• A new laboratory equipped in Maun, Botswana – the first of its kind in the Delta – allowing for localisation of scientific analysis
• More than 1,500 livelihood opportunities supported across the Basin, ranging from midwives to farmers
• A second Nkashi Knowledge Centre opened in Beetsha, Botswana, providing communities with Storytelling Clubs, IT training, careers fairs, science symposiums, teaching resources, small business incubation programmes alongside a place to meet and share knowledge in the heart of the Delta
• A 9-time award-winning film called Nkashi: Race for the Okavango, which has inspired more than 4.5 million people globally, raising awareness of the need to take action to protect this ecosystem.

How is De Beers engaging with communities and governments, in Botswana and the countries that share the Basin?

As you can imagine, the Okavango Eternal partnership is multi-year, multi-faceted and multi-country in nature. 

This requires deep partnership on many levels, with a variety of stakeholders.

With local and Indigenous communities, we use a proactive, dialogue-based and inclusive approach so before starting any project, we work with communities to identify and address their needs. 

Kerllen Costa, a National Geographic Explorer and Angola country director for NGOWP, says it well: “Any conservation initiative to protect landscapes and biodiversity will be useless without a profound intention and strategy to allow for sustainable development of these communities.”

With NGOs and civil society organisations, we continuously monitor emerging issues within the communities where our programs operate.

With governments, we align our efforts with national development goals, which include job creation, skills training and economic diversification. 

We provide regular updates and ongoing discussions around both progress and challenges.

As a science based - biodiversity programme, we also provide the government with data that they then utilise to inform policies and processes. 

By providing funding, fostering shared learning and supporting our partners, we’re able to create impact at a scale none of us could reach on our own. 

And importantly, the lessons we learn through Okavango Eternal also help inform our wider Building Forever approach and vice versa. 

We are continually listening and learning, to ensure that our natural diamonds are creating meaningful impact for the people and countries from which they come.