Mohammed 1

Manar Mohammed
2/2/14
Portland State University
Sustainability
Perkins
The Okavango Delta in Botswana and its ecosystem
In Africa, in the great Kalahari Desert lies an extraordinary wetland, a delta called the
Okavango. Its a shelter for natural changed in many ways since the beginning of time; the
Okavango is a rich area of wildlife moving together by the waters of the landscape. The animals
know the Okavango waters as a safe haven from the hunting and the food chain laws in the
jungle. Other than animals, the delta is home to many human cultures that to this day hold the
history of our ancestors as well as tribes that have lived in that area for generations, countries
such as the Namibia and Botswana.
The Delta supports many ranges of life, including over a hundred and fifty species of
mammals, over five hundred species of birds, ninety species of fish, as well as plants, reptiles,
invertebrates and amphibians (Ellery 1994); however, the Okavango Delta is under threats,
caused by truism and the construction of any form of dam that could disturb the flow of water
entering the delta (Wolski 2006), also the increase of algae is causing the cut off the required
amount of O2 and C6H12O6 (CO2 + 6H2O + light C6H12O6 + 6O2) to other organisms
living in the swamps and in the wetlands and resulting in a great loss of ecosystem.
The core of the Okavango is a swamp filled with channels flowing through the grasses
that are filtered by vegetation and sand, leaving the waters crystal clear. The resistance of watery
refuge is a result of a relationship between climate and the landscape of the ecosystem; its source
is the Okavango River, which is the longest in Southern Africa (Ellery 1994). When reaching
Botswana, it twists between geological faults then the river spills out in to a huge flood plain, it
Mohammed 2
decides into a network of channels and wetlands creating one if the largest deltas in the world
(Ellery 1994).
The delta can actually be seen from space, spreading through the southern parts of Africa.
The river also expands depending on the rainy summer climate that usually feeds the swamps,
and slowly entering the panhandle of the delta, there, it is slowed by flat surfaces and indents
vegetation (Wolski 2006). The deltas unique ecosystem begins in the panhandle, where the river
spreads over 60 miles. The level of the permanent swamp rises almost imperceptibly depending
on the rain levels. When the new water finally reaches the flood grasslands, it comes in the
middle of the dry session, During such events the inundated area increases from about
5000 km2 to 600012,000 km (Wolski 2006).














The Deltas map

The delta from space
Mohammed 3






Three countries share the Okavango River; in Angola flows 1,200 km downstream
through the narrow Caprivi Strip of Namibia and empties in Botswana where it is known as the
Okavango Delta. Botswana knows that the upstream water used needs and their impacts on
downstream uses. They have a strong interest in protecting the social economic status of the
Deltas communities and the economy of Botswana as well. The Government of Botswana
however, developed the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP), which is going to be
challenging for the Department of Environmental Affairs, which started the project to stop the
over flooding of the wet lands, however the floodings are part of the natural cycle o the climate,
and if stopped it could lead to dangerous impacts on the ecosystem, such as the death of thousand
so of species from starvation because of the dry session.
Therefore, the delta can be described as a natural system that supports the social
economic life of the people and the culture living in it. It also supports a rich biological
diversity, which, in Namibia and Botswana, is an important part of commercialized tourism
that helps the economic development. Tourism is one of the biggest contributors to the

The delta location in Africa
Mohammed 4
Namibia and Botswana government, it might be helping the countries but may might argue
that it also is causing the are to be more hurt and impacted by development.
The deltas fresh water is mostly filtered through fish, sand and decomposers such as
bacterial and fungi organisms (Humbert et al, 2010). They interact with water and light to
dissolve any nutrients and suspend any solids keeping the water at high quality. However, due to
both organic and inorganic wastewater, that is mixing with the delta water is affecting the
process of filtration, its full with nutrients causing the filtration organisms to exhaust their focus
on braking down and dissolving these nutrients and not succeeding.
In addition, some contamination comes from agricultural activities, witch millions of tons
of fertilisers and pesticides are used. High levels of nitrates (NO3-) and phosphates (PO43-) are
common pollutants associated with fertilizers. Nitrates are highly toxic to aquatic life as they
easily convert to the even more toxic nitrites (NO2-). (Humbert et al, 2010).
Further more, in a worldwide biodiversity relationship of seven globally important
wetlands, the Okavango has the highest number of bird species, second highest number of plant
and mammal species, and third highest number of fish species (Junk et al, 2006). Therefore
losing the Okavango or any changes to its ecosystem could have drastic impacts on the world,
from losing rare species to the lowering of the water natural filtration, the Okavango is an
important part of this plant, some would say the heart.


Mohammed 5
Bibliography:
Wolski, P., Savenije, H. H. G., Murray-Hudson, M., & Gumbricht, T. (2006). Modelling of the
flooding in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, using a hybrid reservoir-GIS model. Journal of
Hydrology. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.04.040
Mladenov, N., McKnight, D. M., Wolski, P., & Ramberg, L. (2005). Effects of annual flooding
on dissolved organic carbon dynamics within a pristine wetland, the Okavango Delta,
Botswana. Wetlands.
Mbaiwa, J. E. (2003). The socio-economic and environmental impacts of tourism development
on the Okavango Delta, north-western Botswana. Journal of Arid Environments.
Ellery, W. N., & McCarthy, T. S. (1994). Principles for the sustainable utilization of the
Okavango Delta ecosystem, Botswana. Biological Conservation.