Posted by Botswana Safari News on May 20, 2019 | No comments
Botswana’s
biggest wetlands, Okavango Delta and Chobe face one of serious hydrological
droughts in history in 2019.
But
the biggest question is: are we prepared for what’s coming? More has been talked about the impact of drought on Maun water supplies but but little on potential escalation of Human-Elephant Conflict (HWC) caused by drought.
As
the water levels plummets we can predict with surety that the low flood will exacerbate
HWC (elephants cases) in both Ngamiland and chobe. These two
areas have seen a higher number of human deaths caused by elephants. Due to the
impending drought, Its only a matter of time before thirsty elephants begin
terrorising human settlements looking for food and water. Are we ready?
In
the case of the Okavango Delta, water authorities have announced that they have
recorded one of the lowest water levels reaching Okavango from Angola. Only about
2, 909 cubic metres per second of water flow was recorded at Mohembo from October
2018 to April 2019. Until then, the lowest flood recorded to date was 5, 863
cubic metres per second that was recorded at Mohembo in 1996.
Kenson
Kgaga, one of the experienced guides in the Okavango vividly remembers the
impact of a previous drought in the 80’s. He says that drought caused serious
cases of HWC when elephants destroyed water systems in parks and outside
villages. He fears that if the drought situation reaches those levels, we may see
a repeat of that situation. Kgaga thinks this time we should fear for the worse
given our high elephant population numbers.
“By
now we should have heeded the forecasts and came up with contingency measures
like drilling boreholes to provide water for elephants and other wildlife in
protected areas to stop them terrorising settlements for water. Else more
people will die”
Borehole drilling for rural supply has been
identified as one of the adaptation and mitigation measures against effects of climate
change like droughts
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