De Beers, National Geographic Society Renew Okavango Eternal Partnership

New York—De Beers Group and the National Geographic Society announced last week that they have renewed their Okavango Eternal Partnership for another five years.

Launched in 2021, the partnership helps support the work of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, which aims to secure long-term protection for the Okavango River Basin and support conservation-related livelihood opportunities in the Okavango Delta.

The basin, which begins in the Angolan Highlands and flows through Namibia and Botswana, is one of Africa’s most vital wetland ecosystems, providing food, water, and livelihoods for more than 1 million people and sustaining wildlife, including one of the world’s largest elephant populations.

Its headwaters in Angola also feed into other major river systems across Africa.

One of Okavango Eternal’s “defining milestones” to date has been Angola’s designation of Lisima Lya Mwono, or “Source of Life,” as the country’s first Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Supported by the work of the partnership, the designation is a “meaningful step” toward the broader protection that Okavango Eternal will now work to secure across the basin.

De Beers and the National Geographic Society said the Okavango Eternal Partnership also has: 
— Advanced locally led science to inform conservation policy, including 19 research expeditions, new species documentation and mapping of 230 carbon-storing peatland sites;
— Trained 82 community members to monitor more than 20,000 square kilometers of forest at the basin’s source in Angola;
— Supported 2,118 conservation-linked livelihood opportunities across Angola, Namibia, and Botswana, including beekeeping, basket weaving, regenerative agriculture, and entrepreneurial skills;
— Improved infrastructure for 18,500 people in Angola;
— Inspired local cultural movements through storytelling, including the award-winning film, “Nkashi: Race for the Okavango” which reached more than 4 million people; and
— Expanded conservation education through two Nkashi Knowledge Centres, supported by a traveling Nkashi Knowledge Bus.

The announcement that De Beers and the National Geographic Society were extending the Okavango Eternal partnership for another five years followed an event held last week at Le Jardin Sur Madison during New York Climate Week, which takes place every September alongside the UN General Assembly.

The gathering celebrated the first five years of the partnership and brought together executives from De Beers and National Geographic as well as government officials, including Botswana President Duma Boko, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, and Angola’s Minister of Environment Ana Paula Chantre Luna de Carvalho Pereira. 

Over the next five years, De Beers and the National Geographic Society aim to secure formal protection for the approximately 54,000 square kilometers at the basin’s source in Angola, which is under increasing pressure due to climate change and development. 

Reaching this goal will require cooperation among governments, which took the first step in that direction last week in New York. 

At the event, leaders from Botswana, Angola, and Namibia formally created the Okavango Eternal Alliance, a commitment to protect the basin as one interconnected system. 

“Our ambition is clear: to strengthen cooperation across the basin, deepen scientific understanding of this globally significant ecosystem, and expand opportunities for communities through conservation, transboundary tourism, and sustainable livelihoods,” Boko said.  

Over the next five years, De Beers and the National Geographic Society will pursue three connected goals. 

They are: advancing conservation through science and traditional knowledge while informing policy and conservation dialogue; expanding livelihood opportunities that enable people to lead and benefit from conservation; and using storytelling to inspire conservation action through the National Geographic brand and by investing in youth-led local storytelling initiatives. 

“We’ve built incredible momentum through our Okavango Eternal partnership with De Beers, and shown what is possible when organizations unite around a shared vision to protect the natural world while honoring the communities and traditions that call it home,” National Geographic Society CEO Jill Tiefenthaler said. 

“Looking ahead, we’re inspired by what we can achieve alongside the governments and communities of Botswana, Angola, and Namibia to secure lasting protection for the river, its landscapes and the livelihoods it sustains.”