THE FUTURE OF FISHING IN THE OKAVANGO RIVER:
FACTORING INLAND FISHERIES INTO RIVER BASIN PLANNING
PROJECT MANAGER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Elizabeth Soderstrom Dr. Hillary Masundire
Senior Scientist Senior Lecture/Head
Natural Heritage Institute Department of Biological Sciences
409 Spring Street
Nevada City, CA 95959 esoderstrom@n-h-i.org
University of Botswana
Private Bag UB 00704
Gaborone, Botswana masundh@mopipi.ub.bw
C OLLABORATORS AND PARTNERS
Natural Heritage Institute (NHI) is non-profit environmental research organization located in
California that has carried out important technical and policy analysis designed to identify ways of factoring the needs of aquatic ecosystems into the management of the heavily engineered
Central Valley water system. Agricultural, urban and environmental interests view this work as a positive contribution to the ongoing water management dialogue. NHI has experience partnering with institutions in developing countries to conduct applied research.
University of Botswana (UB) is the country’s only university and has a mandate for research on the management of the country’s natural resources. UB is involved in research in various aspects of the ecology and management of the Okavango River and Delta, which Botswana designated as Ramsar site in 1997, primarily through the creation of the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango
Research Centre (HOORC). HOORC hosts researchers from the main campus in Gaborone, resident staff and others from around the world. The Department of Biological Sciences maintains a strong presence at the HOORC facilities.
University of California, Davis (UCD) is a global leader in ecology, with over 120 faculty conducting ecological research and strong programs in the aquatic sciences, including fisheries and aquaculture. The Center for Integrated Watershed Science and Management (CIWSM) at
UCD encourages interdisciplinary research in the aquatic sciences, bringing together faculty from the biological, physical, and social sciences for joint research projects. To date CIWSM has focused on California issues, which can have considerable applicability to other parts of the world. UCD and CIWSM will host UB researchers during the project.
Stockholm Environment Institute-Boston (SEI-B) is an international research organization focusing on the issue of sustainable development. SEI’s Water and Development Program brings an integrated framework to freshwater assessment, one that seeks sustainable water solutions by balancing the needs for basic water services, development and the environment. In addition to providing policy-relevant analysis, SEI-B’s programs seek to build the capacity for integrated planning and action throughout the world. Our decision support tool, Water Evaluation and
Planning (WEAP) is widely used.
ABSTRACT
The classic elements of a water allocation struggle are in place in the Okavango River Basin; competing demands set against the backdrop of a valuable ecosystem. The Okavango Basin is unique, however, in that this physically remote system has remained unaltered by the massive investment in hydraulic infrastructure, which defined much of the 20 th century. Given this situation, the Okavango Basin States are in a fortunate position to evaluate recent water

management innovations alongside traditional physical works and operating strategies. Sharing
Water is a USAID funded initiative in support of the objectives of the Permanent Okavango
River Basin Commission (OKACOM). The project recognizes the complexity of the
Okavango/Cubango Basin in terms of its international status, its cultural and economic diversity, its ecological importance, and the expectations and possible pressures on the system to support local and national development in all three riparian countries. Sharing Water offers a platform, called collaborative learning , for collective resource inquiry involving a range of stakeholders, for human capacity building associated with joint fact-finding; and for negotiation around food and environmental security in the basin.
This proposal to the Comprehensive Assessment entitled: The Future of Fishing in the
Okavango River: Factoring Inland Fisheries into River Basin Planning is designed to fill a significant gap in the Sharing Water project and to draw out relevant research for the CA.
Specifically, this project will help define the flow needs of inland fisheries in the main channel of the Okavango River and integrate this information into the overall river basin planning efforts aimed at balancing future ecological, agricultural and urban water demands. Towards that end, this project will identify and then apply the most appropriate method for assessing environmental flows for key species in the Okavango fishery and to introduce this assessment into a WEAP model configured to support basin planning under Sharing Water. Another outcome of this project will be to contribute to the ongoing Dialogue on Water, Food and
Environment by describing promising linkages between the appropriate EFR method and
WEAP. Specific outputs will include draft EFRs for the river, an analysis of data gaps regarding fisheries resources in the basin, a WEAP model that can begin to weigh these recommendations against other water demands in the system, and a report describing how improved instream flow and fishery modeling tools together with an enhanced version of WEAP could be used in similar river basin planning environments. Key activities will include inventorying fisheries data for the basin, data analysis conducted at each partner research institution, a workshop with key parties and stakeholders in the basin, as well as using research findings to guide enhancements of both the Okavango WEAP application and the generic WEAP model. Benefits will accrue among the fishing communities in the basin, among the broad range of stakeholders involved in the Sharing
Water project and with OKACOM. Results of the project will not only be disseminated in scientific journals, but more broadly through the outreach elements of the Sharing Water and
Every River Has Its People Project (Every River).
TOTAL COST OF PROJECT
The total cost of the project, as detailed in the budget matrix shown below is US$75,000, which is leveraged by a contribution of US$2,100,000 from USAID made to support the participation of NHI and IUCN and a range of partners in Sharing Water.
DURATION OF THE PROJECT
1 year (12 months) from the approval of funding.
LOCATION OF THE PROJECT
Research will take place at UB in Gaborone and Maun, at NHI; UCD in California; and at SEI-B in Massachusetts.
BACKGROUND
Local legend holds that in pursuit of abundant fishing, the five Kavango tribes long ago left the shores of the Mashi River in Angola to settle along the banks of the Okavango River on
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Namibia-Angola border 1 . While other activities now contribute substantially to the rural economy in the region, fishing remains a mainstay of rural livelihoods. According to the Every
River has its People Project 2 , approximately 32 percent of the 179,000 inhabitants living along the river in Namibia catch fish on a regular basis while 10 percent of all households are active enough in the sector to catch more than the fish they consume, suggesting that fishing contributes both food and cash to household economies. In fact, surveys conducted by the
Every River Project 3 identified nearly 50 distinct fish species that are captured from the river.
While figures on the contribution of this food source to the local nutritional balance were not readily available, the FAO estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa fish consumption contributes 18 percent of the total animal protein intake 4 . Data from the Angolan side of the river has been difficult to acquire, but the rural economy there is believed to be similarly reliant on fishing, as is the economy along the “panhandle” stretch of the river downstream in Botswana where commercial, traditional and sport fishing all take place. Clearly, fishing in the Okavango River is a significant regional resource. Protecting this resource is an important development challenge.
Currently, avoiding over harvest is the greatest concern, a concern raised repeatedly by a broad range of stakeholders during the Every River Project’s surveys. However another, potentially more pressing concern is emerging in the Okavango Basin.
The Cubango River (see Figure 1) rises on the Bie Plateau of Central Angola and flows towards
Namibia. By the time the river, now called the Okavango, reaches the border it has entered arid terrain, gaining only one additional tributary of note before flowing across Namibia’s Caprivi
Strip and into northern Botswana. There, owing to an extremely low gradient, flow from the upper basin escapes channel confinement and spreads out in a deltaic wetlands fan of over
25,000 km 2 . Water reaching the lower limit of the Delta 175 km to the south regains the Boteti
River channel and flows into the closed Makgadikgadi Pans.
Figure 1: River Okavango River Basin
It is the Delta for which this river system is best known internationally. There, the expansive flooding creates a network of channels, reedbeds, hippo pools and flood plains in the vicinity of which live some of Africa’s last great free-roaming herds of Cape buffalo, zebras, antelope, and
1 Theart, Oswald. 2002. Traditional economy of the Kavango, fishing. Namibian Economist .
2 el Obied, S. and J. Mendelson. 2001. A Preliminary Profile of the Kavango Region in Namibia. Namibian
Nature Foundation. Windhoek, Namibia.
3 Jones, B.T.B. 2001. Results of a Socio-Ecological Survey Carried out in the Kavango Region, Namibia, May-
August 2001. Namibian Nature Foundation. Windhoek, Namibia.
4 FAO. 1996. Fisheries and Aquaculture in Sub-Saharan Africa: Situation and Outlook in 1996. Fisheries
Circular No. 922 FIPP/C922. Rome, Italy.
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above all elephants - at some 60,000 strong, probably Africa’s largest herd. In fact the Okavango
Delta, one of the best preserved corners of wilderness left in the world, has been called the “last of old Africa” 5 as no other wildlife resource of this contiguous extent remains on the African continent. The singular nature of the Delta spawned the creation of a valuable tourism resource in Northern Botswana.
Because the Okavango Basin is remote, it has remained free of major hydraulic alteration. The
Okavango’s period of isolation, however, may be coming to a close as upstream water development is being contemplated. Namibia, with 1.5 million inhabitants, is Africa’s driest country, with an average net annual rainfall of only 42.5 mm. Many in Namibia consider the
Okavango to be a logical water supply for the populous Central Region. After independence in
1975, Angola endured nearly three decades of civil strife. Recent political stabilization has allowed for planning on how to meet the country’s profound re-development needs. The manipulation of water resources in Angola, perhaps for irrigated agriculture, will most likely emerge as a compelling development strategy. In fact, the states of Huila and Cunene, which
6 . include portions of the Cubango Basin, have been targeted for irrigation development
Given the potential of competing demands for water in a basin graced with an ecological resource like the Delta, it is a hopeful sign that the basin-states, acting under the auspices of the
Permanent Okavango River Basin Commission (OKACOM), have launched a process to develop an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) to work out the equitable allocation of water to the basin states, and that the Government of Botswana, together with IUCN and the Ramsar
Convention, is working on an IMP for the Delta. As part of the OKACOM process, the water needs of the Okavango River fishery should be considered alongside other demands in the basin, namely upstream irrigation development and the ecological value of the Delta, so that the tradeoffs of various water allocation plans are clearly understood.
A paper delivered at a recent FAO conference 7 highlighted areas where more quantitative information is needed if inland fisheries are to receive full consideration in water allocation discussions around the world. This assessment is consonant with the key research areas outlined by the Comprehensive Assessment (CA) including area (8) which seeks information on environmental water requirements in relation to fisheries, area (6) which requests water, food and environment case studies including documentation of development, conflicts, resolutions, impacts, and best practices around the issue of water, food and environment.
These research areas are particularly relevant along the Okavango River as opportunities for fishing are closely tied to hydrology 8 . Different groups, largely segregated by gender, pursue different species at different times of the year. Men generally fish in the river and its tributaries while women typically fish on the floodplain. Along much of the river sport fishing by tourist is emerging as another use of the resource.
The system that has emerged would be vulnerable to dramatic changes associated with upstream water development, particularly fishing by women, which generally occurs in areas flooded during high flow events. The essential question is what constitutes a dramatic change. The answer remains elusive.
5 Lee 1990. “Okavango Delta: Old Africa’s last refuge.” National Geographic . V. 178(6): 38-69.
6 Angola Mission Observer. 1999. Angola and Israel to Cooperate on Irrigation Projects . Permanent Mission of the Republic of Angola at the United Nations. New York, New York.
7 FAO. 1999. Intergrated Resources Management for Sustainable Inland Fish Production. 23 rd Session of the
Committee on Fisheries. Rome, Italy. February 15-19.
8 Ibid, 1 above
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NHI with IUCN’s Regional Office for Southern Africa (IUCN ROSA) has launched a project, funded by USAID entitled: “Sharing Water: Towards a Transboundary Consensus on the
Management of the Okavango River Basin (Sharing Water), 9 which will use WEAP to support the
OKACOM planning process. WEAP allows the user to assign EFRs to nodes along a river and to prioritize these targets relative to other water demands. If an answer to the question could be formulated, WEAP could be a powerful tool for factoring the flow needs of inland fisheries directly into basin management scenarios. This proposal seeks support from the CA to fund and analysis of existing fisheries data, carried out by a post-doc housed at the UB and supervised by the PI, that would complement the USAID project by applying one of the emerging EFR techniques to the Okavango River, leading to estimated EFRs that can be introduced into the
WEAP model and thus into the analysis of tradeoffs between different water allocation scenarios, particularly scenarios based on the expansion of upstream irrigated agriculture.
The science of defining EFRs is new and many different approaches, with distinct advantages and disadvantages, have been suggested. A recent paper described four primary methods in current usage: hydrologic, hydraulic rating, habitat simulation and holistic 10 . Hydrologic methods, such as the Indicators of Hydrologic Variability 11 , use historic streamflow records to develop a statistical characterization of ecologically relevant characteristics of a flow regime. Hydraulic rating methods 12 use incremental changes in a single hydraulic variable such as wetted perimeter as a proxy for habitat factors that limit riverine biota. Habitat simulation methods, such as
IFIM 13 , attempt to assess biotic responses to flow at the level of instream habitat, primarily fish habitat. Holistic approaches, such as the Building Block Method 14 and the associated
Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation (DRIFT) Method, identify the magnitude and duration of critical flow events for a broader array of biophysical functions, which can be prioritized by stakeholders.
It is not clear which approach is most appropriate for establishing EFRs for the inland fishery along the Okavango River, although the application of holistic methods currently enjoys great favor in South Africa (Project activity described in this proposal is based largely on the assumption that a holistic method is selected as it requires the greatest level of effort). Research supported by the CA will provide experience in selecting the most appropriate method to define
EFRs for the system. USAID funding will support the integration of the EFRs into a WEAP model used to quantitatively balance multiple water demands, including inland fisheries, through
9 Project partners for Sharing Water include the Natural Heritage Institute based in California, USA and IUCN –
The World Conservation Union’s Regional Office for Southern Africa based in Harare, Zimbabwe. In addition, partner organizations from each of the three countries in the Basin include Juventude Ecologica Angolana from
Luanda, Angola and ACADIR from Angola’s Cuando Cubango province; IUCN – The World Conservation
Union Botswana Office in Gaborone, Botswana; and Namibia Nature Foundation based in Windhoek, Namibia.
The Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center in Botswana and the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research in South Africa.
10 Tharme, R.E. 2002 Emerging Global Trends in Environmental Flow Assessment. 4 th International
Ecohydraulics Symposium. Cape Town, South Africa. March 3-8.
11 Richter. B.D., J.V. Baumgartner, R. Wigington, and D.P. Braun. 1996. A method for assessing hydrological alteration within ecosystems. Conservation Biology . 10(4). pp. 1163-1174.
12 e.g. Waters, B.F. 1976. A methodology for evaluating the effects of different stream flows on salmonid habitat. In: Osborne J.F. and C.H. Allman (eds). Symposium on Instream Flow Needs . American Fisheries
Society. Bethesda, Maryland.
13 Gore, J.A. and J.M. Nestler. 1988. Instream flow studies in perspective. Regul. Rivers: Res. Mgmt . 2. pp 93-
101.
14 King, J.M. and R.E. Tharme. 1994. Assessment of the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology and initial development of alternative instream flow methodologies for South Africa. Water Commission Report No.
295/1/94 . Water Research Commission. Pretoria, South Africa.
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a stakeholder driven collaborative learning process. Finally, the participation of SEI-B, the developers of WEAP and active participants in the Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment, will allow for research results to contribute to the global analysis of water allocation decisionmaking.
GOAL
To assure that the needs of fish and fishing communities along the Okavango River are considered during the development of long-term management plans for the basin, and that water allocation tradeoffs are well understood by the affected communities in the basin and by
OKACOM.
PROJECT PURPOSE
To assess the quantity and timing of water needed to sustain the Okavango River fishery, and include this information in the WEAP model that is being developed to support the OKACOM planning process. A secondary project purpose will be to translate the research results into ongoing efforts to improve in-stream flows and fishery modeling tools including future versions of WEAP and to use these enhanced tools to contribute to the ongoing Dialogue on Water
Food and Environment.
OUTPUTS
The overall output will be improved understanding of the water requirements of river fisheries in the Okavango basin. Specific written outputs will include:
 A review of available EFR methods (in particular those currently in use in southern
Africa, notably DRIFT) and their applicability in the Okavango river system.
 One journal article describing the condition of the Okavango River fishery based on existing data, and an analysis of critical fisheries data and information gaps.
 A WEAP dataset for the Okavango River Basin that attaches draft EFRs to an appropriate number of instream flow requirement objects.

A report describing how EFR methods linked to future versions of WEAP can be used to advance the Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment.
ACTIVITIES
1.
UB researchers will: a.
Review current EFR methods and select appropriate method for the Okavango
River. b.
Develop an inventory of all fisheries data in the Okavango Basin. This inventory will include: i.
Information on the principal species in the fishery, the timing of harvest of different life stages, the timing and location of spawning, rearing and maturity and recruitment into the fishery. ii.
Description of unaltered and current flow regime. iii.
Hydraulic analysis of channel cross-sections, if available. iv.
Assessment of available geomorphologic data. v.
Assessment of water quality data vi.
Description of critical fisheries data and information gaps. c.
Analyze data to develop EFRs using the guidelines suggested by the selected method. This will require the convening of a workshop with technical experts in the basin.
2.
NHI will: a.
Manage and monitor progress on the research.
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b.
Integrate results into the Okavango River WEAP model. c.
Introduce model to OKACOM planning process (as part of USAID project).
3.
SEI-B will: a.
Develop a general methodology for linking EFR methods to WEAP. b.
Describe the relevance of this linkage to the Dialogue on Water, Food and
Environment.
4.
UCD will: a.
Participate in the basin workshop. b.
Provide scientific input to all work products.
METHODOLOGY
The primary research methodologies will involve the selection and application of collection the most appropriate EFR method to the inland fishery in the Okavango River and river basin modeling to consider potential tradeoffs between these EFRs and other potential water uses, particularly upstream irrigation development in Angola. The PI will guide the day to day research carried out by a Post Doc to be recruited from a basin state, supported by a locally hired research assistant. Close relations will be established and maintained with the relevant environment and natural resource officials in the basin. Primary delivery of results will be through the OKACOM planning process with which the project staff have effective working relationships, as well as through IUCN ROSA with whom NHI is collaborating on the USAID funded project to work with OKACOM.
BENEFICIARIES AND IMPACT
The fishing communities along the Okavango River will benefit from the research, as it will provide information needed to consider fishery EFRs in ongoing water planning efforts.
OKACOM will also benefit, as the information generated will assist them in making a reasoned assessment of tradeoff between food security, poverty reduction and environmental protection.
The Okavango Delta IMP will also benefit from the outcomes of this project. Others involved with river basin planning where traditional fishing is an important consideration will benefit from the experience gained by this project.
IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT (see timeline)
NHI, the recipient of the USAID project funds, will serve as the coordinating entity and will stay closely involved with the OKACOM planning process that provides the overarching institutional environment for this effort. UB, located within one of the basin states, will serve as the primary research location for this effort, a role strongly suggested by their past and ongoing fisheries research in the region. UCD will assure that this effort is coordinated with the activities of the ichthyology research communities and will provide scientific input to all work products. SEI-B will follow the process of the Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment and advise on how the project can contribute to those efforts.
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Proposed Activity
Recruit Post-Doc, M.Sc. Student
(Priority given to nationals of basin states)
Reseach Coordination Meeting
Develop Research Study Plan
(Select appropriate EFR method)
Project Workshops - 1 workshop
Research Collaboration:
Complete EFR Analysis
Publication of Results - 1 article
Lead
Partner
UB
Supporting
Partner
UCD
MONTH OF PROJECT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
UB
UB
UCD
NHI
SEI-B
UCD
UB
UCD
UB
UB
NHI
SEI-B
UB
UCD
UCD
Integration into Okavango WEAP model
Linkage with General WEAP model
NHI
SEI-B
UB
Coordination with this activity will occur
Dialogue on Water Food and Environment SEI-B throughout the life of the project
DISSEMINATION STRATEGY
Project results and information will be disseminated through the outreach programs associated with Sharing Water and with the Every River Project. Specific fisheries data compiled as part of this project will be added to the basin-wide Sharing Water database that will be housed at
HOORC. In addition, project results will be disseminated through publication in the scientific literature, and if appropriate, through participation at a future river fishery, Ecohydraulics, and related conferences and similar fora. Lastly, as part of the project workshop project results, information will be disseminated to interested parties along the Okavango and to OKACOM.
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MONITORING
Project Title: The Future of Fishing in the Okavango River: Factoring Inland Fisheries into
River Basin Planning
Year 2004 Project Manager Dr. Elizabeth Soderstrom
Page 1 of 1
Narrative Summary
Goal:
Assure needs of fishes and fishing communities along the Okavango are considered during the development of longterm management plans.
Purpose:
 Develop EFRs needed to sustain Okavango fishery to be included in WEAP model developed to support
OKACOM planning process.
 Link research to
Dialogue on Water
Food and Environment
Outputs:
 Journal article
 WEAP model with
EFR database and scenarios.
 Report describing link between EFR and
WEAP.
Activities:
 EFR method applied
 along Okavango River.
Use of EFRs in
Okavango WEAP model.
 Linking EFR method to WEAP model .
Measurable
Indicators
WEAP scenario that includes EFR for the
Okavango River submitted to
OKACOM by end of
2004.
Report on EFR research results and resulting WEAP databases produced by the end of 2004.
Report describing link between EFR and WEAP completed by end of
2004.
EFRs for the
Okavango River fishery quantified with a corresponding number of instream flow nodes added to
Okavango WEAP model by end of
2004.
Data analysis completed by June
2004, general WEAP model configuration of the Okavango completed by end of
2004.
Means of
Verification
Relevant WEAP model sent to
OKACOM and
CA Project
Managers.
Report sent to CA
Project Managers.
Publication of peer reviewed articles, workshops held in the region, and
WEAP model submitted to
OKACOM.
Progress reports sent to CA Project managers.
Meetings and workshops held.
Important
Assumptions
OKACOM willingness to consider fisheries as a part of their water management scenarios.
An appropriate
EFR method is available and can be implemented.
Recruitment of post-doc and successful link between EFR and
WEAP evident.
Information available to configure WEAP for the Okavango
River Basin.
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BUDGET
Personnel (full loaded)
UCD, (in-kind)
NHI, proj. mgmt.
SEI-B, WEAP upgrade, Dialogue
UB, co-PI, research mgmt.
UB Admin. Asst., research support
Total staff
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Personnel
Office & Research Supplies
Photocopy, Supplies, fax, phone
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Supplies
International Travel + Expenses
US – Southern Africa
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total International Travel
Workshops
Expert/Stakeholder Meetings
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Workshop
Fellowships
UB Post-Doc, research
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Fellowships
Publications & Disseminations
Journal articles
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Publication
Vehicles & Equipment
Lap-Top Computers
NHI Indirect Charge
Sub-Total Equipment
Sub-Total
Contingency
Grand Total
In-Kind Contributions
USAID Project Funds
UCD Research Support
Total
Unit Units
Cost
$/hr
Number
0
Total
Cost
$ -
$ 89 $/hr 150 $ 13,350
$ 80 $/hr
$ 50 $/hr
$ 8,500 $/yr
80
150
$ 6,400
$ 7,500
20%
20% $ 1,700
$ 28,950
$ 5,790
$ 34,740
20%
$ 1,050
$ 210
$ 1,260
$ 4,000 round trip
20%
$ 12,000
20%
$ 15,000
20%
$ 500
20%
$ 1,000 lap-top
20%
0% event
$/yr article
2
1
$ 8,000
$ 1,600
$ 9,600
$ 12,000
$ 2,400
$ 14,400
70% $ 10,500
$ 2,100
$ 12,600
2 $ 1,000
$ 200
$ 1,200
1 $ 1,000
$ 200
$ 1,200
$ 75,000
$ -
$ 75,000
$ 120 50
$2,100,000
$ 6,000
$2,106,000
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