Human Interactions

The Okavango Swamp lies in a former British Protectorate known as Bechuanaland. The British government formed the Bechuanaland on March 31, 1885 after the Batswana leader Khama III appealed for help as tensions escalated with the Boer settlers from Transvaal and when hostilities broke out between the Shona inhabitants of Batswana and Ndebele tribes who were migrating into the territory from the Kalahari Desert. Botswana became independent on September 20, 1966. Since the first European colonists, settlers, and developers set their eyes on the Okavango Swamp, they have been thinking of it as a sources of water to transform north-western Botswana into lush, green farmland. Because there was more wilderness than they could handle, many early newcomers described the swamp as "wasted waters", apparently ignoring the fact that local people depended on these wetlands for their livelihood. This, like most other interactions between native Africans and European colonizers, was how the Europeans thought. They thought Africans needed to be fixed and that their way of life was not sustainable--but in fact, the indigenous peoples of the Okavango Swamp were very much able to live off the land and survive without the help of outsiders. Today, most of the European influence has dissipated, but the impact and scars left behind on the landscape and the indigenous peoples in unforgettable.

The indigenous peoples that live in and around the Okavango Swamp have a variety of uses for the land, water and nutrients that are present within the swamp. There are five ethnic groups that live in close proximity to the swamp, all distinct in their ethnicity, identity and language--but are common in their use and land practices within the swamp. The Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Wayeyi groups all belong to a large group called the Bantus; while the other two ethnic groups the Bugakhwe and ||anikwhe, are considered to be bushmen. The Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Bugakhwe inhabit the areas along the Okavango River in Angola and in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia. Within the Okavango Delta, over the past 150 years or so Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Bugakhwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the Magwegqana in the northeastern Delta. The ||anikhwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the area along the Boro River through the Delta, as well as the area along the Boteti River. The Wayeyi have inhabited the area around Seronga and the southern Delta around Maun, and a few Wayeyi live in their putative ancestral home in the Caprivi Strip. Within the past 20 years many people from all over the Okavango have migrated to Maun, and in the late 1960's and early 1970's over 4,000 Hambukushu refugees from Angola were settled in the area around Etsha in the western Panhandle.

The Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Wayeyi have traditionally practice mixed economies of millet/sorghum agriculture, fishing, hunting, and the collection of wild plant foods; and pastoralism. The Bugakhwe and ||anikwhe have traditionally practiced fishing, hunting, and collection of wild plant foods. Bugakhwe utilized both forest and riverine resources while the ||anikhwe mostly focused on riverine resources. Because of the richness of the minerals and nutrients brought down with the waters of the Okavango River, and the purity of the water--all five groups are able to sustain themselves on their lands. Most of the land within and surrounding the swamp have some kind of use or natural resource that the groups are able to use and sustain themselves without interfering with one another. But, as population pressures increase, and the land these indigenous peoples live on grows smaller the possibility of conflict increases dramatically. For now the situation seems under control, but nature has its own way of dealing with pressure--and we could find the swamp dried up within a few years and hundreds of people without common resources such as water, food and shelter.

Today there are four game reserves that encompass the Okavango Swamp and the areas surrounding the swamp. Over 17% of Botswana's land area has been set-aside as national parks and game reserves. From the lush green of the Okavango Delta in the north to the red desert dunes in the south, great areas of wilderness have been carefully preserved. Although the national road networks between main centers are tarred and in first class condition, many of the access tracks that lead to the parks and reserves, and many of the tracks within the protected areas, are rough and sandy, requiring the use of a 4x4 vehicle. With continued assurance that these parks are reserves will be in place to protect some of the most fragile lands in Botswana, the peoples who rely on the swamp for water, food and shelter will be able to survive as long as nature allows.