Stop Oil Drilling in Namibia's Kavango Basin
July 15th 2.30pm (UK Time)
Explorations by the Canadian company Recon Africa in Namibia’s Kavango Basin has evoked concern both inside the country and internationally. There is a perceived threat to the local communities, their water supplies, to wildlife, and to the spectacular landscape. The development comes as climate change severely impacts the lives and livelihoods of many.
This webinar is an opportunity to hear directly from people in Namibia who are calling for a moratorium on oil drilling and for a full public inquiry into how best to protect the rights of inhabitants and their environment in Kavango.
Speakers:
Nadia April
I am a young feminist women’s rights activist from Namibia. I work with the Women’s Leadership Centre as Programme Officer for our San Young Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Programme.
The WLC builds the feminist voice, visibility, creativity, and leadership of young women from some of the most marginalized sectors of our society, including lesbian young women, indigenous San young women, and young women living under customary law and exposed to all forms of violence and HIV through harmful cultural practices.
Max Muyemburuko
I'm a graduate from International Training College Lingua, holding a Diploma in Travel and Tourism Management. I am a conservator under Community Based Natural Resources Management CBNRM and Community Based Organization CBO.
I was elected by members organization in 2017 as a chairperson for Kavango East and West Regional Conservancy and Community Forestry Association.
The objective of the association is to conserve our natural resources and practise sustainable management to derive benefits for the community. I reside in Kavango East Region, Namibia.
Matt Totten
Matt Totten Jr. received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from the University of Oklahoma, specializing in oil & gas. Matt then worked as an exploration and operations geologist for BP (British Petroleum) in both the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and onshore United States from 2010 to 2015. During that time, Matt explored for new deepwater oil & gas prospects, planned and drilled deepwater production wells for BP's largest Gulf of Mexico oil fields, and geosteered several horizontal frack wells for BP's East Texas Unconventionals Team. In 2015, Matt left the oil & gas industry and now uses his expertise and knowledge to help keep fossil fuels where they belong — in the ground.
Other speakers to be confirmed
From Rt Revd Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Chair of Christian Aid
'I welcome the letter from Anglican Bishops protesting at the projected oil drilling by ReConAfrica in the Kavango Basin in Namibia. It is almost incomprehensible at this moment in the history of our planet that we should be seeking fresh sources for fossil fuel. But the situation is made still worse by the threat to a delicately balanced local ecology (including its water supplies), the overriding of the freedoms and rights of indigenous people and the side-lining of proper public scrutiny in the decision-making process. I echo the call for second thoughts about this regressive and potentially destructive development, and urge all concerned parties to press for some clear governmental commitments to the just protection of the entire ecosystem of this region. With the bishops who have signed this letter, I believe that our Christian faith calls us to honour and defend all that makes life flourish, human and non-human life alike.'
Learn more about oil drilling in Kavango: