The National Geographic Society and De Beers Group have announced the renewal of the Okavango Eternal partnership for an additional five years, reaffirming their commitment to the long-term protection of the Okavango River Basin and to conservation-related livelihood opportunities for the people who live there and help steward it.
One of Africa’s most vital wetland ecosystems, the Basin provides food, water and livelihoods for more than one million people and sustains one of the world’s largest elephant populations, while its Angolan headwaters feed other major river systems across the continent.
Today’s announcement follows an event held in New York last night, co-hosted by the National Geographic Society and De Beers during New York Climate Week.
The gathering celebrated the first five years of Okavango Eternal and brought together world leaders, policymakers and sustainability changemakers. At the event, Duma Boko, President of the Republic of Botswana, alongside Ministers from Botswana, Angola and Namibia, came together forming an Alliance that demonstrated their shared commitment to strengthen transboundary cooperation across the Basin.
Since its launch in 2021, the Okavango Eternal partnership has delivered tangible progress and will now build on that foundation by strengthening collaboration with Botswana, Angola and Namibia, the three countries that share the Basin.
The geography of the Basin makes this level of cooperation essential. More than 95 percent of the water sustaining the Okavango Delta originates in the Angolan Highlands before flowing through Namibia and into Botswana. This interconnected system links the food and water security and economic futures of all three countries.
The next five-year phase of Okavango Eternal comes at a critical moment for preserving the Basin’s freshwater resources. While the Delta in Botswana benefits from formal protection, its Angolan source does not and faces mounting environmental and development pressures. Beyond global recognition as a wetland of international importance, formally protecting the Basin’s Angolan source is essential for current and future generations.
During the next five years, the National Geographic Society and De Beers aim to help secure formal protection for approximately 5.4 million hectares (54,000 square kilometers) at the Basin’s source in Angola, while also strengthening community-led systems of stewardship across the Basin. Achieving this ambition will require transboundary cooperation between governments, supported by communities and a broader global coalition of partners.
As an early expression of this more coordinated Basin-wide approach, Okavango Eternal today supported the presentation of an Okavango Eternal Alliance between the Governments of Botswana, Angola and Namibia. The Alliance affirms a shared commitment to safeguard the Basin as one interconnected system, from its source in Angola, through Namibia, and into the Delta in Botswana.
President Boko said: “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. Through Okavango Eternal, responsibly sourced natural diamonds are helping protect the source waters of the Okavango Basin, empower communities and demonstrate how natural wealth, when governed with integrity and purpose, can be transformed into enduring human and ecological progress for generations to come.”
Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society said: “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. 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.”
Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands & Diamond Desirability added that the Okavango is one of the most magnificent places I have ever visited. Hence, its light, water and movement run through the latest high jewellery collections of our Maison.
“More than inspiration, once you have seen the Okavango, preserving it stops being a cause and becomes a necessity. Protecting the source of one of Africa’s great river systems is not a gesture, it is a responsibility.
“The five years of Okavango Eternal have produced results, not intentions: 230 carbon-storing peatlands mapped, 82 community Watchers trained, more than 2,000 conservation-linked livelihoods supported, and Angola’s first Ramsar wetland secured by its Government.
“The next five years are just as precise: formal protection for 5.4 million hectares at the Basin’s source, and stronger community-led stewardship across it. It’s a privilege to be part of this work.”
According to Malebogo Mpugwa, Chief People Officer, De Beers Group, the Okavango is one of the world’s most extraordinary natural systems, but its importance is felt most deeply in the lives of the people who depend on it — in the water they drink, the livelihoods they build, the traditions they carry and the future they want for their children.
“That is why Okavango Eternal matters so much. It brings together governments, communities, conservation experts and partners around a shared commitment to protect the Basin in a way that respects local knowledge and supports long-term opportunity. The progress made so far shows what is possible when conservation is rooted in respect, partnership and genuine care for the people and places connected by the Okavango.”