National Geographic Society and De Beers extend Okavango Eternal Partnership for Five More Years

The National Geographic Society and De Beers Group today 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 (“the 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 1 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 last night in New York, co-hosted by the 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, Advocate Duma Gideon Boko, President of the Republic of Botswana, alongside Ministers from Botswana, Angola and Namibia, came together to form an Alliance that demonstrated their shared commitment to strengthen 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 Angola, Namibia and Botswana the three countries that share the Basin. The geography of the Basin makes this level of cooperation essential. More than 95% 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.

Over the next five years, the 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.

His Excellency Advocate Duma Gideon Boko, President of the Republic of Botswana

“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.”

Five Years of Collective Impact

During its first five years, Okavango Eternal has combined the Society’s strengths in science, exploration and impact storytelling with De Beers’ century-long experience in nature conservation in southern Africa. Their collective work has also strengthened the relationships, knowledge and local capacity needed for continued collaboration with governments and communities in Okavango Eternal’s next chapter.