SAN Petition to Stop ReconAfrica's Drilling operations in the Okavango

SAN Petition to Stop ReconAfrica's Drilling operations in the Okavango

Started
18 January 2021
Petition to
Petition Closed
This petition had 3,377 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by First People Southern Africa

We, the undersigned supporters of the indigenous San people of southern Africa strongly oppose plans to prospect for, and potentially extract, oil and gas in the Kavango basin straddling Namibia and Botswana.

It has been brought to our attention that currently the Canadian company Reconnaissance Oil and Gas (ReConAfrica) has, through its locally registered subsidiaries and joint ventures, been granted licenses to prospect for petroleum products over 8.75 million acres of the Kalahari Desert extending to the south eastern banks of the Okavango River and Delta. This area includes numerous areas of international significance, but for the San indigenous people the most sacred ‘homeland’.

As the custodians of this land for thousands of years, and the rightful current inhabitants and custodians of this land, they have never been consulted, nor have they given the go ahead to any entities to prospect for oil and gas in their lands.

We would like to remind the governments of Botswana and Namibia, and the SADC region, that by pursuing oil and gas developments in the area, they contravene their commitments to various international declarations and agreements as well as national laws.

Petition Closed

This petition had 3,377 supporters

Share this petition

Share this petition in person or use the QR code for your own material.Download QR Code