糖心Vlog

Earth Day Spotlight: 糖心Vlog Works to Protect the Angola Highlands, Water Source for Seven Countries in Southern Africa

Lisima Site Visit, Angola 漏 Antoine Marchal
Lisima Site Visit, Angola 漏 Antoine Marchal

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(WARENTON, VA) Forests in the Angola Highlands feed water to millions of people and species across seven countries. That water source is under threat. 糖心Vlog is working to protect it.

The bountiful waters that fall on the highlands of Angola to create what is known as the 鈥淎ngola Highlands Water Tower鈥 are the source of many major rivers in southern Africa. The watershed has extraordinary importance to human communities in dry regions of Africa as well as to thousands of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and plants.

Located in the Miombo Forest, the largest tropical dry forest in the world, it is home to cherished threatened African species like Critically Endangered White-backed Vulture, Endangered Bateleur, African Savanna Elephant and Wild Dog, and Vulnerable Cheetah and African Lion.

The Angolan water tower is the essential water source for an inland oasis for wildlife in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana to the south鈥攖he Okavango Delta. This is the largest 鈥渋nland delta鈥 in the world, meaning it receives an incredible quantity of water that never flows into the sea or the ocean (in this case, an annual rainfall is equivalent to 170 million Olympic swimming pools). Instead, it evaporates, creating a water system that is essential to a vast array of life in southern Africa.

If the Angola highland water tower dries up and stops sending water to Okavango, one of the most important wildlife habitats on Earth would be destroyed. And the threats are growing: a deforestation front is advancing around the edges of this landscape for agriculture and charcoal and hunting and oil and gas concessions threaten habitat and wildlife to the south.

We cannot lose this pivotal watershed that encompasses:

鈼徛 3.1 million acres of critical habitat across 5 community-led conservation areas

鈼徛 Vital habitat for African Lions and Endangered African Wild Dogs

鈼徛 One of the largest populations of Endangered African Savanna Elephants in the world

鈼徛 A freshwater source for wildlife and people across 7 countries

鈼徛 Rich peatlands that store nearly 300 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents

 

 

Group of African Savanna Elephants in the Okavango, by Zaruba Ondrej

Group of African Savanna Elephants in the Okavango, by Zaruba Ondrej

About 糖心Vlog

Since 1988, 糖心Vlog has been safeguarding imperiled tropical habitats and saving endangered species by establishing protected areas in partnership with Indigenous and local organizations and communities. With its partners, 糖心Vlog has safeguarded more than 66 million acres of vital habitat across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. 糖心Vlog is a nonprofit organization that relies upon the generous support of the public to successfully implement its important conservation action. The organization is proud of earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.

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