Unraveling the Okavango: How Shifting Flood Patterns Reshape Ecosystems and Human Lives

Cooperating countries: Namibia and Austria

Coordinating institution: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Daniel S. Hayes daniel.hayes@boku.ac.at 

Partner institutions: University of Namibia

Project duration: 

Budget: EUR 39.249

Abstract: 

The Okavango River Basin sustains rich biodiversity and river-dependent communities across Angola, Namibia, and Botswana, yet climate change and human activities increasingly threaten its hydrology and ecosystem stability. The OKAFLOOD project investigates how shifting flood patterns, driven by changing rainfall, water abstraction, and infrastructure development, impact floodplain connectivity, aquatic ecosystems, and human well-being. Using high-resolution satellite data, including new Earth observation missions’ data, OKAFLOOD will track spatial and temporal changes in floodplain inundation, integrating GIS-based hydrological modeling with ecological and pollution assessments from the Kamutjonga floodplain, a socio-economically important river reach, as a regional case study. By analyzing flood variability in relation to fish productivity, water quality, and food security, the project will provide critical insights into ecosystem resilience and environmental health risks at different spatial scales. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining remote sensing, ecology, and socio-environmental research, OKAFLOOD will generate policy-relevant data to support sustainable water management and transboundary governance. Strengthening Austrian-African research collaborations, the project contributes to SDGs on global partnership (SDG 17), clean water (SDG 6), food security (SDG 2), biodiversity conservation (SDG 15), and human well-being (SDG 3).