The Okavanga Delta:

Geography of the area Many countries share rivers, as they do not always follow country borders. In southern Africa, there has been tension in the past between Namibia and Botswana over the waters of the Okavanga River. In the mid 1990s, the Namibian government wanted to remove water from the river, and pipe it down to the capital, Windhoek. However, the problem with this was that it would reduce the amount of water available for local use - such as irrigation for crops and grazing for animals.

Who has control? The river flows into an area called the Okavanga Delta, which has many species of wildlife - and this helps bring tourists to the area. The Botswana government was concerned that any reduction in water flowing into the delta would lead to shortages, which would have a wider impact on all aspects of the economy. There has also been a tendency by governments to sell off certain areas to private companies, for example land boarding the rivers for safari camps. This has an impact upon local people both in terms of water usage and employment.

Sharing resources Where local communities in both Botswana and Namibia have some control over natural resources they are more likely to develop them in environmentally sensitive ways. However, a positive step taken by the governments in each country - and also neighbouring Angola - has been to form a joint water commission. This aims to review all projects and tries to work together in order to ensure that any development in the area is sustainable and will not negatively impact upon the lives of their neighbours downstream.