4 (More) Reasons to Protect the Angola Highlands – Rainforest Trust

Right now, on the high plateau that covers most of Angola, the rainy season is nearly over. Trillions of gallons of rain have fallen since October and, for the next six months, this water will flow and seep into the surrounding landscape. Traveling through woodlands, savannas, source lakes, wetlands, and even deserts, the rain captured in the Angola Highlands will send ripples across the African continent.

One thousand miles downstream, much of this water will settle in the Okavango Delta, a globally renowned oasis in the Kalahari Desert. Its wetlands and waterholes draw giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, lions, elephants, hippos, antelopes, and millions of birds in an astounding symphony of life, all orchestrated by water from the highlands. If the Angola Highlands were lost, the Okavango Delta would become as barren as the desert around it.

This is reason enough to protect this incredible watershed. But the end of the water’s flow is only the beginning of the story.

Here are 4 more reasons we must act now to protect the Angola Highlands:

1.  Rivers

The Angola Highlands Water Tower feeds the basins of 11 rivers, including the Congo, which runs like a lifeline through the heart of the world’s second-largest rainforest. The headwaters of the Zambezi River rise here, too, launching a 2,000-mile cascade through nine countries—including a monumental drop over Victoria Falls—before a final release to the Indian Ocean.

The Cuito River seeps slowly from the highlands, creating source lakes and peatlands that release water throughout the dry season. The Cubango River flows more quickly down the rocky slopes of the plateau. They converge in Namibia to form the Kavango River, which is called the Okavango once it enters Botswana and carves into the Kalahari Desert to settle in the world’s largest inland delta. The Okavango Delta receives 95% of its seasonal floodwaters from these rivers.

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