The Wilderness Project

As we navigate thousands of kilometers of Africa’s rivers, the narratives continue to evolve. The connection between science, community and culture runs deep and so we look to emerging African filmmakers to surface unique perspectives on these tangled ecosystems. Together with our partners AFRISOS, we hold immersive expedition storytelling workshops, where five candidates from across the continent are asked to produce a finished short film on themes relevant to freshwater. Last year, the workshop location of the Okavango Delta, a magical wetland wilderness in Botswana and home to the Ba’Yei people, provided the inspiration. The Ba’Yei are integral to the Delta ecosystem, having lived here for centuries. Many of our Botswana team members are Ba’Yei, and have taught us everything we know about one of the most vibrant wetlands in Africa.? For his film, Botswana filmmaker Bose Bonda profiled Kgosimoruti Keekanamang, locally known as Double Kays, a wise and greatly experienced navigator of the Okavango’s waterways. This short story is a reflection on disappearing cultures, and how Kgosimoruti himself continues to push his ageing body through the rigours of being a poler while holding on to the remaining threads of his father’s legacy. https://lnkd.in/d92ecPRh African School of Storytelling (AFRISOS) Jigar Ganatra #storytelling #botswana #okavangodelta #africanfilmmakers #africandocumentary #africanrivers #deltaecosystems #botswanawetlands #botswanaculture

On World Wildlife Day, we celebrate the magnificence of the Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia, a thriving multi-species society where aquatic, terrestrial and aerial residents live through richly intertwined boom and bust cycles. In a landscape the size of a small country some 60,000 human residents navigate ever shifting channels. Their lives, like those of the thousands of birds, mammals, insects and fish they live with, are dictated by seasonal flooding events. In this ecosystem, water is the blue blood that feeds every facet of life. Bangweulu pulses because of the source waters that feed it, and key amongst these is the Chambeshi River. The Chambeshi is the most distant source of the mighty Congo River. It originates as a trickle in Zambia’s Senga Hills near the border with Tanzania, from where it flows in a south-easterly direction for 160 km towards the Chambeshi Flats — a large complex of dambos and wet meadows that regulate the flow of water downstream towards an astonishing and ancient complex of lakes, swamps and floodplains. This is Bangweulu, “where the water meets the sky”. Despite its ecological significance, the Chambeshi River remained largely undocumented, with no modern scientific assessments of its biodiversity, water quality, and hydrology. To address this gap, our team initiated the Chambeshi River research transect in April–May of 2024, covering 765 km over 33 days from the river’s source to Tuta Bridge near the southwestern outflow of the Bangweulu Swamps. Working closely with our partners (Department of National Parks and Wildlife of Zambia, Water Resources Management Authority,? Copperbelt University, African Parks , University of Zambia, Wild Bird Trust), the expedition collected data on biodiversity, water quality, human impacts and river discharge. These findings will be used to create a baseline of river health against which all future changes can be measured. They also reveal with vivid clarity and immediacy the inextricable threads that bind these wetlands to the Chambeshi and the surrounding ecosystems, highlighting the critical role of freshwater in sustaining all life - human and wildlife - in and around Bangweulu. Copperbelt University African Parks Network Wild Bird Trust Water Resources Management Authority The University Of Zambia (UNZA) #WorldWildlifeDay #Bangweuluwetlands #shoebillconservation #wildlifeconservation #chambeshiriver #freshwaterecosystems