The Strategic Plan which currently governs activities at the Institute is found on: See PDF document

The Okavango Research Institute (ORI) has expertise in the following areas:

1. Hydrology-climate change
2. Ecosystem mapping-functioning
3. Ecosystem services
4. Ecosystem health
5. Natural resource governance - communication
6. Community based natural resource management
7. Cultural heritage studies
8. Tourism in Botswana
9. Natural resource use as basis for sustainable livelihoods
10. Analytical chemistry-water/soil science
11. Land-use-cover change
12. Rural development
13. Indigenous knowledge - plant usage
14. Fisheries

The ORI is currently undertaking about 25 projects, large and small. The following represents a sample of the larger projects.

The Ecohealth project  involves four ORI researchers working with personnel from the Department of Agricultural Research and the Department of Environmental Affairs and the UB main campus in Gaborone. This project is training six graduate students and focuses on health issues and the environment associated with flood recession (molapo) farming (in the downstream Okavango) in the context of climate change.
Funded by International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada 2010-2014
project leader: Prof Moses Chimbari
Weblink

The Darma (Defragmenting African Resource Management) project  focuses on issues of common property resource management in the region with regional collaborators. The overall objective is the protection of biodiversity and poverty alleviation on exploited commons while the project specifically develops scientific networks able to take an ecosystem approach to managing exploited resources and linking policy makers and local people dependent on the resources. Collaborators include the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Department of Fisheries, Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, Malawi, Centre for Social Research , University of Malawi, Malawi, AQUAFISH, Kafue, Zambia and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Harare, Zimbabwe. In Botswana we have four researchers working closely with the Tubu community where six community rangers have been trained to undertake aspects of environmental monitoring
Funded by European Union, Brussels
project leader: Dr Lapo Magole2010-2013

The Future Okavango (TFO) project  has just started with collaborators from six universities in Germany looking at ecosystem services and climate change in the Okavango river basin. This project comprises data base development in conjunction with the Okavango river basin secretariat (OKACOM). This project has funding to train eight graduate students in six sub-project areas including sustainable land management, ecosystem functioning and services, natural resource governance and soil/microbiology with German partners including the Universities of Hamburg, Bremen and Marburg.
Funding from BMBF, Germany project leader: Prof Susan Ringrose2011-2015
Weblink: OKACOM

The Edulink project  is underway with collaborators in Sudan and Zimbabwe. This project focuses on building environmental research capacity in Africa - training researchers in proposal writing and project development.
Funding from the European Union, Brussels
project leader: Prof Moses Chimbari 2011-2014

The RISE programme  is aimed at strengthening higher education in the sciences and engineering by increasing the population of skilled Ph.D. and M.Sc. scientists and engineers teaching in Africa's universities. RISE is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding". The Science Initiative Group (SIG) housed within the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Princeton University, New Jersey, USA, is leading the RISE initiative in consultation with African partners.

The Sub-Saharan African Water Resource Network (SSAWRN) is one of five networks that has received funding through the Carnegie-IAS Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE: see weblink) for the initial period of 2008-2010.

The institutions in the Sub-Saharan Africa Water Resources Network are:

• Institute for Water Research (IWR), Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa; Weblink)
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Makerere Waternetwork, Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda; Weblink)
• Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre (HOORC - now ORI), University of Botswana (Maun, Botswana; Weblink)
• Department of Geology, Eduardo Mondlane University (Maputo, Mozambique; Weblink)

Academic Director: Prof Denis Hughes, Rhodes University, South Africa.
Funding from the Carnegie Corporation, USA, project leader: Prof Wellington Masamba 2011-2014
Weblink

The "Climate, Land-use, Institutions and People - CLIP"  project seeks to understand and predict the impact in southern Africa of climate variability and climate change on land-use and land-cover change via socio-economic institutions. The 4-year (2009-2012) project focuses on the broader landscape encompassing the 3 river basins of the Okavango, Kwando-Linyanti and Zambezi. We hypothesize that socio-economic institutions are the main instruments of human adaptation to climate variability and change, and that the observable outcomes of institutional adaptations are seen in the spatial and material expression of LCLUC. The broader objectives of the project are to: A) develop an understanding of past climate, past climate variability and the main drivers of climate change for the region across the last 80 years; B) determine the spatial and temporal characteristics of land cover change as it correlates to climate variability across the past 40 years, the past decade and the next 20 years under different scenarios of climate change; C) develop understanding of land use history and land use change across the region and then develop linkages between spatial and temporal characteristics of land use as it relates to climate variability; and D) use results of the previous three research objectives to test future scenarios using the SAVANNA and QnD object oriented models with Global Sensitivity and Uncertainty methods. One MPhil student is being funded.
CLIP is led by Prof. Jane Southworth and other co-investigators at the University of Florida's Department of Geography (Weblink), and Dr Lin Cassidy is the Botswana collaborator.

These have not been finally formulated but could include aspects of:

1. Hydrology-climate change
2. Ecosystem mapping-functioning
3. Ecosystem services
4. Ecosystem health
5. Natural resource governance - communication
6. Community based natural resource management
7. Cultural heritage studies
8. Tourism in Botswana
9. Natural resource use as basis for sustainable livelihoods
10. Analytical chemistry-water/soil science
11. Land-use-cover change
12. Rural development
13. Indigenous knowledge - plant usage
14. Fisheries

With equal emphasis on training, service and research. For instance we are significantly involved in remote sensing analyses and data base development and would appreciate training/upgrading of our technical staff.

• MPhil-PhD programme - currently with 20 students
• WATERNET proramme
• short courses on lab techniques and GIS/remote sensing

Enhanced graduate student training

Alelign, A., Yemshaw,Y., Demel Teketay and Edwards, S. 2011. Socio-economic factors affecting sustainable utilization of woody species in Zegie Peninsula , northwestern Ethiopia. Tropical Ecology 52(1): 13-24, 2011 Download abstract as PDF

Black, F.J., Bokhutlo, T., Somoxa, A., Maethamako, M., Modisaemang, O., Kemosedile, T., Cobb-Adams, C., Mosepele, K. and Chimbari, M. The tropical African mercury anomaly: Lower than expected mercury concentrations in fish and human hair. Sci Total Environ, Vol 409, 10, 1967-1975. Abstract

Diskin, S., Evans, J., Fowler, M.B. and Guion, P.D. 2011. Recognising different sediment provenances within a Passive Margin setting: Towards characterising a sediment source to the west of the British Upper Carboniferous sedimentary basins . Chemical Geology, Vol 283, Issue 3-4, p. 143-160. Abstract

Fynn, R.W.S. and Bonyongo, M.C. 2011. Functional conservation areas and the future of Africa's wildlife. African Journal of Ecology ONLINE Abstract

Fynn, R., Morris, G., Ward, D. and Kirkman, K. 2011. Trait-environment relations for dominant grasses in South African mesic grassland support a general leaf economic model. Journal of Vegetation Science (2011) 1-13. Abstract

Gondwe, M.J., Guilford, S.J. and Hecky, R.E. 2011. Physical-chemical measurements in the water column along a transect through a tilapia cage fish farm in Lake Malawi, Africa Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol 37, suppl 1, p. 102-113. Abstract

Gondwe, M.J., Guilford, S.J. and Hecky, R.E. 2011. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from tilapia fish cages in Lake Malawi and factors influencing their magnitude. Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol 37, suppl 1, p. 93-101. Abstract

Mbaiwa, J. 2011. The effects of tourism development on the sustainable utilisation of natural resources in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Current Issues in Tourism, 14: 3, 251 - 273. Abstract

Mbaiwa, J. E. , Stronza, A. and Kreuter, U. 2011. From Collaboration to Conservation: Insights From the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Society & Natural Resources, vol 24, 4, p. 400-411. Abstract

Mbaiwa, J.E., Stronza, A.L., 2011 Changes in resident attitudes towards tourismdevelopment and conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Journal of Environmental Management ONLINE Abstract

Mbaiwa, J. E. 2011. Changes on traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles caused by tourism development in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Tourism Management ON-LINE Abstract

Thakadu, O. T., Irani, T. A. and Telg, R. 2011. Communicating in the Public Sphere: Attitudes Toward Different Public Instructional Communication Methods. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 5, 1, p. 83 - 103. Abstract

Thakadu, O.T., Irani, T. and Telg, R. 2011. Relative Effects of Visualized and Verbal Presentation Methods in Communicating Environmental Information Among Stakeholders: Okavango Delta, Botswana Applied Environmental Education & Communication, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 63 - 75 Abstract

Vanderpost, C., Ringrose, S., Matheson, W. and Arntzen, J. 2011. Satellite based long-term assessment of rangeland condition in semi-arid areas: An example from Botswana. Journal of Arid Environments, 75 (2011) 383-389. Abstract

Wondie, M., Schneider, W., Melesse, A.M. and Demel Teketay. 2011. Spatial and Temporal Land Cover Changes in the Simen Mountains National Park, a World Heritage Site in Northwestern Ethiopia. Remote Sens. 2011, 3, 752-766. Abstract

Cassidy, L., Binford, M., Southworth, J. and Barnes, G. 2010. Social and ecological factors and land-use land-cover diversity in two provinces in southeast Asia. Journal of Land Use Science, Vol 5, Issue 4, p. 277-306. Abstract

Chimbari, M. Editorial. Jotoafrika, Newsletter issue 5, Dec 2010. Adapting to climate change in Africa: The implications of climate change for health in Africa. Abstract

Darkoh, M.B.K. and Mbaiwa, J.E. 2010. Perceived effects of veterinary fences on subsistence livestock farming in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Uniswa Research Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Vol 12, 1. University of Swaziland. Download as PDF

Kolawole, O. D. 2010. Inter-disciplinarity, development studies and developnment practice. Development in Practice, Vol 20, 2, 227-239. Abstract

Kolawole, O.D., Williams, S.B. and Awujola, A.F. 2010. Indigenous fish processing and preservation amongst women in Southwestern Nigeria. Indian journal of traditional knowledge, 9(4), pp. 668-672. Abstract

Kurugundla,C.N., Bonyongo, M.C. and Serumola,O. 2010. Impacts of deltamethrin aerial spraying on adult Cyrtobagous salviniae in Botswana. African Journal of Aquatic Science 2010, 35(3): 259-265. Abstract

Lezine, A-M., von Grafenstein, U., Andersen, N., Belmecheri, S., Bordon, A., Caron, B., Cazet, J-P., Erlenkeuser, H, Fouache, E., Grenier, C., Huntsman-Mapila, P., Hureau-Mazaudier, D., Manelli, D., Mazaud, A., Robert, C., Sulpizio, R., Tiercelin, J-J., Zanchetta, G., Zeqollari, Z., 2010. Lake Ohrid, Albania, provides an exceptional multi-proxy record of environmental changes during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol 287, Issues 1-4, P. 116-127. Abstract

Magole, L., Turner, S. and Büscher, B. 2010. Towards an effective commons governance system in Southern Africa? International Journal of the Commons, 4,2. ON-LINE Abstract

Mataka, L.M., Sajidu, S.M.I., Masamba, W.R.L. and Mwatseteza, J.F. 2010. Cadmium sorption by Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera seed powders: Batch, time, temperature, pH and adsorption isotherm studies. International Journal of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Vol. 2(3), pp. 50-59. Abstract

Mbaiwa, Joseph E. and Stronza, Amanda L. 2010. The effects of tourism development on rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18: 5, 635 - 656. Abstract

McFarlane, M.J. Eckardt, F.D. Coetzee, S.H. and Ringrose, S. 2010. An African surface weathering profile in the Kalahari of North West Ngamiland, Botswana: processes and products. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Vol. 54,3, 273-303. Abstract

Meck, M.L., Atlhopheng, J., Masamba, W.R.L. and Ringrose, S. 2010. Pollution implications of save river water from weathering and dissolution of metal hosting minerals at Dorowa phosphate mine, Zimbabwe. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 679-685. Abstract

Meck, M.L., Atlhopheng, J., Masamba, W.R.L., Ringrose, S. and Diskin, S. 2010. Minerals that Host Metals at Dorowa Rock Phosphate Mine, Zimbabwe. The Open Mineralogy Journal, 2010, 4, 20-28 (1874-4567/10 2010 Bentham Open).

Mitsch, W.J., Nahlik, A., Wolski, P., Bernal, B., Zhang, L. and Ramberg,L. 2010. Tropical wetlands: seasonal hydrologic pulsing, carbon sequestration and methane emissions. Wetlands Ecology and Management, Vol 18, 5, 573-586. Abstract

Mmopelwa, G. and Ngwenya, B.N. 2010. Constraints and potentials of the fish market in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 5(23), pp. 3176-3184. Download abstract as PDF

Ngwenya, B. Child well-being in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Jotoafrika, Newsletter issue 5, Dec 2010. Adapting to climate change in Africa: The implications of climate change for health in Africa. Abstract

O'Halloran, L.R., Shugart, H.H., Wang, L., Caylor, K.K., Ringrose, S. and Kgope, B. 2010 Nutrient limitations on aboveground grass production in four savanna types along the Kalahari Transect. Journal of Arid Environments, Vol 74, Issue 2,P. 284-290. Abstract

Ramberg, L., Lindholm, M., Hessen, D.O., Murray-Hudson, M., Bonyongo, C., Heinl, M., Masamba, W., VanderPost, C. and Wolski, P. 2010. Aquatic ecosystem responses to fire and flood size in the Okavango Delta: observations from the seasonal floodplains Wetlands Ecology and Management, Vol 18, 5, 587-595. Abstract

Shinishunthirasingham , C., Mmereki , B.T., Masamba , W., Oyiliagu , C.E., Lei , Y.D. and Wania, F. 2010. Fate of Pesticides in the Arid Subtropics, Botswana, Southern Africa. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (21), pp 8082-8088. Abstract

Tesfaye, G., Demel Teketay, Masresha Fetene, Beck, E. 2010. Regeneration of seven indigenous tree species in a dry Afromontane forest, southern Ethiopia. FLORA 205, p. 135-143. Abstract

VanderPost, C. 2010. Ressourcenkonflikte und naturnaher Tourismus im Okavangodelta Botswanas (Resources and tourism in the Okavango Delta of Botswana). Geographische Rundschau 62, 6, June 2010, p. 28-34.