By Reinhold Mangundu
As the world’s major powers race to secure oil, gas, and so-called “critical minerals” to fuel energy transitions and advanced technologies, Namibia finds itself standing on dangerous ground.
In the rush to attract investment and position the country as a resource frontier, we are quietly placing our most precious and irreplaceable resource at risk: water.
This is not a distant concern. Namibia is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Our economy, our food systems, our rural livelihoods, and our cities survive on fragile surface water and ancient underground aquifers.
Yet today, as extractive industries expand, from oil and gas exploration to uranium and lithium mining, water protection is being treated as an afterthought. That should alarm every Namibian.
A resource race with hidden costs
Globally, minerals such as lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, and uranium are increasingly framed as “critical” for the clean energy transition. They power batteries, wind turbines, nuclear plants, and digital infrastructure. For powerful economies, securing these resources is a strategic priority.
Namibia is deeply entangled in this global race. Mining already constitutes a central pillar of the national economy, with uranium, copper, and lithium contributing significantly to exports and GDP, while oil is projected to become the largest contributor by 2030. Recent onshore exploration, offshore oil discoveries, and green hydrogen ambitions promise rapid economic growth and increased foreign investment. Yet beneath these promises lies an uncomfortable truth: extractivism is inherently water-intensive, frequently polluting, and fundamentally threatening to water security, particularly in arid environments like Namibia.
Water in a country that cannot afford to lose it
Nearly 80% of Namibia’s water supply depends on groundwater, drawn from critical aquifers such as Stampriet, Windhoek, Kuiseb, and the transboundary Okavango Basin. These aquifers sustain agriculture, towns, livestock, ecosystems, and rural livelihoods in a country where rainfall is unpredictable and evaporation rates are among the highest in the world. This water is already under severe strain.
In early 2025, Namibia’s total dam storage stood at just over 50%, reflecting recurring droughts and declining inflows. This pattern is not an anomaly, it is the norm. Every year, we watch dam levels fall, restrictions tighten, and communities scramble to cope. When the rains fail, viallages go thirsty, agriculture collapses, tourism suffers, manufacturing slows, and even small informal businesses, like local car washes, are affected. Everything depends on water. Water is life.
And yet, mining, drilling, and exploration activities are increasingly taking place above and around these very aquifers, with limited transparency, weak oversight, and inadequate public consultation.
Climate change is tightening the noose
Climate change is no longer a future threat; it is a present reality. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall are accelerating land degradation and reducing agricultural productivity. In southern Africa, crop yields are projected to decline significantly, increasing food insecurity and dependence on imports.
As surface water becomes more unreliable, Namibia will be forced to rely even more heavily on groundwater, precisely the resource now being placed at risk by extractive activities.
The United Nations has just declared that the world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy.” For a country like Namibia, continuing to gamble with water in pursuit of short-term profits is not development, it is recklessness.
Raising the alarm comes at a cost for Communities
History shows that when communities raise concerns about extractive projects, they are often dismissed, intimidated, or accused of being “anti-development.” Grassroots movements are portrayed as obstacles rather than as defenders of public interest.
Yet it is precisely these movements that have exposed environmental violations, demanded accountability, and defended communal land and water rights. From resistance to oil exploration in the Okavango Basin to successful legal challenges against offshore drilling on South Africa’s Wild Coast, community action has proven essential.
In Namibia, however, such resistance is frequently met with hostility. Environmental defenders are labelled troublemakers. Investors are prioritised over citizens. Growth is pursued at all costs, even when it contradicts climate commitments and constitutional rights.
We have seen this before. The Goreangab Dam stands as a grim reminder of what happens when environmental safeguards are sacrificed for investment promises. Once polluted, ecosystems do not simply recover. Aquifers, once contaminated, may be lost forever.
Fuel or water? The real question
The argument for continued fossil fuel and mineral extraction rests on economic necessity. But we must ask a harder question: Is fuel more important than water?
As E.F. Schumacher warned, squandering natural capital threatens life itself. No amount of uranium revenue, oil profits, or foreign investment can replace a destroyed aquifer. In southern Namibia, uranium exploration has already been permitted in areas that supply water to tens of thousands of farmers. If that water is polluted, the damage will be irreversible.
What will we do then, drink profits? This is a moment of choice. Namibia can continue down a path where extractivism is prioritised and water protection is sidelined, or it can choose a future grounded in ecological responsibility, social justice, and long-term resilience.
Our economy will never thrive on the ruins of a bankrupt environment. Development that destroys water destroys the nation itself. This is not an anti-development argument. It is a pro-life one.
*Reinhold Mangundu is a community development planner, sustainability researcher, and environmental activist passionate about Namibia. He holds a Master of Philosophy in Sustainable Development, Planning, and Management, as well as a postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development (Cum Laude) from the University of Stellenbosch . He has an Honours Degree in Regional and Rural Development from the Namibia University of Science and Technology. He holds a Special Development Award from Joseph Jaworski Next Generation Foresight Practitioners, 2021 and the ITPR International Young Visionary Award Winner, 2020. He is the Chairperson of Namibia Environment and Wildlife Society. He is currently a PhD Candidate with the Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Sustainability Transitions. His PhD research focuses on the transformative potential of social innovations in fostering transformative African futures.
