World Bank Group Approves New Grant to Unlock Sustainable Finance for the Cubango-Okavango River Basin

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2026-The World Bank Group today announced the approval of a $10 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund to support the Cubango-Okavango River Basin: Financing Innovation in Transboundary Waters Project. The project will help capitalize and operationalize a dedicated endowment fund to protect one of Africa's most ecologically significant transboundary river basins, shared by Angola, Botswana, and Namibia.

The Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) is home to the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA). The basin sustains the livelihood of over one million people who depend on its water, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Despite its ecological and economic importance, the basin has faced a persistent gap in long-term, sustainable financing to support coordinated natural resource management and resilient development across its three riparian countries.

This project directly addresses that gap by supporting the capitalization of the CORB Fund, an innovative financing mechanism established under the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM). The GEF grant will provide $4 million in seed capital toward an endowment fund, with a total capitalization goal of $20 million to be achieved through matching contributions from riparian states and international partners.

"Transboundary water basins require long-term, cooperative solutions that go beyond individual country boundaries," said Anna Wellenstein, World Bank Group Regional Director for the Planet Department for Eastern and Southern Africa. "By supporting the establishment of a self-sustaining fund, the World Bank Group is creating the conditions for long-term environmental resilience that is the foundation for jobs and economic prosperity for communities that depend on this extraordinary river basin."

Beyond capitalization, the project will develop a pipeline of potential investments through pre-feasibility and feasibility studies in areas such as nature-based tourism, renewable energy, and wetland restoration. It will also strengthen the governance, operational systems, and monitoring capacity of the CORB Fund Secretariat, while supporting capacity building on the economics of biodiversity to inform the design of future investments.

"Delivered through the World Bank Group, this GEF support to operationalize and capitalize the CORB Fund marks a critical step toward securing sustainable financing for the globally significant Okavango Delta," said Phera Ramoeli, Executive Secretary of OKACOM. "This investment will help strengthen the basin's long-term resilience while improving livelihoods for communities across the shared waters of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia."

The project will be implemented by OKACOM through the CORB Fund Secretariat, in full alignment with parallel support provided by the European Union and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Contact:

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