X
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Team
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Technical Areas
      • Overview of Technical Areas
      • Agriculture and Food Security
      • Corporate Partnerships
      • Democracy and Governance
      • Economic Growth and Trade
      • Education and Youth
      • Environment and Natural Resources
      • Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
      • Health
      • Peace, Stability, and Transition
      • Supply Chain Management
      • Water, Energy, and Sustainable Cities
    • Integrated Solutions
      • Overview of Integrated Solutions
      • Innovation
      • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
      • Research and University Partnerships
    • Projects
      • Overview of Projects
      • Building Climate Finance Capacity in Nepal
      • Supplying Safe Water to Rural Tajikistan
      • Promoting Quality Education in Tajikistan
      • View All Projects
  • Where We Work
    • Where We Work
    • Implementation Regions
      • Overview of Implementation Regions
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe and Eurasia
      • Latin America and the Caribbean
      • Middle East and North Africa
    • Corporate Offices
      • Overview of Corporate Offices
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
  • Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • About Chemonics
      • Overview of About Chemonics
      • Our Mission and Values
      • Our History
      • Our Leadership Team
      • Board of Directors
      • Our Specialists
    • Our Approach
      • Overview of Our Approach
      • Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
      • Our Commitment to Our Industry
      • Our Commitment to Quality
      • Our Commitment to Integrity
  • Work With Us
    • Work With Us
    • Life at Chemonics
      • Overview of Life at Chemonics
      • Our Benefits
      • Career Paths
      • Professional Development
    • Our Partners
      • Overview of Our Partners
      • Our Procurements
      • Become a Partner
      • One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS)
    • Employment
      • Overview of Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
      • Consultants
      • U.S. Military Veterans
  • News and Blog
    • News and Blog
    • Recent Impact Stories
      • Overview of Recent Impact Stories
      • Playing Matchmaker for Farmers and Buyers in Georgia
      • Approaching 95-95-95 HIV/AIDS Goals by Focusing on Patients
      • Cracking the Case to Strengthen Haiti’s Judicial System
      • View all Impact Stories
    • Recent News Stories
      • Overview of Recent News Stories
      • Chemonics Published New UNGC Communication on Progress
      • Chemonics Invests in Youth-Driven Social Enterprises
      • Chemonics Does Digital Health
      • View all News Stories
    • Recent Blog Posts
      • Overview of Recent Blog Posts
      • The Case for Youth Engagement in the Program Design Process
      • Creating a Sustainable Peace Deal in Yemen
      • Building Back Better Through Trade
      • View all Blog Posts
Chemonics - Development works here.
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Team
  • What We Do
    • Technical Areas
      • Agriculture and Food Security
      • Corporate Partnerships
      • Democracy and Governance
      • Economic Growth and Trade
      • Education and Youth
      • Environment and Natural Resources
      • Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
      • Health
      • Peace, Stability, and Transition
      • Supply Chain Management
      • Water, Energy, and Sustainable Cities
    • Integrated Solutions
      • Innovation
      • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
      • Research and University Partnerships
    • Projects
      • Building Climate Finance Capacity in Nepal
      • Supplying Safe Water to Rural Tajikistan
      • Promoting Quality Education in Tajikistan
      • View All Projects
  • Where We Work
    • Implementation Regions
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe and Eurasia
      • Latin America and the Caribbean
      • Middle East and North Africa
    • Corporate Offices
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
  • Who We Are
    • About Chemonics
      • Our Mission and Values
      • Our History
      • Our Leadership Team
      • Board of Directors
      • Our Specialists
    • Our Approach
      • Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
      • Our Commitment to Our Industry
      • Our Commitment to Quality
      • Our Commitment to Integrity
  • Work With Us
    • Life at Chemonics
      • Our Benefits
      • Career Paths
      • Professional Development
    • Our Partners
      • Our Procurements
      • Become a Partner
      • One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS)
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
      • Consultants
      • U.S. Military Veterans
  • News and Blog
    • Recent Impact Stories
      • Playing Matchmaker for Farmers and Buyers in Georgia
      • Approaching 95-95-95 HIV/AIDS Goals by Focusing on Patients
      • Cracking the Case to Strengthen Haiti’s Judicial System
      • View all Impact Stories
    • Recent News Stories
      • Chemonics Published New UNGC Communication on Progress
      • Chemonics Invests in Youth-Driven Social Enterprises
      • Chemonics Does Digital Health
      • View all News Stories
    • Recent Blog Posts
      • The Case for Youth Engagement in the Program Design Process
      • Creating a Sustainable Peace Deal in Yemen
      • Building Back Better Through Trade
      • View all Blog Posts

A Damselfly Discovery in Angola.

February 25, 2016
  • Impact Stories
  • A Damselfly Discovery in Angola
Scientists in southern Africa have identified a new species of damselfly while working on an environmental program that protects the biodiversity of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin.
SHARE

TwitterFacebookLinkedIn

One of the world’s largest inland water systems, the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, is a vast natural resource for Angola, Botswana, and Namibia. It is an environmental treasure trove that not only provides water for more than 1 million people, but also covers more than 6 million biologically abundant hectares.

Threatened by climate change and overharvesting of its natural resources, the Cubango-Okavango River Basin is one of the key areas that the USAID-funded Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program (SAREP), implemented by Chemonics, aims to protect. The program focuses on conserving biodiversity, improving access to water supply and sanitation services, and developing sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable communities in the region. But the program has also achieved something more surprising: Experts recently discovered a new species of damselfly in the basin’s Cubango and Cuito river systems in eastern Angola.

The journey behind this finding involved expeditions to the river basin, intensive environmental assessments, and years of research to confirm the discovery. Originally found in 2012, the species was only confirmed in early 2016. First, in collaboration with the Angolan Ministry of Environment and an expert team of species specialists, the program’s biodiversity experts led a trip to the Angolan headwaters of the river basin.

There, they conducted a variety of activities, including species collections and habitat profiles. These pieces then came together to inform an aquatic biodiversity survey. With the results of the survey, the team was able to develop a wetland species inventory and conduct assessments of how human development affects biodiversity and water quality. It was in the river’s upper catchment, where rainwater collects, that the species specialists came across the Pseudagrion sarepi damselfly, which was given a name inspired by the SAREP expedition — the Sarep Sprite.

With as many as 85 to 90 percent of the world’s species undescribed and nameless, this discovery is no small feat. And it wasn’t the only discovery during this trek through the Angolan headwaters. The team of experts also unearthed a breadth of biological insights, including five previously unidentified species of fish and five other unidentified species of dragonfly and damselfly.

Dragonflies and damselflies breed in freshwater ecosystems, making the species one of the best biodiversity indicators for water quality. Just as local communities thrive with improved access to clean potable water from the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, species such as the Sarep Sprite depend on clean water for their survival. Accordingly, as more debilitating droughts begin to afflict the region and freshwater resources disappear for local communities, the damselfly species becomes more threatened. Through its efforts to enhance monitoring and protection of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, SAREP also ensures an intact aquatic habitat for the damselfly.

But it’s not only up to these kinds of programs to protect the region’s biodiversity. River basin communities also have an enormous stake in preservation of their ecosystems, including the most microscopic inhabitants. But many of them lack the information they need to make a difference. Even researchers have limited knowledge of the nature and extent of biodiversity in the Angolan portion of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin.

Aquatic biodiversity, in particular, requires joint monitoring by multiple groups to ensure that every species, from the damselfly to the crocodile, survives environmental shifts that put potable water and freshwater habitats at risk. And improving the ways that local communities manage their water resources, a key activity of the SAREP program, will go a long way.

The Sarep Sprite damselfly is an exciting addition to the Cubango-Okavango River Basin’s kaleidoscopic biodiversity. Discovering a new species in the more than 1,000 kilometers of freshwater that straddle Angola, Botswana, and Namibia is a testimony to the region’s rich ecosystems. Local communities, infrastructural partners, and natural historians alike treasure what is biologically known of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, but it is what remains unknown that thrills the SAREP program’s team and reaffirms their commitment to environmental sustainability and discovery.

Related Projects


Clean Water and Resource Conservation in Angola, Botswana, and Namibia
View All Projects
0 0
  • Related Projects
  • Impact Stories
  • News and Blog

Building Climate Finance Capacity in Nepal

Strengthening Nepali local governments’ ability to manage green funds can spur investment in and accelerate climate action.

Transforming Jordan’s Recycling Industry

Waste recycling services in Jordan constitute a viable commercial opportunity for Jordan’s private and public sectors to increase the competitiveness of recycling and invigorate the circular economy.

Mitigating Climate Change in Colombia

With progressive policies and private sector and community engagement, Colombia is turning its international greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments into action.

Conserving Guatemala’s Ecosystems with Good Governance

Guatemala’s rich – yet fragile – ecosystems must be safeguarded through strong environmental governance to improve livelihoods.

Natural Resource Management and Water Security in Southern Africa

Improved natural resource management and increased access to safe drinking water and sanitation are essential to addressing human and ecosystem challenges in southern Africa.

Combatting Wildlife Crime in Southern Africa

The decimation of wildlife through illegal poaching and trade threaten economic development and livelihood security in southern Africa.

Clean Water and Resource Conservation in Angola, Botswana, and Namibia

In southern Africa, where many people live with little access to clean water and sanitation services, new resource management and conservation efforts made a big difference.

A Roadmap for Conservation in Colombia

With its peace accord underway, the government of Colombia is pursuing conservation and sustainable rural development goals that will help achieve stability and lasting peace.

Smart Innovations to Protect the Environment in Colombia

In Colombia, the government, local communities, and the private sector have collaborated to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity.

Helping To Conserve the Peruvian Amazon

With deforestation threatening the Peruvian Amazon and communities that rely on forest-based employment, forest management must be improved.

Protecting Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity in Indonesia

With Indonesia’s incredible marine and terrestrial biodiversity at risk, the need to manage conservation areas and protect vulnerable ecosystems more effectively is acute.

Farming for Food Security in Zimbabwe

Food security in Zimbabwe depends on an investment in farming households.

Burkina Faso flag

Securing Stability in Burkina Faso

Support to local communities in Burkina Faso can mitigate the escalation of regional conflict.

Scaling HIV and TB Prevention and Treatment in Nigeria

Supporting the implementation and scaling of HIV and TB prevention and treatment programs is key for improving the ability of Nigerian state and local health systems.

Tracking Products’ Temperature to Ensure Medication Quality

Tracking and documenting the temperature of products and storage conditions of medications from manufacturer to delivery can ensure product quality and inform supply chain decisions.

Somali flag

Stepping Up Public Accountability in Somalia

To secure debt relief, Somalia must strengthen financial oversight practices and embrace principles of accountability.

Protecting Food Value Chains Across Africa

Aflasafe is a solution that reduces poisonous Aflatoxin levels in staple crops. Its commercialization improves food security and promotes resilience.

View All Projects

Shocked into Action in Southern Africa

In southern Africa, communities are changing a common, but taboo, behavior that poses threats to public health.

Training Communities to Protect the Cubango-Okavango River Basin

Using a sustainable management system, communities in the Kavango Region of Namibia are working to conserve the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, which is the life source for more than 1 million people and supports diverse plants and wildlife.

Creating Shared Value: An Interview with Gran Colombia Gold

Through USAID’s BioREDD+ project, Chemonics partnered with mining company Gran Colombia Gold to reduce illegal mining and improve the livelihoods of small miners in Colombia.

Compensating Communities in Colombia for Forest Stewardship

Colombians are conserving their local environment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while earning revenue for their communities.

Leading Innovative Imaging

The Colombian government is piloting an innovative approach to imaging technology to better conserve forests and build local livelihoods.

Protecting the Peruvian Amazon

Through innovative mobile technology, Peru is combating the economic and environmental costs of illegal logging.

View All Impact Stories
Feature image: Man holds child and both look at his smartphone

Best of the Blog 2020

While the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic demanded much of our attention this year, so did private sector engagement and ensuring more inclusivity in our work. Check out the ideas, innovations, and perspectives that garnered the most views on our blog in 2020.

How to Fail to Succeed

How can we improve development efforts in environmental and natural resources and other sectors by more intentionally sharing and learning from our failures? Michael Brown explores the importance of creating a culture of reflecting on failures to address urgent conservation needs.

News: Chemonics Invests in Young Innovators’ Promising Development Solutions

The company's investment of cash and in-kind services recognizes scalable solutions to global development challenges created at recent UNLEASH global innovation lab.

Fisher harvesting aquatic plants on Inle Lake, Myanmar.

From Threat to Solution: Rethinking the Role of Communities in Nature Conservation

What needs to change to create the conditions necessary for communities to pursue sustainability? Michael Brown, Samantha Cheng, and Jim Tolisano propose a two step solution.

Maximizing the Power of Climate Data by Building Trust

As populations around the world are increasingly affected by climate change, we must build trust in climate data to foster greater resilience.

Brian App

Development Works Here with Brian App

Development works here because great people work here. We’re excited to introduce you to our team.

Alejandro_Arrivillaga

Development Works Here with Alejandro Arrivillaga

Development works here because great people work here. We’re excited to introduce you to our team.

The Politics of Biodiversity: Two Experiences with Thinking and Working Politically

What does thinking and working politically on biodiversity projects look like? Carolyn Heaps shares experiences and lessons learned from projects in Guatemala and Indonesia.

News: Chemonics at Global Innovation Week

During Global Innovation Week on September 27 and 28, Chemonics announced its commitment to innovation in global development and USAID awarded Digital Development Awards to two Chemonics-implemented projects.

Wildlife and Plant Trafficking – Is Prohibition the Only Answer?

Rural development expert Steve Collins questions whether merely prohibiting wildlife and plant trafficking is enough to curb these widespread crimes.

Creativity and Innovation During a Global Crisis

Creativity and innovation are critical for the global community to fight the impacts of COVID-19. Chemonics' president and CEO Jamey Butcher explores lessons for navigating this unprecedented challenge.

Building Back Better Through Trade

Balancing ethical concerns with a demand-led approach to trading relationships can transform fragile value chains into resilient market systems that pay out for emerging and developed economies as well as suppliers and buyers.

Mitigating Hesitancy Key to COVID-19 Vaccine Readiness

Countries around the world are rapidly assessing and advancing their readiness for COVID-19 vaccines, but success ultimately hinges on whether individuals are willing to accept the vaccine.

3 Questions with Baz Semo: Ensuring Safe and Continuous HIV Service Delivery in Nigeria

COVID-19 is threatening to reverse progress toward epidemic control in Nigeria. Find out how we are helping healthcare providers and communities change how they deliver services critical to controlling the nation’s HIV epidemic in the face of the pandemic.

Power Revolution — A New Way Forward in the Global Power Sector

In this article, Matthew S. Mendis and Edward Hoyt argue that the time has arrived for an electric power revolution in lower and middle income countries, requiring far-sighted leadership, international coordination, data-driven solutions, and public support.

News: Chemonics Does Digital Health

Chemonics convenes its digital health experts for the virtual Global Digital Health Forum from December 7 to 9, 2020.

3 Questions with Simon Cole: Re-envisioning Health Commodity Distribution in Zambia

Simon Cole, distribution center logistics director with the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program’s Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project in Zambia, explains how engagement of third-party logistics providers allowed for quick adaptation to an altered health supply chain and continued delivery of life-saving commodities even in the midst of a global pandemic.

View All News and Blog

Sign up for our eNewsletter to learn more about our work.

Sign Up
  • What We Do
  • Where We Work
  • Who We Are
  • Work With Us
  • News and Blog
  • Technical Areas
    • Agriculture and Food Security
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Democracy and Governance
    • Economic Growth and Trade
    • Education and Youth
    • Environment and Natural Resources
    • Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
    • Health
    • Peace, Stability, and Transition
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Water, Energy, and Sustainable Cities
  • Regions
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe and Eurasia
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • Middle East and North Africa
  • Staff Resources
  • Employment
    • Life at Chemonics
    • Internships
  • Partner
    • Search for a Job
    • Our Procurements
    • How to Become a Partner
    • Small Business Partners Form
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Instagram
  • Standards of Conduct
  • Data Privacy Policies