Last week, the Washington Post published an op-ed co-authored by Prince Harry. The column was about saving the Okavango delta from a Canadian oil-drilling outfit and protecting the precious habitat within Africa. Harry’s piece landed well, from what I saw. There wasn’t much for the haters to cling to, and there’s even less for people to complain about now that big-name celebrities are joining Harry’s fight. Leonardo DiCaprio used his own social media and the social media of his environmental outfit, Re: Wild, to talk about what’s happening in with the Okavango.
Prince Harry’s campaign to stop oil drilling in Africa has added some high-profile supporters. Leonardo DiCaprio, Forest Whitaker and Djimon Hounsou have joined the Duke of Sussex, 37, and leading conservationists in calling for an immediate suspension on oil and gas drilling in the Okavango River Basin, according to a press release from Re:wild.
The Okavango River Basin has a network of river systems traversing Angola, Botswana and Namibia which supplies water to nearly 1 million people as well as the region’s wildlife population. It also encompasses the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its biodiversity, and two vital Ramsar wetland sites.
Canadian oil and gas company Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) began drilling the Okavango River Basin in late 2020 after they obtained a license for exploratory drilling across a 13,200-square-mile area despite concern from local communities.
DiCaprio, 46, shared an Instagram video asking fans to add their name to the open letter calling for an end to the drilling in the area.
“Re:wild stands with the people of the Okavango River Basin, who depend on the health of the watershed for their survival,” the caption said. “ReconAfrica is poised to pollute their farms and destroy a beautiful landscape—one that benefits all life on Earth—forever. Join us by signing the open letter at the link in bio. Together, we can #SaveTheOkavango. For all wildkind.”
I’m including some of Leo’s Instagram posts below. It’s mind-blowing that there even has to be a campaign to protect a UNESCO World Heritage site, but here we are. I wonder if DiCaprio and Harry have ever met? They don’t have much in common other than their environmental work, but I bet it would be an interesting meeting.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instagram.
King Willy is really about to lose it now lol. Everytime he tries to do something, Harry always does it bigger and better. I said it the other day, but William is always going to be RoseArt to Harry’s Crayola.
Yo! I’m cracking up! I had no idea what roseart was and had to Google it. Now that I know it’s so accurate!
I was gonna ask again about the Sussexes pimping themselves to one up the Cambridges on PR but I won’t.🤷🏽♀️
Roar of Sussexes, the Cambridge are quaking in the boots now.
Ruh Roh
I signed, I pray they are successful.
Same, I hope this campaign is successful too.
I signed last week too. Companies are ruining the earth in search of oil. It’s well past time to accelerate non-oil energy sources.
years ago i worked for a subsidary company to the mining corp Anglo-American – and they used to send investors and business partners to the Okavango Delta on corporate retreats. Such hipocracy of these companies is terrible. Same company (DeBeers) actually sponsors the housing of the Crown jewels in the tower of london….but thats another story..
If they haven’t met yet, I bet they do soon. I know we make fun of him on this site, but Leo is still a big star and he’s long been known as an environmentalist. (again, we can make fun of that considering his love of yachts and private jets, but its still known as his “thing.”) a connection between him and Harry just seems inevitable at this point.
I really like the breadth of causes the Sussexes support. I like that they focus on tangible goals and results.
I signed. Thanks for promoting this. And it’s not a competition, everyone should promote conservation and the environment.
Big Willy is going to lose it over this – didn’t he complain a few years ago about the lack of celebrity support for his causes?!?!? I also recall reading about how celebs always complain about him being a no show at events leading up to the BAFTAs.
I hope that there are also discussions with the Namibian and Botswana governments – they’re the ones who issued the exploration permits. Even, if they get the Canadian company to step back, I imagine there are many others who’d take on the job.
AttaHarry. This is the kind of ripple effect we want to see, and Leonardo DiCaprio is no slouch either.
LMFAO I said a couple of days ago on here that Leo was probably one of the A-listers that William assumed would want to be associated with Earthshot…it was already unlikely, imo, and now I doubt it will ever happen. Tbh it’s better that Leo puts his star power behind an urgent issue like this, instead of the traveling award ceremony which is more about William’s ego than anything else.
William probably won’t even ask Leo to have any part in it now, because this will be such a huge bruise to his ego. Which only reinforces the fact that at its core, Earthshot is about his image.
@Lorelei. You said traveling awards ceremony and immediately the thought “traveling circus” came to mind. LOOL
Good for Harry and Leo
‘The traveling award show’ that is gold @lorelei
This whole award charade reveals William’s true desire which is to be in the Hollywood scene and go to award shows lol
This is important work that they’re doing and I hope with all my heart that they are successful.
The phrase “indigenous and local” jumps out at me. Wouldn’t “indigenous and colonist” or “indigenous and settler” be accurate? Or simply “people”? I don’t know much about this part of the world but if it’s anything like Canada, when indigenous people are excluded from the locals it’s because they’ve been forcibly squeezed off to the margins and firmly held there. They are the most local of all and yet somehow not. It sickens me to think how it must feel to have one’s territory invaded by a drilling rig from the other side of the world.
I’m making a whole bunch of assumptions here and could be wrong so I’m off to read up on the history of the Okavango region.