The proposed Ramsar site, named Lisima Lya Mwono (Fountain of Life), covers an area of approximately 53,000 square kilometers in Moxico province and supports the life of several important species of fauna and flora and plays an important role in providing water for more than a million people, according to a statement from the National Geographic Society.
Since 2015, National Geographic has been developing a wildlife project on the Okavango (Cubango, in Angola), an African river that has one of the largest inland deltas in the world, whose river basin covers Angola, Namibia and Botswana.
In the Lisima Water Tower, 92 species of fish, 64 species of reptiles, 34 species of amphibians, 407 species of birds and 58 species of mammals were recorded.
A recent study by National Geographic that defined the limits around the Angola Highlands Water Tower (AHWT), indicates that there is an average of 423 cubic kilometers of precipitation on this tower annually - which is equivalent to almost 170 million Olympic swimming pools.
Like most water towers in Africa, the Angolan Highlands Water Tower lacks snow or ice, its supply being made possible by the gradual flow of groundwater, highland spring lakes and extensive peat bogs.
According to the scientific organization's statement, the AHWT occupies an area of 380,382 square kilometers, provides freshwater resources to seven countries - Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Botswana - as well as important biodiversity areas such as the Okavango Delta, home to the largest remaining population of endangered African elephants.
