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Basin: Orange

Treaties: 9

Events (1948-2008): 20

River Basin Organizations: 4

Area: 965,595 (sq km)

Population (2020): 20,698,154

Population Density (2020): 21 (per sq km)

Riparian Countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa

Existing Dams: 95

Planned Dams: 6

Runoff: 30  (mm/yr)

Wetland Area: 1,805  (sq km)

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Orange basin

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The Orange basin was formed during the breakup of Gondwanaland, its petroleum system includes rich Aptian marine source rocks, deepwater Cretaceous turbidite reservoirs, and structural/stratigraphic traps, making it a globally significant area for oil and gas exploration following major recent discoveries

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Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, South Africa

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Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, South Africa

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Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, South Africa

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The conflict between Lesotho and South Africa over the Orange (Senqu) River Basin centers on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). Lesotho, as the main source of the river, diverts water to South Africa’s industrial heartland, earning royalties and hydropower in return. Tensions arise from power asymmetry (South Africa benefits more while Lesotho bears social and environmental costs), dependency (Lesotho relies heavily on water royalties), and regional politics (South Africa has intervened militarily during Lesotho’s instability to protect water infrastructure). While not an armed conflict, it reflects ongoing disputes over equity, sovereignty, and shared resource management.

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The Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) was established in 2000, by the Orange River's four basin states: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. This multilateral treaty serves as a basin-wide agreement for the development, utilization, and conservation of the Orange River system, promoting cooperation, information exchange, and joint water management initiatives based on international principles

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In the 1950s and 1960s, South Africa and Lesotho explored the idea of transferring water from the Senqu River in Lesotho to South Africa to address South Africa’s water scarcity, particularly in its economic hub. Although feasibility studies were conducted, negotiations collapsed due to disputes over how Lesotho should be compensated for its water, and the project was shelved until decades later, when it was revived and eventually formalized as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in 1986.

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In January 1986, following a South African–backed coup in Lesotho, the governments of Lesotho and South Africa signed a billion-dollar agreement to construct a series of dams on the Senqu River, later known as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Supported by the World Bank, the deal secured water supplies for South Africa’s industrial heartland (Witwatersrand, now Gauteng) in exchange for political and military backing for Lesotho. South Africa agreed to cover project and debt costs, apart from the hydropower component. A decade later, in 1996, unrest emerged when Lesotho’s mountain police suppressed a strike by 2,000 construction workers, resulting in five deaths.

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 South African Court Rescinds Offshore Oil Permit Over Climate and Community Risks

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 South African Court Rescinds Offshore Oil Permit Over Climate and Community Risks

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South African High Court judge has reversed an environmental approval for oil exploration in a block off for the Orange Basin