David Uushona of the Walvis Bay Municipality's Environment and Waste Department said Walvis Bay was the only municipality in Namibia and one of only five in Africa that are members of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI "We are showing what other local authorities can do - take ownership and manage their biodiversity," he said.

The report highlights the status of Walvis Bay's biodiversity and the key role the town plays in conserving its biodiversity and retaining the relationship between the environment and the people.

Walvis Bay, although a harbour town with many fishing and other industries and not much aesthetic character, does boast with a unique and diverse environment.

The surrounding Namib Desert dunes and gravel plains, the Walvis Bay Lagoon, the ephemeral Kuiseb River Delta, the Atlantic Ocean and other ecosystems are all critical to the town's tourism sector and economy.

According to Mayor Uilika Nambahu, Walvis Bay has, since its reintegration into Namibia in 1994, taken great strides towards the sustainable management of its biodiversity.

Formal and informal management by the municipality started with the implementation of the Walvis Bay Local Agenda 21 Project.

"The project's aim was to achieve a workable balance between protecting the environment and promoting economic and social development - the real challenge of sustainable development," she said at the launch of the report.

She said she was pleased to see how individuals and institutions from the public and private sectors had contributed to drafting the report, and that highlighted the importance that residents attached to the responsible management of the town's biodiversity.

"The Municipal Council thus commits itself to achieve sustainable development goals through continuous networking and learning from other local authorities and institutions worldwide," she stated.

Nambahu told The Namibian that she is encouraging the municipalities of Swakopmund and Henties Bay to embark on similar projects.

"I am confident that this report will be a useful working document that will provide baseline information for the successful implementation of the biodiversity project," Nambahu concluded.

One thousand copies of the report have been printed and will be made available to all stakeholders, schools and libraries.

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