Coastodianship coming soon

COMPANIES operating at the coast must ready themselves for the ‘Corporate Coastodian’ accreditation system that could have far-reaching benefits for their business.

The ‘Coastodian’ brand was introduced last year as part of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s coastal awareness campaign, spearheaded by the Namibian Coastal Conservation and Management Project (Nacoma).The name ‘coastodian’ is a combination of ‘custodian’ and ‘coast’ – implying ‘stewardship over the coast’.The brand is aimed at providing Namibian citizens with a means to visually identify awareness and conservation projects and initiatives along Namibia’s unique coastline. ‘Coastodianship’ will become even more significant when the entire coast is proclaimed a national park – one of the biggest in the world, and the only one to encompass a country’s entire coastline.Companies operating at the coast, or chat have a keen interest in the coast’s conservation and sustainable development, will have an opportunity to become ‘Corporate Coastodians’, allowing them to enjoy positive spin-offs for their business. It is believed that the accreditation plan could be implemented by the end of the year.One of the objectives of the new identity is that it will be used as a tangible symbol by Government to recognise individual, institutional and businesses’ efforts towards sustainable management and conservation of the coast. These partners may become government-recognised ‘Corporate Coastodians’ – with some value attached through an accreditation scheme.According to Nacoma’s Communications Consultant, Gys Reitz, the criteria for accreditation would be in line with the new Environmental Act.’Companies wanting accreditation would have to apply for it, and then their compliance to the criteria will be evaluated,’ he said. ‘Once accreditation is awarded, the company would enjoy a number of incentives.’Besides a flag and certificate indicating their ‘Corporate Coastodianship’, companies will also be able to market themselves as such.