Dune belt gets makeover

MORE than 800 bags of rubbish were collected on the first day of the week-long clean-up of the dune belt between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.

The campaign, organised by the Environmental Management Section of the Municipality of Walvis Bay in partnership with Dare Devil Adventures, a quad-bike operator at Langstrand, coincided with World Environment Day celebrated worldwide on Sunday. “The dune belt area is a very important ecosystem, as the sea of sand we see here provides some of the most exciting scenery and experiences found in Namibia,” the Deputy Mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, said on Saturday at the launch of the campaign.”Therefore the conservation and preservation of this area is of national significance.”She said recent media reports alluding to the destruction of the dune belt should be a clarion call for the community to awake from its slumber and do something.Kakujaha Kahepako of the Walvis Bay Municipality said the clean-up campaign was only addressing the tip of the iceberg.”We have not even started with the rehabilitation of the gravel plains.”The Deputy Mayor said efforts to raise awareness should not only be directed at people in the community, but at local politicians and regional and international leaders.”While it is in our best interests to develop as a nation, we ought to be making sure that these resources remain uncontaminated and not depleted, to sustain life on earth for many generations to come.”She said it was therefore necessary to give a human face to environmental issues and inform people about the environment to enable them to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development.About 300 people took part on the first day of the campaign, of whom 200 came from the Namib High School at Swakopmund.Some of the pupils told The Namibian that they were proud to have taken part in cleaning the dunes.The first day’s efforts focused on the sea-facing section of the dunes next to the main road, as well as at Dune 7 and the Amphitheatre dune.Beer bottles, cigarette packets, newspapers and even pieces of clothing were the most common items collected.The campaign continued the next day with participation by the 4×4 club at Walvis Bay, while unemployed youth from the two coastal towns would be doing their duty for the rest of this week.”The dune belt area is a very important ecosystem, as the sea of sand we see here provides some of the most exciting scenery and experiences found in Namibia,” the Deputy Mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, said on Saturday at the launch of the campaign.”Therefore the conservation and preservation of this area is of national significance.”She said recent media reports alluding to the destruction of the dune belt should be a clarion call for the community to awake from its slumber and do something.Kakujaha Kahepako of the Walvis Bay Municipality said the clean-up campaign was only addressing the tip of the iceberg.”We have not even started with the rehabilitation of the gravel plains.”The Deputy Mayor said efforts to raise awareness should not only be directed at people in the community, but at local politicians and regional and international leaders.”While it is in our best interests to develop as a nation, we ought to be making sure that these resources remain uncontaminated and not depleted, to sustain life on earth for many generations to come.”She said it was therefore necessary to give a human face to environmental issues and inform people about the environment to enable them to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development.About 300 people took part on the first day of the campaign, of whom 200 came from the Namib High School at Swakopmund.Some of the pupils told The Namibian that they were proud to have taken part in cleaning the dunes.The first day’s efforts focused on the sea-facing section of the dunes next to the main road, as well as at Dune 7 and the Amphitheatre dune.Beer bottles, cigarette packets, newspapers and even pieces of clothing were the most common items collected.The campaign continued the next day with participation by the 4×4 club at Walvis Bay, while unemployed youth from the two coastal towns would be doing their duty for the rest of this week.