Duplication halts coastal authority implementation

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform says it has had to park the implementation of the Coastal Management Authority (CMA) due to duplications with the Fisheries Act and the Pollution Act.

This is despite fears that the ministry stood to lose control over coastal areas and activities should the CMA be established.

The creation of the CMA was proposed in the 2012 national policy on coastal management for Namibia, whose development was spearheaded by the Global Environment Facility-funded Namibian Coast Conservation and Management project launched in March 2006.

During the open session for questions at the stakeholder consultation on the proposed sand and gravel mining regulations for the Oshana and Omusati regions, held at Ongwediva at the end of last month, environmental commissioner Timoteus Mufeti said the idea of creating the CMA has since been parked because there has not been “an appetite for its implementation”.

“It was fear of a takeover of control of coastal areas and activities,” he said. Mufeti added that there also seems to be overlaps between high and low water marks.

A reliable source in the marine biodiversity conservation field says it is unfortunate that a key proposal contained in the policy developed through a donor-funded project has not been realised.

However, the ministry’s chief fisheries biologist, Anja Kreiner, says several aspects of the CMA’s implementation were unclear and that the ministry wanted to resolve them first.

She says some of the proposed functions of the CMA were duplications to the Fisheries Act and the Pollution Act.

“There were overlaps and contradictions and we just wanted these to be sorted out.” Kreiner told The Namibian yesterday.

She said it was not clear what functions will fall under the CMA and what will remain within the ministry. For example, she said, it was not clear who will be responsible for attending to coastal pollution because the ministry already has the department of maritime affairs responsible for this.

Kreiner said because of these overlaps and contradictions, it was also felt within the ministry that the proposed CMA appears to be a job-creation initiative for the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management project. The coastal management policy for Namibia calls for integrated coastal management to improve the quality of life of human communities that depend on coastal resources while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.