The environment ministry has raised concerns about illegal sand mining across Namibia, saying the low number of applications for environmental clearance certificates suggests that many operators may be extracting sand and gravel without the required approval.
Environment, forestry and tourism minister Indileni Daniel told the National Assembly that the ministry had received about 56 applications for environmental clearance certificates (ECCs) over the past three years, mainly from the northern communal areas and central Namibia.
Responding to a question from parliamentarian Rodrick Likando, Daniel says several regions had recorded particularly low application numbers, raising concerns about compliance with environmental requirements.
The Kunene, Hardap, ||Kharas, Zambezi, Omaheke, Kavango West and Kavango East regions had the lowest number of applications, the minister says.
However, the figures presented to parliament did not establish how many sand mining operations are active across the country or how many are operating without the required ECCs.
Daniel says sand and gravel extraction remained a pressing environmental concern in the north-central regions of Oshana, Oshikoto, Ohangwena and Omusati, although only 15 cases of illegal mining had been reported.
The ministry’s figures raise questions about the scale of illegal extraction, the effectiveness of monitoring and whether enforcement measures are sufficient to protect communities and the environment.
Sand and gravel are essential materials for construction and infrastructure development, including roads and housing.
However, Daniel warns that uncontrolled extraction was causing environmental destruction and threatening livelihoods.
“Lives have been lost, especially children playing in unrehabilitated borrow pits, hence our reasons to enforce strict compliance,” she told the National Assembly.
The minister did not provide a breakdown of the deaths, the locations of the affected pits or the period over which the fatalities occurred.
She says the Office of the Environmental Commissioner, working with other law enforcement agencies, had closed a number of sites where illegal sand mining was taking place.
The government, in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Roads Authority, had also rehabilitated more than 30 borrow pits, mostly in the northern regions. Some of the pits dated back to before independence.
Daniel says the ministry had issued compliance orders to stop illegal activities but acknowledged that government and private sector institutions continued to undertake activities requiring environmental clearance without obtaining the necessary certificates.
“This is a very serious violation of the Environment Management Act,” she says.
To strengthen regulation, the ministry is developing stand-alone Sand and Gravel Extraction Regulations aimed at improving the management and control of extraction activities.
However, Daniel did not indicate when the regulations would be finalised or implemented.
She says the Office of the Environmental Commissioner had also conducted regional awareness and monitoring activities, including a region-by-region inspection exercise, to improve compliance.
The minister warns that anyone carrying out listed activities without an ECC faces a fine of up to N$500 000, 25 years in prison or both upon conviction.
The ministry’s enforcement record, the number of unlicensed operations still active and the timeline for the proposed regulations will be important in determining whether the measures can curb illegal extraction and prevent further harm to communities.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na
