The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says Namibia is still to develop a national policy on a circular economy.
Ministry spokesperson Vilho Hangula says efforts to develop a national policy on a circular economy are still in the initial stage, but a consultant has been appointed to drive the process.
The ministry says the process has been slowed by budgetary constraints but efforts are being made to put it in motion.
Tourism minister Indileni Daniel in May at the High Level-Event on Advancing Circular Energy for Sustainable Development in Namibia said the ministry is currently developing a national circular economy policy in collaboration with the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF).
Daniel said the policy is aimed at embedding circularity across key sectors, including energy, waste and industrial development.
At the same event, EIF’s chief operations officer Karl Aribeb said the transition to a circular economy powered by renewable energy is no longer a distance ambition but an immediate and actionable pathway for sustainable development.
Meanwhile, Finland has in recent years been helping Namibia to come up with circular economy models.
Finnish deputy head of mission to Namibia Sakarias Rantala says Finnish Universities – the University of Tampere and the Tampere University of Applied Sciences – have collaborated with the Namibia University of Science and Technology on a capacity building project, which focused on how to come up with circular economy models in the country.
The project, Rantala said, was aimed at strengthening circular economy expertise and mind-set among local stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on bio-based ad recycling-based materials.
In a circular economy, materials are used efficiently and sustainably so that they remain in circulation for long and safety. Products are shared, leased, repaired and recycled.
The circular economy preserves natural resources and provides the means to solve climate change and loss of biodiversity.
To nationally drive the circular economy, Finland has established the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra – an independent public future-oriented organization with a mission “to build the successful Finland for tomorrow,” under the supervision of the Finnish parliament.
A number of firms in Finland have embraced the circular economy.
