Rangers get new bakkies

LACK of transport was one of the biggest problems facing the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in managing national parks, a senior official in the Ministry said in Windhoek on Monday.

Dr Malan Lindeque, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, was speaking at the handover of 10 four-wheel-drive vehicles which the Ministry’s Strengthening of Protected Areas Network (Span) project had bought with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP). The vehicles will fill an urgent need and will enable staff to carry out their activities more efficiently.All the vehicles have been fitted with satellite tracking devices.Namibia’s national parks contribute between N$1 billion and N$2 billion annually to the national economy and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has found that about 23 per cent of this income benefits poor households.The Span project focuses on the effective management of Namibia’s protected areas.UNDP country representative Simon Nhongo said Namibia had a globally significant storehouse of biodiversity and the country was acclaimed for its species richness, habitat diversity and biological distinctiveness.He said Namibia needed to ensure that these resources were protected and preserved for future generations.”The Span project aims to do exactly that,” said Nhongo.He said the project would help in the conservation of plant and animal species while ensuring that the benefits are shared with local residents and the nation as a whole.The Span project ties in well with achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal 7, which calls for nations to ensure environmental sustainability and the preservation of biological diversity through protected areas.The vehicles will fill an urgent need and will enable staff to carry out their activities more efficiently.All the vehicles have been fitted with satellite tracking devices.Namibia’s national parks contribute between N$1 billion and N$2 billion annually to the national economy and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has found that about 23 per cent of this income benefits poor households.The Span project focuses on the effective management of Namibia’s protected areas.UNDP country representative Simon Nhongo said Namibia had a globally significant storehouse of biodiversity and the country was acclaimed for its species richness, habitat diversity and biological distinctiveness.He said Namibia needed to ensure that these resources were protected and preserved for future generations.”The Span project aims to do exactly that,” said Nhongo.He said the project would help in the conservation of plant and animal species while ensuring that the benefits are shared with local residents and the nation as a whole.The Span project ties in well with achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal 7, which calls for nations to ensure environmental sustainability and the preservation of biological diversity through protected areas.