What we saw last year on the conservation front

A NUMBER of achievements were made on the environment and conservation front last year that Namibia should be proud of.

Namibia last year successfully negotiated on behalf of Africa for the establishment of a legally binding agreement that will see the continent’s rural communities benefiting from genetic resources.Four years ago, African countries appointed Namibia to be the chief negotiator for the continent on the Access and Benefits Sharing (ABS) Protocol, which was adopted at the 10th conference of parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity held in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010.As a result of having successfully negotiated for the continent on this protocol, young Namibian environmentalist Kauna Schroeder is now serving on the Bureau of the Convention on Biological Diversity – the highest decision-making body of the convention. Also in October last year, Namibia was the chief negotiator on behalf of the African group on the Protocol on Liability and Redress that was adopted at the fifth meeting of parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the 16th conference of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of last year, Namibia made its present felt when Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told the gathering that the developed world should to take meaningful action to cut greenhouse gases and provide enough financial resources to help developing nations to deal with climate change.At home, Namibia celebrated the International Year of Biodiversity at Brandberg, which was followed by other activities that included a students’ biodiversity symposium.The Ministry of Environment and Tourism last year responded to conservancies’ complaints about human-wildlife conflict by giving all 59 communal conservancies N$60 000 each to compensate their members for livestock losses to predators.The Fish River Viewpoint was opened at Hobas last October to attract more tourists to that part of the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. A major translocation of game to several conservancies in northwestern Namibia was done in July last year in an effort to boost tourism in this part of the country.The proclamation of the Dorob National Park along the coast – extending from the Ugab River in the north to Sandwich Harbour in the south – on December 1 led to stricter law enforcement over the festive season.The proclamation has given the Ministry of Environment and Tourism the power to enforce laws pertaining to environmental conservation along the coast.Valuable contributions towards environmental protection and conservation were made by conservation organisations to supplement the ministry’s efforts. These are organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), Rise Namibia, Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), Nacso, Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Namibian Elephant and Giraffe Trust.However, there are always challenges. Some initiatives aimed at conservation and environmental protection in Namibia are taking too long to be realised. A good example is the Environment Investment Fund (EIF) launched in September 2005 but is not yet operational.More efforts are needed to help conservancies effectively manage their resources. The uranium rush in the Namib Desert is an environmental concern and a balance needs to struck between conservation and economic development.