Parliamentary Address on Biodiversity by Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

8/9/2019 Parliamentary Address on Biodiversity by Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

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Min istry o f Enviro nment a nd Tou rism

PARLIAMENTARY ADDRESS ON BIODIVERSITYby

Ne tumbo Nand iNdaitwah, MPMiniste r of E nviro nment a nd Tou rism

ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

17 MAY 2010

Windhoek Country C lub and Reso rts


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Hono ra ble S p ea ke r,

H on ora ble M emb ers ,

O n th e 21st May and4th June , the world will celebra te the in te rna tional day of Biod ive

and Environment respectively.

Na tu re is rich in var ie ty and is beau tifu l. Moreover b iod iver sity and in tact ecosys te

e ss en tia l to life on th is p la ne t o f ours in many way s. B iodiv ersity p rovid e u s w ith

w e breathe, the water w e drink, the food we eat, the clothes w e w ear and it fu

re gu la te our clima te . B iodive rs ity is th e p rem is e on which eve ry a sp ect o f human

being and the achievem ent of our national development g oals dep end. There

b iod ive rsity is no t on ly ab ou t p la nts, an imals a nd in sects, it u nd erp in s ou r su r

Today, the ecosystems a re under mass ive th reat worldwide. Changes to hab ita ts ,

exploitation of both renew able and non-renew able natural resources as w el

environm ental pollution are reducing biodiversity and destroying ecosys

comp romising th e b en efits an d se rvices th ey p ro vide to human k in d. E ve ry h ou

species of the anim al and plant k ing dom are irretrievably lost and tw elve thou

hecta re s o f fo re sts v an is h. Most o f th is is human induced. We a re inde ed comprom

ourselves the very sou rce that ensure s our sus ta ined surv ival on th is p lane t is tre as

by us. As our natural resources are lost so too is our prospects for sustaina

d ev elopment b eing lo st. We need to ta ke ca re o f th e environment fo r th e env ironm

ta ke care o f u s.

The lo ss o f b io logical d ivers ity has g reat consequence s fo r the developing countrie

most o f th e p eople livin g th ere immedia te ly d ep ends on th e wealth o f th e flo ra and

to survive .

Hon ora ble m embe rs ,


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It is also im portant to note tha t 2010 has been declared by the U nited N ations a

Internation al Year o f B iodiversity. T he celeb ration of 201 0 as th e IYB o ffers

o pp ortu nity to rem in d o urse lve s o f th e importa nc e o f b io dive rsity a nd a wak e-

abou t the devas ta ting loss be ing experienced . Environmenta l degrada tion , b iod iloss is one of the m ain im balances of our tim e. Thus commitm ent for integrat

b iodivers ity conservation in tod e ve lo pm e n t o b je c tiv eneed to be at the highest level

na tiona lly, reg iona lly and in te rna tiona lly. Namib ia hasa c h i e v e dremarkable mi les tones

w ith re ga rd to b io dive rsity co nse rva tio n, mana gemen t a nd su sta in ab le u se . In

Namib ia is amongst th eve r yfew coun trie s th a t has such p rovis ion s in their constitu tio

Durin g th is ye ar, n atio ns in clu ding Nam ib ia c an showca sea c h i e v emen t smade in thearea ofb iod ive r s i t yand e n v i r o nmen t a lprotection and m ake them known to a wider

public.

O ur country offers ave r y wide va r i e t yof habita ts and ecosystem s, ranging from

extrem ely arid desert areas w ith less than 10 mm of rainfall per year to subtro

savannahs wi tho v e r60 0 mm . T hese d ifferent h abitats an d e cosystem s are home to

ve r yric h number o f sp ec ie s a nd a ls o a h igh number o f e nd em ic sp ec ie s. The se sp e

o f flo ra a nd fa un ah a v ebeen th e b as is o f th e liv elih ood o f ru ra l p eople fo r c en tu rie s, a

they a lso re pre sen t a sig nificant na tion al asset and are p layin g an impo rta nt ro

a ttract ing tour is ts to the country.

At independence, as a country, we wereve r y quick to realise the im portance of

b iodive rs ity, a nd in clu ded a re spon sib ility to s afe gu ardb iod ive r s i t yconse rvation a s

re fle cte d in A rtic le 9 5 (L ) o f th e Nam ib ia n Con stitu tio n. In de ed , N am ib ia is am

few co untries th at ha s such provisions in th eir C on stitu tio n. T han ks to the vis

le ade rs weh a v e .Nam ibia ha s also ratifie d the UNConv e n t i o non Bio log ica l Dive rs ity

(CBD ) a nd is p arty to th eConv e n t i o non the In te rnational Trade o f Endange red Spec ie s

A Nation al B iod iversity P rog ramme 199 4-2 005 w as a dop ted to im plem ent the

Lessons lea rned from tha t p rogrammeh a v efed in to a Na tional B iodivers ity S tra tegy an


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Actio n P la n 2 00 1-2 01 0. T he fa ct th at w e a re in th e fin al ye ar o f th at p la n a nd in 2 01

In te rn atio na l Yea r o f B iodive rs ity, re pre se nt a good opportu nity fo r u s to ta ke sto

s ome o f our a ch ie vemen ts, a nd we a re work ing on th e n ex tAc tio n P la n.

Ou r commitment to b iodive rs ity c on se rv atio n is mo st c le arly e vid en t in th e ove r 3

our te rrito ry that is now under some fo rm of conse rvation management. Th is repre

a very high figure with 16.5% of the country being covered by national parks

p ro te cte d a re as. The la te st n atio na l p ark to b e p ro cla imed in 2009 was th e Spe rrg

whic h re pre se nts th e jewe l in th e crown o f Nam ib ia n n atio na l p ark s. It is lo ca te d

in te rn atio na lly re co gn ise d Succu le nt K aro o b io dive rsity h otsp ot, a nd c on ta in

astonishing diversity of plant life only fou nd in N am ibia. T his resource, unlik

d iamonds that a re mined in the a re a, repre sents an inexhaus tib le re source tha t Nam

can benefit from for many years to come. A new national park is also set to

p ro cla im ed th is ye ar b etw ee n th e Nam ib Nauklu ft P ark a nd th e S ke le to n Coa st, w

w i" see the consolidation of the entire coastal area of N am ibia into one contin

conservation area. This new park w i" be the largest park in A frica , the sixth la

te rre stria l p ro te cte d a re a g lo ba "y a nd th e e ig hth la rg est p ro te cte d a re a in th e wNamib ia w i" become the firs t con tin en ta l coun try to have its entire coa stlin e p ro te c

means o f the g reate r nationa l coa sta l park and marine p ro te cted a rea s.

H o n o r a b le m e m b e rs ,

We are also cooperating closely w ith our neighbours bearing in m ind that spe

typically cut across national borders. This year we are taking a lead role in

coord ina tion of the Kavango Zambezi Trans- fron tie r Conse rvation Area (KAZA), w

set to becom e the w orld 's largest TFCA roughly the size of Italy. It is a join t pr

in vo lv in g Angola , Nam ib ia , Botswana , Z imbabwe and Zamb ia . In th e Sou th th e

R ichte rsve ld Trans frontie r Pa rk ha s been e stablis hed s ince 2003 and is jo in tly man


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su cce ssfu lly b y th e Nam ib ia n a nd Sou th A frica n a uth oritie s. And in th e North W

IONA TFCA in Angola is o n th e c ard s.

C ommun al c on se rva nc ie s a nd commun ity fo re sts n ow cove r o ve r 1 8% o f th e coarea, an d this perce ntage is increasing at a rapid rate. by en large 59 conse rvan

have bee n established since 1998 in volving over 230,000 inha bitants in rura l

C onservancies and community forests are a co re part of N am ibia 's p eople-ce

approach to conservation which rejects past practices tha t tended to alie

commun itie s from conse rva tio n. T he su cce ss o f th e co nse rva ncy p ro gramme is

proof that resource users at community level, when provided with incentivsu sta in ab le u se o f n atu ra l re so urce s, a re th e b est man ag ers a nd c usto dia ns o f th

re sourc es . Money in th e ra ng e o f N$40 m illio n p er y ea r is b ein g g en era te d from d

activ it ies carr ied out in conservancies .

N am ibia is one of the few countries in the w orld that is translocating w ildlife f

n atio na l p ark s to commun al a re as. C ommun itie s a re n ow se ein g th e b en efits fro

w ise man ag emen t o f th ese re so urc es, w ith N$14.3 m illio n b ein g e arn ed b y th em

trophy hun tin g p erm its a nd th e auc tio n o f tro phy hun te d anima ls a lo ne . Rec en t re

from the environmental e conom ics unit using w ildlife data from 20 04 estim at

w ildlife contributed N $1.3 billion to the N am ibian econom y in that year. It w

estima ted tha t the re is cons ide rab le scope fo r en la rg ing th is contribu tion sus ta inab

I have to admit th at our conse rvation succe ss comes with cha llenges . i.e . human -w

con flic t. The government th rough the Min is try o f Environmen t and Tourism , work

the communities and in line w ith the hum an-w ildlife conflict policy are lookin

pos sib le ways to mitig ate the impact o f such con flic ts .

Hono ra ble members ,


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The integration of community forests and conservancies as well as the nee

g ua ran te e th eir fin ancia l susta in ability ha s re ce ntly le d to an in crea sing fo cus o

su sta in ab le u se and deve lopment o f in dig enou s p la nt re sourc es. Nam ib ia is a lso

pos itioned to benefitf r om th e in cre asin g worldwid e d emandfo r "natural" cosmetics ,

m edicines and food products. We possess a wealth of plant resources with m

associa ted t raditional knowledge . How to harness these in terna tional opportunit ies

benefiting local communities is the challenge that now faces us. A ccess to G e

Resources and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) agreements a re c rucia l in th is rega rd , th e ca

poin t is th e ma ru la o il a nd hoodia whic h a re g en era tin g b en efits fo r c ommun itie s.

pro gre ss h as a lso b ee n mad e in th e su sta in ab le ha rve stin g a nd mark etin g o f De

Claw, X imenia and Ka laha ri me lon seeds . O ther important re sources w ith h igh val

wild rice and commiphora .

Commun itie s a re b eg inning to se e th e tru e va lu e o f th eir tra ditio na l k nowledg e an

b eing tra in ed to en su re th at valu e is a dd ed to th is k nowle dg e. N am ib ia is a lso b u

up a core of experts knowledgeable in biodiversity m anagem ent. A biodiv

m anagem ent and research M asters level course has been developed and is np rod ucin g q ualifie d gra dua tes from UNAM. In a dd itio n, a w ide va rie ty of in fo

ma te ria l is now ava ilable to guide b iodivers ity managemen t in Namib ia . Example s

m aterial include a Tree A tlas book, a w etlands database, m aps of forestry hotsp

comp ila tions o f red-lis ted specie s and a country s tudy on b io logic al d ivers ity. In a

b iodive rsity h as b een ma in stre amed in to our mac ro -polic ie s o f NDP3 andVis io n 2 03 0

su ch th at d eve lopment ta ke s p la ce w ith ra th er th an aga in st o ur n atu ra l re sourc e b

E ffe ctive b iodive rsity c on se rva tio n h as much pote ntia l to d rive e ffo rts to c omba

cha llenges fa cing our people such a s c lima te change, des ertific ation and a lien inv

specie s. A t the In te rnationa l leve l and with in the frame work o f the CBD, negotia ti

a n in te rn ation re gio n o n Acce ss a nd Ben efit S ha rin g are go in g o n. It is o ur ho pe th

the Conference of Parties to take place in October this year, in Japan, such

in strumen t w ill b e agreed upon. Namib ia currently s erves a s the Ch ie f Nego tia to r f


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African Governmen ts in the ongo ing nego tia tions fo r an In te rna tional P ro tocol on A

to Gen etic R eso urce s. T he A frica n Gove rnments h ave fu rth er man da ted Nam ib

serve as the African Intercessional C oordinator on ASS. This dem onstrates

recognition of Namibia 's leadersh ip in the fie ld of biodivers ity.

In this international year of biodiversity, the m inistry is em barking on a con

awarene ss c ampa ign to h ighlight th e impo rtance o f b iodivers ity to Namib ia and so

our achievem ents in this field. We have a full year programm e for the year tha

kicked off w ith Biodiversity Action day in Srandberg from the 7- 9th May, w hich w as

o ffic ia ted by the deputy Min is te r, Cde. He runga.

O n the 17th May w e had a parliam entary inform ation sharing on biodiversity. I

those w ho have attended especially m em bers of the national council and nati

assembly backbenchers .

To mark the in te rnationa l day o f b iodire ce sity th ere w ill b e activ itie s a t Habitant c e

K atutura on the 21st M ay, as w ell as som e discusssions at UNAM on the 21st and

May. E ve nts fo r th e in te rn atio na l E nviro nmen ta l D ay w ill ta ke p la ce in Kara s r

from the 3-5 June 2010. For those interested in the programm e for the year you

contac t the Minis try o f Env ironment and Tour ism, Direc to ra te o f Environmenta l Af

Thank you a ll.

Documents

Parliamentary Address on Biodiversity by Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah