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Namibia: Plans to Conserve Coastal Areas Approved
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New Era (Windhoek)
7 August 2008
Posted to the web 7 August 2008
Charles Tjatindi
Walvis Bay
Government has approved plans to improve the conservation status of the area between the Kunene and the Orange rivers.
This would include the incorporation of the National West Coast Tourist recreational areas and unproclaimed state lands into the Skeleton and Namib national parks.
Although the improvements are mainly geared towards protecting the ecologically sensitive coastal areas, it is also hoped they would halt uncontrolled off-road driving in the dune belt area as well as the National West Coast Tourist Recreational Area.
Minister of Environment and Tourism, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, revealed this at the recent launch of the coastal awareness campaign at Walvis Bay. Nandi-Ndaitwah informed the gathering that Cabinet has, in principle, approved the move.
To date, considerable progress has been made, which includes the finalisation of coastal strategic environmental assessments for Kunene and Erongo regions. Assessments for the Hardap and Karas regions are at an advanced stage.
Nandi-Ndaitwah committed her ministry to the initiative, noting that various mechanisms will be put in place to safeguard the fragile area. Such mechanisms include concessions and a permit system to allow people to utilise and manage different land zones within the area. She said her ministry would be guided by the principles of stakeholders' consultations and fair and equitable access to natural resources.
"I would like it to be clearly understood that proclaiming this area as a national park does not mean that the different existing land users will be terminated, but it will be managed better," said Nandi-Ndaitwah.
She said the area will be zoned for different uses, and relevant regulations would be developed under the new Environmental Management Act and proposed Parks and Wildlife Management Act.
The Namibia Coast and Management Project (NACOMA), in consultations with other stakeholders, have been leading plans to finalise the implementation of the Namibian Coastal Management White Paper. The white paper is the forerunner to a coastal policy that will lay the template for the management of coastal resources. It will also guide the sustainable development of the Namibian coastal areas.
It will become a government document stipulating future policy on the management of the coast and from which possible legislation may flow.
The area, which is endemic to some of the world's endangered insect, bird and reptile species, has been under constant threat from especially off-road drivers and quad biking, which destroy their natural habitat.
One of the initial planned outcomes of the white paper development process is to define "coastal zone" in the context of developing a Namibian coastal policy. Although there is no single definition of the coastal zone, relevant parties have to agree on the geographic area that the policy will address.
Experts reasoned that since the influence on the coast can originate way beyond the coastal zone, the policy may not be restricted to the costal zone itself. It, however, remains vital to create a uniform definition of "the coastal zone".
Although the NACOMA project has a strong biodiversity management and conservation focus, it is clear that a Namibian coastal policy needs to be much broader and address sustainable development issues including environmental, social and economic grounds. Environmental issues, for example, may have to be addressed in a so-called "ecosystems approach" context, which would take upstream environmental issues into consideration, noted marine experts.
The Namibian coast is one of the few remaining places on earth with vast stretches of undeveloped wilderness. The waters of the Namibian coast support some of the greatest concentrations of marine life found anywhere in the world.
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These rich coastal ecosystems are, howe-ver, extremely fragile and can be easily disturbed by human activities. Although Namibia has an exceptionally low and geographically concentrated coastal population compared to other countries, increasing presence of human pressure over the years highlights the urgent need for sound coastal planning and management.
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