usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment

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Marine fisheries are regulated by the Marine Resources Act (MRA), 27 of 2000 and inland fisheries by the Inland Fisheries Resources Act 1 of 2003, while aquaculture is regulated by the Aquaculture Act of 2002, all of which are administered by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR). 6. ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING The Environmental Assessment Policy (1995) has been enacted as the Environmental Management Act (2007), but its regulations are not yet finalized and implementation has not yet formally started. The Policy and the Act are intended to prevent or minimize environmental damage and sustain livelihoods of all impacted parties. The Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism is responsible for implementing the Environmental Assessment Policy and the Environmental Management Act (EMA) of 2007. Capacity to guide and review EIAs in the DEA is inadequate but the EMA enables this task to be outsourced (at the proponent’s cost) to experts in the private sector if necessary. The pool of environmental consultants in Namibia is small and no certification is required for EIA practitioners. CONCLUSIONS Although most GRN policies are consistent with the Constitution and Vision 2030’s recognition that sustainable utilization of natural resources is essential for the continued advancement of the country, implementation is poor and inconsistent. Despite the country’s unsuitable soils, high climatic variability and vulnerability to climate change, overambitious expectations from the agricultural sector (particularly regarding livestock rearing, rainfed cropping, resettlement, and the role they can play in attaining food security) continues to be promoted. Moreover, inadequate recognition of the strategic importance of wildlife-based industries (tourism, venison production, and trophy hunting) undermines Namibia’s ability to fully capitalize on its comparative advantages. Improved planning and oversight by appropriate ministries is needed to manage the impacts of the mining sector so that they do not threaten the sustainable benefits derived from wildlife-based tourism. 30 USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT
4. OVERVIEW OF NAMIBIA’S BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SECTORS A. WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Namibia’s major biomes are depicted in Figure 5. THE TREE AND SHRUB SAVANNA receives the highest precipitation and is dominated by two vegetation types – i.e., Broad-leafed (in the north east) and Acacia savannas. The sub-humid broad-leafed woodlands represent Namibia’s most biodiversity rich area. The central acacia savanna (semi-arid) areas support a moderate to dense cover of shrubs and small trees and suffer from a high prevalence of land degradation (resulting from poor land management) in the form of bush encroachment. THE NAMA KAROO supports a high level of species endemism (plants, birds, and reptiles). It covers most of the southern and southeastern part of the country and extends northwards in a narrow band along the escarpment – creating a transition zone between semi-arid savanna to the east and hyper-arid desert to the west. This supports highly varied plant assemblages including: shrubby vegetation and grasslands in the north and central western plains, dwarf shrub savanna in the south central areas, and grasslands in the south. THE NAMIB DESERT is characterized by hyper-aridity, especially along the coast where rainfall is very low (< 50 mm/y). Ocean fog (which penetrates up to 50-100 km inland) moderates the temperature and provides a source of moisture that is utilized by highly adapted plants and animals. High dunes predominate the substrate between Luderitz and Walvis Bay. Vegetation cover on the sandy and gravel plains that occur in areas where the dunes are absent is sparse and confined to lichens and small plants. Ephemeral washes and westward flowing rivers (linear oases) that cut through the desert plains are able to support higher densities of trees and undergrowth and, in some cases, fairly abundant wildlife populations (including elephant, rhino, giraffe, and arid-adapted ungulates). Occasional springs and seeps support birds and wildlife away from the river systems. Trees in the ephemeral rivers are maintained by alluvial aquifers that are susceptible to overabstraction by increasing numbers of upstream boreholes and small farm dams. THE SUCCULENT KAROO (the lower Orange river basin) supports an abundant and distinct succulent vegetation – largely dependent on highly variable winter rainfall. Plant endemism is extremely high in this zone. The vegetation structure (referred to as dwarf shrubland) shows great variety in response to the variable landscapes (mountains, inselbergs, gypsum, and sand plains), varying degrees of fog penetration, and wind patterns. USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT 31
Page 1 and 2: USAID/NAMBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
Page 3: USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
Page 7 and 8: TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Page 9 and 10: ACRONYMS AALS ART BCLME BMC CBM CBN
Page 11 and 12: NCA NDP NGO NNF NNFU NPC NPP NSF NW
Page 13: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A group of resourc
Page 16 and 17: PURPOSE OF THIS ASSESSMENT This doc
Page 18 and 19: TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY AND TROPIC
Page 20 and 21: Another potential impact is the CO
Page 22 and 23: In addition to the overexploitation
Page 24 and 25: understanding the perspectives of c
Page 26 and 27: C. METHODOLOGY This assessment was
Page 28 and 29: The HIV/AIDS epidemic Natural disas
Page 30 and 31: TOURISM AND WILDLIFE Tourism in Nam
Page 32 and 33: An underlying cause of increasing H
Page 34 and 35: Infant mortality as well as under-f
Page 36 and 37: Figure 3: Levelsels of school enrol
Page 38 and 39: 3. THE LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONA
Page 40 and 41: land that was previously used only
Page 42 and 43: Overall, land productivity, particu
Page 46 and 47: Figure 5: Namibia’s major biomes
Page 48 and 49: espectively of their areas protecte
Page 50 and 51: development of business skills and
Page 52 and 53: Increasing aridification and a grad
Page 54 and 55: THREAT: POORLY PLANNED RESETTLEMENT
Page 56 and 57: Nine of the 15 southern African bre
Page 58 and 59: Figure 8: Main fishinging areas and
Page 60 and 61: MAJOR THREAT 2. ONSHORE AND OFFSHOR
Page 62 and 63: Deep-sea mining and diamond dredgin
Page 64 and 65: Increases in frequency and intensit
Page 66 and 67: Catchment issues (mainly pollution
Page 68 and 69: Figure 11. Surface and groundwater
Page 70 and 71: small irrigation projects. Wetlands
Page 72 and 73: Local Authorities (also in MRLGHRD)
Page 74 and 75: MAJOR THREAT 6. CLIMATE CHANGE Base
Page 76 and 77: fenced off informally and illegally
Page 78 and 79: Figure15: Average carrying capacity
Page 80 and 81: VALUE OF RANGELAND PRODUCTS Livesto
Page 82 and 83: MAJOR THREAT 5. BUSH ENCROACHMENT I
Page 84 and 85: Figure 17. Distribution of forests
Page 86 and 87: inadequate. About 50 species of pla
Page 88 and 89: Threats Population growth and pover
Page 90 and 91: 5. CONCLUSIONS Despite some shortfa
Page 92 and 93: Focus in the northwest should be on
Page 94 and 95:
RECOMMENDATION: LAND-USE ZONATION E
Page 96 and 97:
RECOMMENDATION: DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE
Page 98 and 99:
Water and Forestry Debra Mosel Assi
Page 100 and 101:
actions meet those needs. By mandat
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training led to an 8 percent averag
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pollution) to which they and humans
Page 106 and 107:
Illustrative Outline: a) Introducti
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9. SELECTED REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
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AR4 spatial pattern that suggests m
Page 112 and 113:
The findings by Turpie et al 2010 c
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Increasing human-wildlife conflict.
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Batty M, Tjipute M, Sowman M, Cardo
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Cury, P., & Roy, C. 1989. Optimal e
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Hulme, M. (Ed.). 1996. Climate chan
Page 122 and 123:
Namibian National Biodiversity Prog
Page 124 and 125:
Resources in Southern Africa: Studi
Page 128:
U.S. Agency for International Devel
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