usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment

THREAT: POORLY PLANNED RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS
The environmental impacts of resettlement have not been taken into account by the Government’s
resettlement programme, nor has the capability of the land been matched to appropriate land uses.
(Discussed in the policy review, Section 3)
THREAT: THE ABSENCE OF ADEQUATE LAND USE PLANNING
Ad hoc sectoral approaches to land use are inefficient and ultimately result in the corrosion of natural
capital, land degradation, and biodiversity loss. Successful land use planning is a vital management tool
essential to achieve sustainable and equitable natural resource utilization, but it demands inter-sectoral
cooperation and coordination and the integration of policies, plans, programs, and projects.
4. STRENGTHS/OPPORTUNITIES
OPPORTUNITY: CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is expected to have positive as well as negative impacts on Namibia’s wildlife populations
(Turpie et al 2010). These are summarized as follows:
The general aridification scenario expected for Namibia will result in some positive plant species
shifts. Midgely et al (2005) showed that 41% of 800 plant species modeled (the arid-adapted
varieties) are likely to show range expansions across the country. Some of these plants will have
value for INP development e.g. Commiphora species which produce more resin during drought
years.
Conditions in Caprivi will improve for some game species (e.g. White Rhino) and there will be a
possible increase in wetland and floodplain species due to higher rainfall in the catchment areas
of the northern perennial rivers (although riparian forests are likely to have been reduced
considerably by 2050 due to insufficient protection/increasing abstraction/pollution from more
ambitious irrigation schemes/flood control measures).
Wildlife in Namibia is well adapted to arid and highly variable climatic conditions. This
advantage over domestic livestock should boost the trend amongst freehold farmers – some of
whom have already begun to remove fences, develop conservancies, and invest increasingly in
consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife based industries. Under these circumstances there
will be increasing demand for wildlife stock from parks and conservancies by freehold farmers.
As subsistence farming becomes less viable there will be increasing interest in the development
of new communal conservancies. However, not all land in Namibia’s rural areas is suitable for
enterprises that focus on tourism activities, and the CBNRM program will need to expand into
other areas. (See Recommendations, Section 6)
There could be increasing demand by farmers in communal areas for wider devolution of rights
over natural resources (e.g. over grazing/rangelands).
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
These include: Establishing a linked protected areas network and developing landscape -level wildlife
corridors, integrating wildlife and resettlement, and encouraging the role of honorary game wardens. (See
Section 6: Recommendations) In addition, sustaining robust research and training facilties, such as the
Gobabeb Training and Research Centre, are critical to understanding the ongoing effects and potential
mitigation measures from climate change in Southern Africa.
40 USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT