usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment
usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment
usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment
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Catchments issues<br />
Recreational activities<br />
Alien Invasive organisms<br />
Mariculture<br />
3. ANALYSIS OF MAJOR WEAKNESSES AND THREATS<br />
MAJOR THREAT 1. OVEREXPLOITATION OF LIVING MARINE RESOURCES<br />
Namibia’s pre-independence decline <strong>and</strong> spatial displacement of targeted fish species is well documented.<br />
Hampton et al (c.1999) report that total catches in the BCLME declined from a peak of more than 3<br />
million tonnes in 1968 to levels of < 1 million tonnes per year in the 1990s. Although management of<br />
Namibia’s fisheries improved considerably after Independence. 15 Global International Waters<br />
Assessment (GIWA) (2005) predicts a worsening of the current unsustainable exploitation in the smaller<br />
<strong>and</strong> less valuable fisheries by 2020.<br />
The overexploitation of commercially valuable marine resources (Figure 8) during the 1960s <strong>and</strong> ’70s<br />
caused several <strong>environmental</strong> impacts. These combine to constitute the most serious threat to Namibia’s<br />
marine habitats <strong>and</strong> biodiversity, which include:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The decline <strong>and</strong> spatial displacement of targeted species 16 through overutilization<br />
Alterations to the benthic environment<br />
The decline of numerous marine species through by-catch <strong>and</strong> by-kill while targeting certain<br />
species<br />
Changes in community structure <strong>and</strong> ecosystem functioning<br />
Changes to gene pools<br />
15 After Independence, a 200-mile EEZ was established, TACs (quotas) for major species were introduced, quota fees were<br />
levied to capture rent, <strong>and</strong> quota allocations <strong>and</strong> subsidies were introduced to promote Namibian ownership.<br />
16 Populations that have suffered the most dramatic declines include: pelagics (pilchards, sardines), west coast rock lobster, all<br />
line fisheries species (snoek, albacore <strong>and</strong> big eye tuna), the targeted recreational <strong>and</strong> artisanal fishery species (silver kob,<br />
west coast steenbras, copper sharks), the entire deep-sea catch (orange roughy, alfonsino, boarfish, oreo dory, <strong>and</strong> cardinal<br />
fish) (Hampton, et al circa 1998; Kirchner, 1998; Holtzhausen & Kirchner, 1998).<br />
USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT 43
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