usaid/nambia environmental threats and opportunities assessment

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Low-input fish ranching can be promoted and supported using carefully selected local
indigenous fish species.
Strengthen community-based tourism by:
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Lobbying for improved access by conservancies (communal or freehold) to gain concessions and
other rights in State-owned parks, so that conservancy tourism products are more viable.
Where appropriate, fences between these compatible forms of land use need to be removed or
breached so that connectivity is improved and open landscapes are achieved – this will be good
for tourism, biodiversity, and coping with climate variability and increasing aridification.
Build management capacity (especially in cases where a private sector partner is absent or
unlikely to emerge – e.g. a community campsite).
Facilitate agreements (where necessary) between conservancies and investors.
Assist conservancies to identify and develop tourism products. Promote the adoption of
Namibia’s Eco-Award criteria, which address issues such as the maintenance of “sense of place,”
aesthetic design, water and energy efficiency, benefit sharing, and on and off-site impacts.
RECOMMENDATION: IMPROVE TENURE
As mentioned in previous ETOAs, achieving appropriate tenure rights for communities over as many
natural resources as possible is one of the highest priorities in terms of enabling people to reduce their
impact on Namibia’s environment. Rights over natural resources, including wildlife, fish, grazing, water,
and forests, will provide communities with incentives to make long-term, sustainable investments in the
land.
There should also be secure, bankable tenure over commercial opportunities such as tourism, so
that there is a reduction in the risks posed by private sector entrepreneurs who wish to invest as
development partners in conservancies. Furthermore, more effective and extensive devolution of
rights should be linked to incentives for co-managed landscapes (e.g. group accountability and
delivery of larger open systems being directly linked to more rights and less bureaucracy).
Better management of wildlife for production, especially in lieu of increasing and more stringent
droughts – e.g. looking at carrying capacity of wildlife with livestock and addressing policy issues
regarding offtake.
RECOMMENDATION: PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION
Irrigation in a water-stressed country such as Namibia is controversial in terms of land and water use but
the Green Scheme initiative is firmly set in the GRN’s sights for the future. Assistance is needed in:
Supporting local community-based small-medium scale irrigation projects (a short distance away
from rivers). This will enhance household food security, diversify livelihoods, and reduce
vulnerability to climate variability.
Improving irrigation efficiency for both small and large-scale irrigation farming.
Identifying areas in or near conservancies that are likely to be targeted for major irrigation
schemes and pro-actively undertake studies (e.g. cost benefit and mini-impact assessments) that
will influence future decision making about those intended projects.
USAID/NAMIBIA ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT 79