Consolidate biological resource laws - expert
There is a need to consolidate and harmonise laws regulating access to and use of biological resources to ensure the country and its people derive benefits from the utilisation of these resources.
More than 30% of Namibia’s workforce is employed in natural resource-related sectors, and 70% of the population is dependent on natural resources for a living.
These statistics were shared by Henry Ndengejeho, the project coordinator of GIZ Climate Change and Inclusive Use of Natural Resources (CCIU).
He said 44% of Namibia’s landmass is under conservation, and ensuring a sustainable environment and enhancing resilience have become top priorities within Namibia’s developmental policy framework.
Desired outcomes measured
Ndengejeho spoke at the Coordination and Collaboration of Relevant Line Ministries for the Implementation of Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Discussion.
He said the indicators identified to measure desired outcomes regarding conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources relate to the annual revenue generated from protected areas and community-based natural resources management programmes.
It also includes the percentage of reduction in cases of poaching as well as the decrease of total areas destroyed by veld fires.
"Strategies identified to achieve the targets include achieving land degradation neutrality and increasing land productivity, improving the management of protected areas, implementing measures to combat poaching and illegal trade of natural resources, and sustaining environmental awareness campaigns."
Ndengejeho added that indicators identified to measure desired outcomes regarding environmental management and climate change relate to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the number of approved waste disposal sites, the percentage of adherence to environmental management plans, and the revenue generated from environmental levies for reinvestment in environmental protection.
"The success of Namibia’s efforts to sustainably use, control, manage and safeguard its natural resources depends to quite some extent on the different legal instruments that are available."
Laws must speak to each other
He said it also depends on an interdisciplinary approach to develop a target-oriented environmental legislative framework, as knowledge from other disciplines – biology, chemistry, medical science, ecology, sociology, economics, and business, among others – is essential in the creation of environmental institutions and sound legislation.
According to him, access to and use of our biological diversity are governed by a number of Acts, such as the Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Act, the Research, Science and Technology Act, the Forest Act and its amendments, and the Nature Conservation Ordinance and its amendments, among others.
"The main question we are to ask ourselves as custodians of these Acts is – are our legal instruments that grant access to and use of our biological resources speaking to each other? Are the processes of issuing these permits, certificates, licences, and authorisations mutually reinforcing?"
More than 30% of Namibia’s workforce is employed in natural resource-related sectors, and 70% of the population is dependent on natural resources for a living.
These statistics were shared by Henry Ndengejeho, the project coordinator of GIZ Climate Change and Inclusive Use of Natural Resources (CCIU).
He said 44% of Namibia’s landmass is under conservation, and ensuring a sustainable environment and enhancing resilience have become top priorities within Namibia’s developmental policy framework.
Desired outcomes measured
Ndengejeho spoke at the Coordination and Collaboration of Relevant Line Ministries for the Implementation of Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Discussion.
He said the indicators identified to measure desired outcomes regarding conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources relate to the annual revenue generated from protected areas and community-based natural resources management programmes.
It also includes the percentage of reduction in cases of poaching as well as the decrease of total areas destroyed by veld fires.
"Strategies identified to achieve the targets include achieving land degradation neutrality and increasing land productivity, improving the management of protected areas, implementing measures to combat poaching and illegal trade of natural resources, and sustaining environmental awareness campaigns."
Ndengejeho added that indicators identified to measure desired outcomes regarding environmental management and climate change relate to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the number of approved waste disposal sites, the percentage of adherence to environmental management plans, and the revenue generated from environmental levies for reinvestment in environmental protection.
"The success of Namibia’s efforts to sustainably use, control, manage and safeguard its natural resources depends to quite some extent on the different legal instruments that are available."
Laws must speak to each other
He said it also depends on an interdisciplinary approach to develop a target-oriented environmental legislative framework, as knowledge from other disciplines – biology, chemistry, medical science, ecology, sociology, economics, and business, among others – is essential in the creation of environmental institutions and sound legislation.
According to him, access to and use of our biological diversity are governed by a number of Acts, such as the Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Act, the Research, Science and Technology Act, the Forest Act and its amendments, and the Nature Conservation Ordinance and its amendments, among others.
"The main question we are to ask ourselves as custodians of these Acts is – are our legal instruments that grant access to and use of our biological resources speaking to each other? Are the processes of issuing these permits, certificates, licences, and authorisations mutually reinforcing?"
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