Droughts more and more frequent in Namibia – Shifeta

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says drought in Namibia is no longer an once-off emergency event but a frequently recurring event.He made these remarks at the 16th session of the Conference of Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, recently. The conference is taking place from 2 to 13 December under the theme &#039;Our Land. Our Future&#039;.Shifeta said COP16 is taking place at a time when Namibia has declared a national state of emergency on drought this year due to poor rainfall.He said Namibia’s arid and semi-arid climate makes the country inherently vulnerable to drought.“The recent prolonged dry spells have had a devastating impact on our agricultural sector, our livelihoods, national food security, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, displacement of communities and increased vulnerability to poverty," he said. Land degradationShifeta said the &#039;big elephant in the room&#039; is climate change, which remains the primary driver of drought."Drought escalates land degradation. Moreover, land degradation is further exacerbated by livelihood practices such as overgrazing, deforestation, unattainable agriculture and the relentless bush encroachment that severely compromised the health of our land.”Shifeta said Namibia is deeply committed to addressing climate-related challenges.“We are committed to strengthening our policy framework to ensure that land management and resource utilisation are guided by principles of sustainability and equity, including strengthening inter-agency coordination and capacity building within relevant government agencies.”Frameworks in placeThe minister said to date, Namibia has been reviewing key policy and legal instruments such as the National Drought Preparedness Policy, the Disaster Risk Management Act and the Forestry Act to address land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change simultaneously and synergistically in the context of achieving the sustainable development goals.He further stressed the vitality of multilateralism as a driver for achieving a land degradation neutral world.“The challenges we face need both innovative and collective approaches, as nations united to combat land degradation and desertification.”

Droughts more and more frequent in Namibia – Shifeta

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Droughts more and more frequent in Namibia – Shifeta

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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