PROTECT: Forestry minister Pohamba Shifeta. Photo: FILE
PROTECT: Forestry minister Pohamba Shifeta. Photo: FILE

Namibia: 2.5% of forest areas gone since 1990

Forests critical for healthy climate
In 2020, the forest area was 6.6 million hectares, down from 8.7 million hectares in 1990.
Ellanie Smit
More than 2.5% of Namibia’s forest areas have disappeared since independence.

Forestry minister Pohamba Shifeta said this at the first International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation that took place in Brazil.

The minister emphasised that healthy forests help regulate the climate by influencing rainfall patterns, cooling living areas, and absorbing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, which causes global warming.

Moreover, woodlands are essential as they stabilise fragile soils and prevent soil erosion, especially in the flood-prone areas along the river streams in the northern parts of the country.

Official estimates from Namibia’s Directorate of Forestry reported to the FAO revealed that in 2020, the forest area was 6.6 million hectares, down from 8.7 million hectares in 1990. More than 2.5% of the forest area has disappeared since 1990.

Exploitation

Forest resources in Namibia are exploited for various uses, including charcoal production and the production of fire blocks, among other uses.

“Moreover, forest areas are the home of Namibia’s rich biological diversity. Forests also play a vital role from a socio-economic perspective, especially in the rural areas of Namibia, as many are directly or indirectly dependent on the availability of forest resources for browsing, building material for homesteads, fuel wood for cooking, light, heating and medicines, amongst others.”

Shifeta said major threats to forests in Namibia include the expansion of land for agriculture, the cutting of wood for fuel and domestic use, clearing for infrastructure development, uncontrolled wildfires, selective logging through timber concessions, legal and illegal timber harvesting, climate change and habitat destruction by elephants.

Moreover, population growth goes hand in hand with an increase in the unsustainable use of timber, putting a severe strain on the environment. Deforestation not only leads to the loss of resources used for human activities but also results in desertification and severe land degradation.

Shifeta said Namibia has identified ambitious measures to mitigate climate change.

Shifeta said Namibia has identified ambitious measures to mitigate climate change, including reducing the deforestation rate by 75%, reforesting 20 000 hectares per year, planting 10 000 hectares of trees per year under agroforestry, and planting 5 000 hectares of trees under urban forestry to restore 15 500 hectares of grassland.

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-05

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Premier League: Fulham 2 vs 1 Brentford | Manchester United 1 vs 1 Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur 4 vs 1 Aston Villa | Wolves 2 vs 2 Crystal Palace | Southampton 1 vs 0 Everton | Nottingham Forest 3 vs 0 West Ham | Liverpool 2 vs 1 Brighton | Ipswich Town 1 vs 1 Leicester City | Bournemouth 2 vs 1 Manchester City | Newcastle 1 vs 0 Arsenal Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 22° | 36° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 21° | 35° Ruacana: 20° | 36° Tsumeb: 24° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 33° Omaruru: 19° | 35° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Gobabis: 16° | 35° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 05:12, Low Tide: 23:16, High tide: 17:15 Swakopmund: 14° | 15° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:10, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:13 Walvis Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:09, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:12 Rehoboth: 15° | 35° Mariental: 14° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 13° | 33° Aranos: 14° | 36° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 10° | 30° Oranjemund: 15° | 31° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 19° | 36° Lubumbashi: 17° | 32° Mbabane: 12° | 22° Maseru: 6° | 26° Antananarivo: 17° | 28° Lilongwe: 24° | 33° Maputo: 18° | 26° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Cape Town: 13° | 22° Durban: 15° | 20° Johannesburg: 16° | 29° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 31° Lusaka: 21° | 35° Harare: 19° | 31° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.61 | EUR to NAD 19 | CNY to NAD 2.45 | USD to NAD 17.42 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.26 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.13 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.47 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.33 | USD to EGP 49.07 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1665.41 | USD to ZAR 17.43 | USD to ZMW 26.95 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1876.57 Up +0.49% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14300.12 Up +0.21% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30650.04 Down -0.59% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9845.11 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 747.63/OZ UP +0.42% | Copper US$ 4.47/lb UP +1.30% | Zinc US$ 3 095.30/T UP 1.71% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 76.19/BBP UP +0.80% | Platinum US$ 1 000.06/OZ UP +1.99% Sport results: Premier League: Fulham 2 vs 1 Brentford | Manchester United 1 vs 1 Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur 4 vs 1 Aston Villa | Wolves 2 vs 2 Crystal Palace | Southampton 1 vs 0 Everton | Nottingham Forest 3 vs 0 West Ham | Liverpool 2 vs 1 Brighton | Ipswich Town 1 vs 1 Leicester City | Bournemouth 2 vs 1 Manchester City | Newcastle 1 vs 0 Arsenal Weather: Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 22° | 36° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 21° | 35° Ruacana: 20° | 36° Tsumeb: 24° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 33° Omaruru: 19° | 35° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Gobabis: 16° | 35° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 05:12, Low Tide: 23:16, High tide: 17:15 Swakopmund: 14° | 15° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:10, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:13 Walvis Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:09, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:12 Rehoboth: 15° | 35° Mariental: 14° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 13° | 33° Aranos: 14° | 36° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 10° | 30° Oranjemund: 15° | 31° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 19° | 36° Lubumbashi: 17° | 32° Mbabane: 12° | 22° Maseru: 6° | 26° Antananarivo: 17° | 28° Lilongwe: 24° | 33° Maputo: 18° | 26° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Cape Town: 13° | 22° Durban: 15° | 20° Johannesburg: 16° | 29° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 31° Lusaka: 21° | 35° Harare: 19° | 31° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.61 | EUR to NAD 19 | CNY to NAD 2.45 | USD to NAD 17.42 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.26 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.13 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.47 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.33 | USD to EGP 49.07 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1665.41 | USD to ZAR 17.43 | USD to ZMW 26.95 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1876.57 Up +0.49% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14300.12 Up +0.21% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30650.04 Down -0.59% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9845.11 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 747.63/OZ UP +0.42% | Copper US$ 4.47/lb UP +1.30% | Zinc US$ 3 095.30/T UP 1.71% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 76.19/BBP UP +0.80% | Platinum US$ 1 000.06/OZ UP +1.99%