Illegal sand mining still a challenge, Nghitila says

The mushrooming of illegal sand mining activities remains a challenge in Namibia, and the environment ministry has developed draft regulations specific to sand mining in terms of the Environmental Management Act. This is to improve coordination and regulation of this natural resource.

However, these regulations will only be gazetted once the Act is amended.

Environment ministry executive director Teofilus Nghitila said this in his end-of-year statement.

According to him, a total of 1 600 applications were received for environmental clearance certificates (ECCs) during the year, of which 984 were issued.

Nghitila said the certificates that were issued were for activities related to hazardous substances, infrastructure development, urban development and mining.

“In comparison to previous years, application for ECCs has improved due to the online application system and intensification of awareness activities that have been carried out.”

85% compliance

To ensure the protection of the environment, the Environmental Management Act was enacted, he said.

The Act identified a number of activities that have potential to harm the environment and therefore cannot be undertaken without an ECC.

“We have recorded 85% compliance to the provisions of this Act.”

Despite the challenges of limited financial and human resources, a total of 150 sites were inspected for environmental compliance and monitoring, Nghitila noted.

A total of 20 compliance orders were issued, relating mainly to waste management and sand mining activities.

“Illegal sand mining remains a challenge and the ministry is working closely with police to better regulate this and bring the culprits to book.”