• Rep Agrimonitor

Biodiversity resources develop economy

Biodiversity resources are the foundation upon which Namibia builds and develops its economy to improve the welfare of its people.

The country’s network of protected areas, communal conservancies, state forests, private game reserves and commercial farmlands serve as tools for biodiversity conservation and are home to its abundant biodiversity.

Deputy environment minister Heather Sibungo said this at the commemoration of the International Day for Biological Diversity, which was held in Gibeon. The day is commemorated on 22 May each year.

According to her, biological diversity is defined in terms of wide varieties of plants, animals and microorganisms, and it also includes genetic differences within each species.

She, however, said the main drivers of biodiversity loss are climate change, invasive alien species, the over-exploitation of natural resources, pollution, conversion of land to agriculture and urbanisation.

“The conversion of land to agriculture and human settlements leads to the loss of habitat by wildlife and food production practices and over-consumption that pollute the environment.”



Protected areas

Sibungu said Namibia has declared more than 10% of its marine and coastal ecosystems as protected areas.

“Together, Namibia’s terrestrial and marine ecosystems contribute significantly to global climate change mitigations through nationally determined contributions.”

She added that protecting, managing, maintaining and restoring terrestrial forests is also the mandate of the ministry and that it has nurseries across the country and provides extension services to the development of orchards and tree planting in general.

Biodiversity is one of the pillars of life and therefore it is very important to conserve and ensure sustainable utilisation of biological resources, the deputy minister said.

However, the extent of challenges of biodiversity loss globally indicate that transformation through environmental education and education for sustainable development can bend the curve, she added.



Global framework

As a party to the United Nations (UN) convention on biological diversity, Namibia participated in the 15th conference of the parties held in Kunming, China, during 2022.

The main objectives of this conference was to negotiate and deliver the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will guide policies in the years ahead through four major goals to be achieved by 2030.

According to Sibungu, governments around the world identified the link between climate change and biodiversity loss and are dealing with these issues through two international agreements - the UN framework convention on climate change and the UN convention on biological diversity.