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Status and Trends of Biodiversity

Overview

Located south of the Sahara Desert, Namibia is the most arid African country and the most vulnerable to degradation. In spite of its very dry climate, Namibia holds a remarkable variety of habitats and ecosystems ranging from deserts (with less than 10mm of rainfall per year) to subtropical wetlands and savannas (with over 600mm of rainfall per year). Namibia’s most significant “biodiversity hotspot” is the Sperrgebiet, which is the restricted diamond mining area in the Succulent Karoo floral kingdom. Shared with South Africa, the Succulent Karoo is one of the few arid biodiversity hotspots in the world. It constitutes a refuge for an exceptional level of succulent plant diversity, shaped by the winter rainfall and fog of the southern Namib Desert. A large portion of its plants is endemic. Another significant site is the rugged Namid Escarpment where its northern Kaoko section, in particular, is home to a vast array of endemic plants, animals and other organisms.

National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan

Major features of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The goal of this strategic plan is to protect ecosystems, biological diversity and ecological processes, through conservation and sustainable use, thereby supporting the livelihoods, self-reliance and quality of life of the Namibian peoples. The NBSAP comprises fifteen fundamental principles concerning issues such as: conservation and sustainable use; biodiversity valuation; sound ecosystem management; in-situ conservation and integrated management; sound environmental and developmental planning; traditional knowledge and fair sharing of benefits; objective decision-making; responsibilities of government and general population; effective and innovative partnerships; role of women; international cooperation; representative network of protected areas; and wise resource management in arid landscapes. In addition, the action plan includes ten specific plans related to: biodiversity conservation priorities; sustainable use of natural resources; monitoring, predicting and coping with environmental change and threats; sustainable land, wetland, coastal and marine ecosystem management; integrated planning for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; Namibia’s role in the world community; capacity building for biodiversity management in support of sustainable development; and implementation of the NBSAP.
 

• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (English)

Implementation of the Convention

Measures Taken to Achieve the 2010 Target

The Third National Report refers to many NBSAP objectives related to the 2010 target. For example, Namibia was committed to include 15% representation of all vegetation types and 30% of the Sperrgebiet and Namib Escarpment in its protected area network by 2006. Regarding the status of biodiversity, the country intends to establish Wildlife Management Strategies for several major species and areas, including the Black Rhino. Incidentally, Namibia states that work undertaken on black rhinos and elephants was very successful. Furthermore, legislations have been established with respect to many important issues, notably natural resource management (such as the forestry act in 2004).

Initiatives in Protected Areas

The Sperrgebiet site was proclaimed as a National Park in 2004. The Third National Report mentions goals relating to the protected areas issue. For example, Namibia previously decided to prepare goals and outline strategies for all 15 parks by 2001, and to double conservation areas of conservancies by 2005. However, the status of implementation of these targets is not specified.

Initiatives for Article 8(j)

Namibia’s Third National Report mentions existing programmes that relate to this issue, such as the Community Based Natural Resource Management programme that aims particularly at strengthening the capacity of indigenous and local communities. Other programmes of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and other Ministries target local communities as well, notably through the community-forestry programme and various agricultural projects. The Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge working group, under the Biodiversity Task Force, has a wide-ranging set of members including traditional healers and their associations, NGOs, and indigenous peoples representatives.