Landcare opportunities in Namibia and at bigger picture

By: Emily MutotaBeating Famine Conference, Lilongwe, April 2015

Namibia Environmental Challenges

Land Degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Climate Change

70% population directly depend on land

Threat to food security and economic growth!

Past and present initiatives

20 decades, SLM programmes implemented.oCBNRM: Communal Conservancies and

community forestso Dryland and desertification Programmes

Short-term impacts—activities stop as projects end!

Incentives driven, and mainly top-down approach (and not bottom-up). No Ownership!

Need to adapt landcare

Double the efforto Bottom-up , holistic and inter-disciplinary approach

o Mobilise communities to ‘’read the land’’ and find local-based solutions

o Empower an d attitude and behavior transformation

Landcare offer such opportunities: evidence from over 15 countries, where its implemented.

Great lessons, particulaly from S. Africa

Example to benefit from landcare1. Fire Management

o Large part of the country suffer from fire ( appro. is 6.919 million ha, and representing 7.4% of Namibia total land surface).

o Threat : agriculture and tourism.

“Approximately 30% (26 Million ha) area is subjected to densed bushes.

Estimated loss of N$700 mio per year to beef market (de Klerk, 2004).

2. Bush Encroashment

3. Degraded Rangeland

Landcare is ideal to empower andmobilize communities to restore andmanage degraded lands

Realisation

Lobbying key ministries

Integrate into ministerial planning

Synergies for Convections, SDGs,

Change in Biodiversity

Land degeneration/

Desertificaton

Climate Change

Landcare in Big Picture

Necessity for collective global focus on International Year of Landcare (IYLC)

Feasibility study in 2008, proposing establishment of IYLC

http://www.unulrt.is/static/fellows/document/emily-1-.pdf

A year to focus on exchange, awareness, land literacy and bottom-up solutions

Complement global SDG’s, Conventions and other years.

IYLC is feasible, BUT require resources ( time, financialsupport)

…Empower local land users

Thank You!