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2 Our Organisation
3.4 Sustainable Agriculture
Communities in north-eastern Namibia rely on crop production for food security and extra income in when harvests are greater than household needs. Traditional farming methods tend to deplete the soil nutrients over time, leading to shifting agriculture whereby farmers clear new land to plant crops every few years. Through our Sustainable Agriculture programme, we promote Conservation Agriculture methods and crop diversification that improve soil fertility and boost yields on the same plot of land, thus reducing the need for land clearing and degradation. This is coupled with linking farmers to organic producers’ networks, which opens new markets for farmers and increases prices fetched for their produce.
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Since the end of 2019, the Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture (KCOA) has sought to enhance organic and agroecological agriculture in Namibia by increasing access to information and establishing networks in the organic sector. This Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) funded continental project has established knowledge hubs in Northern, Eastern, Western, Central and Southern Africa. Namibia is part of Knowledge Hub Southern Africa (KHSA). The KHSA-Namibia has two implementation approaches: the first focuses on the organic farming sector at the national level, while the second trains and mentors individuals to become “multipliers” – i.e. those who can train other farmers.
Activities under the sector-wide approach aim to create national awareness around the environmental and health benefits of organic agriculture and agroecology through the radio and in-person events. The NNF has worked with the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Vocational Training Colleges to develop curricula on sustainable and organic agriculture, which will train future farmers and extension officers. We have also investigated developing an organic beef value chain, which is currently at the market-testing phase.
Training farmers on compost making for a sustainable long-term soil enhancement The multiplier support activities focus on the local level, with participants selected from within the Zambezi Region. These training events go into more detail and provide the multipliers with not only technical skills and expertise, but also facilitation methods and skills as well as personal development. The program is based on training as well as regular individual mentoring. Among the many topics covered are soil management (fertility, compost, crop rotation, green manure, in-field diversity), pest and disease control, crop-specific aspects, irrigation systems, nursery management, the principles of organic farming, financial management, marketing of produce as well as consultancy services, knowledge sharing methods, decision making procedures and many others.
During an internationally facilitated Training of Teams of Trainers (ToToT) 27 interested multipliers from all over Namibia spent a week learning together. This has set a base for ongoing exchange between these participants and created networks of trainers in different regions of Namibia. To date, 111 (61 women) multipliers have so far been equipped with relevant technical and methodological knowledge on organic agriculture, how to convey this information and how to support networks in their own communities.
Land preparation for vegetable production, using Conservation Agriculture principles. Seedlings are ready for transplanting.
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Yield comparison between Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Traditional Agriculture (TA)
The NNF has been supporting farmers to implement Conservation Agriculture (CA) techniques in the Kavango and Zambezi Regions for a number of years, funded through different projects. With funding from Resilient Waters, almost 800 farmers have been trained on CA techniques. Since September 2021 the Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) project with funding through the EU has supported CA, nutrition awareness and vegetable production support in Maurus Nekaro Conservancy in the Kavango West Region and Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy in the Kavango East Region. Through this, 50 farmers have achieved increased food security for their families and will be able to use what they have learned from the past season and benefit during the 2022/23 growing season.
In November 2021 an agroecology project was launched in the Zambezi Region. This project will not only focus on crop production, but also livestock and network support, including agricultural value chains. Through a holistic implementation of agroecological principles food security will be improved and habitats in this unique ecosystem protected. Thus far, 222 farmers have been trained in agroecological crop production, 180 on nutrition and 78 on vegetable production. Through partnerships within the region value chains for chili as well as cow peas are in the process of establishment.
A new farmer-to-farmer extension model is being practiced in Sikunga Conservancy, allowing well trained and knowledgeable local farmers to share their knowledge and skills with neighbouring communities. A demonstration plot for research on different soil fertility improvement techniques has been established and will inform the project about which techniques are most suitable for local conditions.
In mid-2022, the NNF signed two partnership agreements with Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) for agricultural projects in the Zambezi Region. The first of these, which is part of the KAZA ARISE project, aims to assist farmers living near the Sobbe Wildlife Corridor. This corridor has been set aside within the Sobbe Conservancy for elephants and other wildlife to cross through the area. Farming near the corridor thus comes with high risk of human-elephant conflict. The plan is to provide a fenced plot (using electrified fencing) for a cluster of farmers. The second project is aimed at assisting selected households in the Bwabwata National Park to start their own backyard gardens, and later for these to train others based on the success of the gardens and lessons learned during the first project year.
Creating awareness on healthy nutrition and locally available food sources
Community based extension officers Patricia Maswahu and Likando Sibange engaging with mentee farmers.
3.5 Freshwater Ecosystems & Inland Fisheries
Freshwater fish all over Africa, and especially in the north-eastern parts of Namibia, are an important source of protein for many communities and are key to increasing the socio-ecological resilience of riverine communities. Along the Kavango, Kwando, Zambezi and Chobe Rivers, communities’ daily activities and livelihoods are intertwined with the fish resource. Fisheries are a food source and income generator, allow for bartering, hold cultural values and support social activities, and are also an important resource in adapting to climate change. Fishing is part of the culture of riverine communities and is pivotal for social gathering across generations, but commercialisation has caused a severe decline of the fish stocks. A response to stop this trend is the establishment of community co-managed fisheries reserves.
Community co-managed fisheries reserves are water bodies that are identified by local communities, for which self-defined use restrictions designed to restore fish stocks are put in place and which are officially recognised by the Namibian Government. The rules are enforced by community fish guards and offenders are prosecuted. Fish monitoring data (collected by community resource monitors) reveal that fish reserves host a higher diversity of fish species, have larger fish populations and bigger fish on average than outside the reserves. The recovering fish stocks spill over into the wider river system; fishermen have reported increased catches, while fish have become more available to the communities as an affordable source of protein and micronutrients. Furthermore, healthy rivers have numerous ecological benefits: they are sanctuaries for birds and keystone species, and are critical for the integrity of our ecosystems.
The NNF’s Strengthening Community Fisheries in KAZA (Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area) project falls under the E€OFISH Programme, promoted and funded by the European Union. The overall objective of the E€OFISH Programme is to enhance the contribution of sustainable fisheries to the Blue Economy of Eastern Africa, Southern African and the Indian Ocean. The envisaged results of the programme include the improvement of policies and legal frameworks, compliance and law enforcement as well as small-scale fisheries management in the target regions. Our project aims to improve sustainable fisheries management through ecosystem-based adaptation, thus enhancing the socio-ecological resilience of communities. This is the largest project within the broader NNF Community Fisheries Programme, involving a wide array of partners including those in KAZA countries beyond Namibia – Angola, Zambia and Botswana, working through the KAZA Secretariat. In Namibia, our focus is to assist existing or emerging conservancies to establish and manage their fisheries reserves, with 27 communities currently at various stages of establishing reserves. We recently developed a new approach to register an entire “riverscape” following requests from communities to be able to control all waterbodies in their area, embracing a conservation approach allowing for sustainable use, in addition to the strict “catchand-release only” approach.
Biological and socio-economic baseline surveys are done in newly established reserves to assess the initial state of fish stocks, and to understand the current value of fish and its contribution to the livelihood of riverine communities. One of the key results from this survey indicates that food security is an issue in all communities, with many people compromising frequently on portion size, food composition or frequency of eating.
The Standard Operation Procedures for Fisheries Reserves have been approved by the Ministry of Silvanus Nuuyuni standing with Joseph Lubanda from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) while they present the Kapinga Kamwalye Fisheries Reserve Management Plan to the Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy community members during a validation workshop.
Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) and are complemented by “The Tackle Box for Community Fisheries Reserves: A Step-by-step Approach to Establish Community Co-Managed Fisheries Reserves in Namibia”. The Tackle Box guides all stakeholders through the processes required to establish fisheries reserves, including eight milestones that are used to track progress. These were soft-launched during the African Protected Areas Congress (APAC) in Kigali, Rwanda in 2022. field visits and meetings are expected. Within KAZA structures, the original fisheries sub-working group has been merged with the Freshwater sub-working group and promoted to the level of a Working Group.
Species-specific recommendations for commercially relevant fish species were generated, including criteria like the length and depth of fisheries reserves, but also habitat requirements, spacing, distancing and other factors. A Checklist for Fisheries Reserves was developed to capacitate more staff members and partners in facilitating sound decision-making. All of these tools and guidelines are designed to expand the fisheries reserve concept by allowing facilitators from the MFMR or other NGOs to assist communities in a similar way to the NNF team. The Tackle Box and SOPs developed in Namibia provide an ideal starting point for organisations working in other KAZA countries. While face-to-face engagement with colleagues from neighbouring countries was restricted due to COVID-19, meetings were held online to brief them on how Fisheries Reserves are established and managed. With the lifting of travel restrictions, more transboundary
Through the Zambezi Trans-Boundary Fisheries Restoration Project, the NNF has promoted the establishment of fisheries reserves along the Zambezi River. This work involves building the capacity among community members to strengthen fisheries management and reduce overfishing. Working alongside MFMR, the team focused on establishing two new reserves (Ikaba and Nsundwa) and providing support to two established reserves (Sikunga and Impalila). Awareness-raising meetings were held among the fishing Our project aims to improve sustainable fisheries management through ecosystembased adaptation, thus enhancing the socio-ecological resilience of communities “ “
communities of Ikaba and Nsundwa areas to improve compliance with the law and create community buyin for establishing fisheries reserves. Baseline surveys on livelihoods and current fish stocks were also conducted in these areas. As a result of these efforts, the community in Nsundwa adopted the fishery reserve constitution and management plan, and appointed four fish guards and three fish monitors. In Sikunga an Impalila, improvements were made to fish monitoring data collection and the fish guards’ monthly reporting.
Another trans-boundary project was established in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), focusing on fisheries management in the upper Okavango in Angola. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the first part of this project was confined to a desktop literature review of the fisheries situation on the Angolan and Namibian sides of the Cubango/Kavango River, along with an overview of relevant Angolan legislation. Three capacity building trainings were held virtually for the Angolan TNC team, the community support association ACADIR, and Ministry of Fisheries in Angola. Our Angolan partners have started engaging with five community cooperatives, although more support is required during fieldwork. A new partnership is being negotiated with TNC to take this next step.
The declaration of three fisheries reserves in Mayuni and Balyerwa Conservancies went almost unnoticed in 2020 due to the COVID lockdown preventing public gatherings. The certificate hand over ceremonies therefore took place in June 2021 for all newly gazetted reserves. Signboards were erected to indicate the boundaries of the reserves and the rules applicable in the reserves. In line with MEFT’s increasing adoption of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) as a digital platform for monitoring and reporting in National Parks and conservancies, we plan to adapt SMART to community fisheries, with Balyerwa and Mayuni earmarked as pilot sites. New conservancies along the Kwando, including Kwandu, Bamunu and Mashi expressed interested in establishing fisheries reserves.
Maurus Nekaro and Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancies received support to establish fisheries reserves with funding from the Resilient Waters Project – Kavango the Aqueduct Of Life: Supporting People Securing our Common Waters. Both communities indicated that fish stocks had been depleted due to unsustainable harvesting methods used in the Kavango River that have become more prevalent due to fishing commercialisation.
In Maurus Nekaro Conservancy the community agreed to ban the use of all nets and promote the use of traditional gear amongst other measures in line with the Inland Fisheries Act as part of their Management Plan. The Conservancy is awaiting support letters from the TA and Regional Governor to enable them to formally submit their request to be gazetted as a Fisheries Reserve. In Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy the management plan is still being developed and will be presented to members at the next AGM.
The Joseph Mbambangandu was the first Conservancy to be gazetted as a Fisheries Reserve in the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions. With support from the OKACOM-UNDP, the conservancy set up a Fisheries Reserve that covers all of the freshwater bodies in the conservancy (including part of the Kavango River). The Conservancy currently has eight staff members who patrol these waters to ensure that only legal fishing gear is used. This is a more comprehensive approach to fisheries reserves gazetted in other conservancies, and long-term monitoring will reveal its relative success to other reserves.
Namibia has an amazing coastline, where the Namib Desert meets the cold nutrient-rich waters of the South Atlantic. The Benguela Current system off the coast of Namibia is one of only four major upwelling systems in the world. The Benguela Current is bounded by two warm currents – the Angola Current to the north and the Agulhas Current to the south. Despite the Benguela Current system being one of the world’s most productive and biodiverse marine regions, the Namibian coastal and marine environment receives little attention from conservation NGOs. Major issues like the crash of the sardine fishery, once the cornerstone species of the ecosystem, the lack of management of continental Africa’s largest (and currently unregulated) Marine Protected Area (MPA), and the potential development of an offshore marine phosphate mining industry appear to remain largely unaddressed by full-time conservationists. NNF is therefore involved in an increasing number of projects aimed at addressing some of these conservation needs.
The Namibian Islands Marine Protected Area (NIMPA) is Africa’s second largest proclaimed MPA. Situated along the southwestern coast of Namibia, the area incorporates almost 10,000 km2 of marine habitat that supports rich biodiversity. Since its proclamation, no formal management plan has been implemented, which places this important MPA and its ecosystems at risk to economic activities like mining and fishing taking place in sensitive areas. Without an enforceable management plan and regulations, the NIMPA remains effectively unprotected.
Significant progress has been made towards creating a management plan for NIMPA in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR). MFMR is currently revising regulations, with a management plan to follow. The MFMR are also coordinating and steering a national Sustainable Blue Economy, which is being developed through a Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process. This is part of the review, realignment, and identification of Namibia’s Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs). With support from the One Ocean Hub and in partnership with the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI), the NNF has aided this process by conducting an evaluation of Namibia’s Blue Natural Capital (i.e. marine ecosystem services), which was presented in a workshop with other stakeholders in March 2022.
The NNF, with support from the Blue Marine Foundation and the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, will continue to work with a broad array of partners to support the MFMR in establishing and resourcing a formal management plan to effectively manage the NIMPA. This will be supported by a concurrent process to drive future MPA delineation, designation and management by building up the ecological, social and economic arguments for marine protection and to bring these into the Blue Economy development. The ultimate goal is to designate at least 10% of Namibia’s Exclusive Economic Zone as MPAs.
Improving MPA management is complemented by our other projects that work alongside the fisheries sector to reduce the impact of their activities in Namibia’s waters. The Albatross Task Force (ATF) project was implemented to reduce seabird bycatch in the Namibian longline and trawl fisheries, thus supporting the recovery of albatrosses and other seabird species.
The bycatch mitigation measures have been highly successful: 98.4% reduction in annual seabird by-
catch in the demersal longline fishery (over 20,000 seabirds saved each year) and 58% reduction in in the trawl fishery. The ATF has now trained 90% of the officials from the Fisheries Observer Agency (FOA) to monitor bycatch rates and keep the ATF database up to date. Based on our published data, we have worked with the MFMR, the fishing industry and other stakeholders to introduce regulations and enforce compliance thereto in order to minimise seabird bycatch.
The Benguela Current Convention (BCC), the Namibian Dolphin Project and ATF collaborated on several events on World Oceans Day aimed to create awareness among Namibian coastal communities. The ATF and BCC have signed a MoU to continue raising awareness among schools located in Namibia’s coastal towns. This is part of a broader NNF goal to improve ocean literacy among schoolchildren and include these topics within the school curriculum.
A research project started in mid-2022 on sharks, rays and similar cartilaginous fish species supported by the Shark Conservation Fund (SCF). This project will generate a completely novel dataset on the target species (collectively known as chondrichthyans) in the NIMPA, and assess the degree to which they are threatened by various economic activities (e.g. as fisheries bycatch). The project will also establish which chondrichthyan species occur in other key marine habitats along Namibia’s coastline to inform management strategies for those species. The data generated will contribute to future decisions around the designation and management of MPAs to maximise benefits to chondrichthyans.
3.7 Climate Change
Climate change is likely to have huge implications for Namibia’s society and economy over the coming years and decades. Even in the most optimistic scenario where countries meet their stated emissions targets, global temperatures will continue to rise to between 1.5 and 2.0 degrees. Although it is not possible to say with any precision what impact a 1.5-degree or a 2.0-degree rise in global temperatures will have on the Namibian economy, the consequences could be severe. Economic sectors which contribute 15.5% to Namibia’s GDP are vulnerable to climate change and the poorest rural communities reliant on agriculture who are most at risk. Namibia will stand a better chance of tackling the coming challenges if it is well prepared and enacts the right policies and actions at the right time.
The NNF is working on multiple projects aimed at increasing Namibia’s readiness for climate change at every level. We are contributing directly to policymaking and agenda setting by supporting relevant ministries and stakeholders, for example in national adaptation planning. The NNF also implements projects to strengthen resilience and promote low carbon development, knowledge sharing and enhanced cooperation, and mobilising resources for addressing climate change.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the most important multilateral instrument in climate finance to support a shift towards low-emissions and climate-resilient economies and societies as envisioned by the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) play an important role in advocating for ambitious climate change adaptation and mitigation, transformative projects, transparency in project implementation and to bring on-the ground expertise to the discussion table.
The “Civil Society Readiness for the Green Climate Fund” project funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (ICI) and jointly implemented by Germanwatch and CARE International/Germany is implemented in 10 African Countries to strengthen the role of civil society organisations to fulfil these functions.
This includes enhancing collaboration and coordination between CSOs on climate change related issues by developing national platforms and building the capacity of CSOs on climate change and the Green Climate Fund specifically. This project developed a Training of Trainers course on the climate finance architecture, the Green Climate Fund, developing funding proposals, monitoring, and evaluation by civil society as well as different roles civil society can play, in addition to the development of knowledge materials and webinars. The project also builds networks between different African civil society organisations to ensure cross learning and enhance their capacity engage in international climate change debates, for example at Green Climate Fund Board Meetings or Africa Structured Dialogues. The project has a specific focus on promoting monitor-
Visiting the gardens of Oskop Conservancy that were funded by the EIF’s Enhanced Direct Access project.
Talking to the women of Uibes Conservancy about their integrated wildlife and sustainable rangeland management for improved livelihoods project funded by a EIF EDA grant. Men and women were interviewed separately to ensure everyone has a chance to share their views.
ing and evaluation of GCF-funded projects by civil society to ensure participation and engagement of the beneficiaries and communities affected by the projects and programmes. To this extent, the NNF is working with the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia to develop lessons learned for the EIF’s GCF-funded enhanced direct access (EDA) project and visited project beneficiaries to talk about their experiences and impact of the project.
A changing more variable climate and increasing atmospheric CO2 levels are expected to contribute to increased bush encroachment in Namibia, which
already has considerable impacts on the productivity of land and key ecosystem services. Thinning the bush is an important means to reduce biodiversity loss, adapt to the impacts of climate change and ensure food security in a country where most of the population rely on natural resources and agriculture. At the same time, increases in intermittent renewable energies necessitate dispatchable energy sources to stabilise the grid.
With the operationalisation of a 40MW Biomass Power Plant, NamPower plans to establish a sustainable bush-to-electricity value chain which will drive the restoration of degraded, bush encroached land to enhance climate change resilience, while ensuring a shift away from fossil fuels and energy imports. The NNF supported NamPower in their endeavour by conducting a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Assessment for the Otjikoto Biomass and Van Eck Power Plants (in collaboration with UNIQUE Forest and Land-Use GmBH and Airshed Planning Professionals respectively), as well as a vulnerability assessment for the Otjikoto Biomass Power Plant. This involved assessing the land use changes and impacts of using the biomass for power generation and comparing this to alternative technologies such as battery storage systems, coal-fired power plants, heavy fuel oils (HFOs) and liquified natural gas (LNG). Based on these assessments, the NNF also supported NamPower in writing funding proposals to implement the Otjikoto Biomass Power Project.
Environmental crises, such as climate change, often lead to the creation of new markets. Renewed ambitious targets to mitigate climate change made under the Paris Agreement in 2015 have sparked the development of ambitious new national emissions targets and regulations. Major technological changes and innovation are required to shift to more sustainable, low-carbon processes and technologies to achieve these targets. In the more immediate term, heavy emitters who plan to transition to more sustainable technologies may use carbon credits to compensate for their emissions. Carbon credits can be generated by reducing emissions or enhancing and protecting carbon sinks. As such, carbon credits can be used to fund conservation and restoration activities.
Nature conservation in Namibia traditionally relies strongly on income from tourism. The global COVID-19 pandemic and collapse of the tourism industry has shown how fragile the reliance on a single source of income can be. There is thus an urgent need to diversify income streams for conservation. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes such as carbon credits can potentially help to address this challenge. If implemented successfully, PES services can significantly contribute towards raising funds needed for biodiversity conservation.
The NamibRand Conservation Trust (NCT) implemented a pilot project to investigate the potential of carbon sequestration and access to the carbon credit market as a possible means to fund conservation initiatives in Namibia. The NNF supported the technical implementation by exploring the viability of carbon credits in dryland ecosystems, and potential management interventions to enhance carbon sequestration in degraded grasslands.
Presentation of the Otjikoto Biomass Power Plant project at a NAMA Facility side event at COP27. Pictured here Director of Forestry Johnson Ndokosho, who presented the project, Mirja Stoldt (NNF), Dr. Sören David, Head of the TSU of the NAMA Facility and Tangeni Tshivute (NamPower).
Side event organised by the Independent Evaluation Unit of the Green Climate Fund at the Namibian Pavilion at COP27 on “Mobilising Climate Finance for Adaptation and Biodiversity”.
The Ministry of Finance has a key role to play in designing, enacting, and financing these policies and actions. Jointly with the Ministry of Finance and supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and consultants, the NNF formulated a Green Transformation Plan for Namibia which should provide long-term guidance to policymakers on how Namibia will achieve environmentally sustainable growth and employment creation for its people under a range of climate scenarios.
