Danes to help enviro projects become rooted

ENVIRONMENTAL projects in Namibia received a boost of more than half a million dollars yesterday through the Danish International Development Association (Danida).

During the next three years, the Danish Government is expected to inject about N$2,7 million into the newly established Namibia Environment Fund, set up for civil society projects aimed at caring for natural resources. A ceiling of N$100 000 has been placed on individual grants.Grants are awarded on a competitive basis and this year seven projects will benefit.”After a quarter of a century in the environment and development sector, it has become ever more clear to me that the most effective projects are projects that come from the local level, are locally driven and result from necessity,” said the Executive Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation, Chris Brown.The Outase Energy Supply Project, which promotes biogas as an alternative source of energy in the Okandjatu constituency of the Otjozondjupa Region, and the Namibia Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management Support Organisation (Nacso), which aims to provide solar power to conservancies, each received the maximum funding amount.An amount of N$75 000 was awarded to the Brown Hyena Project to establish the population of brown hyenas in the inland areas of the Sperrgebiet, while the Kyaramacan Trust at Bagani in West Caprivi received N$62 000 to obtain equipment for natural resource monitoring.The Sorri-Sorris Conservancy on the northern banks of the Ugab River was granted N$48 000 for a project aimed at reducing the damage caused by elephants to human infrastructure:an alternative water supply will be provided for them.Another conservancy, Doro !Nawas, some 35 kilometres west of Khorixas, received N$40 000 to raise awareness about the impact of off-road driving on the environment.The smallest grant – N$30 000 – went to the Namibia Environmental Education Network (NEEN) – to produce an Environmental Directory of its networking partners.Brown encouraged projects which needed help in putting a proposal together to approach the NNF for assistance.Brown said the Danida funding was helping empower people to take control of their lives which was not always considered by many projects developed by donors and consultants.A ceiling of N$100 000 has been placed on individual grants.Grants are awarded on a competitive basis and this year seven projects will benefit.”After a quarter of a century in the environment and development sector, it has become ever more clear to me that the most effective projects are projects that come from the local level, are locally driven and result from necessity,” said the Executive Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation, Chris Brown.The Outase Energy Supply Project, which promotes biogas as an alternative source of energy in the Okandjatu constituency of the Otjozondjupa Region, and the Namibia Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management Support Organisation (Nacso), which aims to provide solar power to conservancies, each received the maximum funding amount.An amount of N$75 000 was awarded to the Brown Hyena Project to establish the population of brown hyenas in the inland areas of the Sperrgebiet, while the Kyaramacan Trust at Bagani in West Caprivi received N$62 000 to obtain equipment for natural resource monitoring.The Sorri-Sorris Conservancy on the northern banks of the Ugab River was granted N$48 000 for a project aimed at reducing the damage caused by elephants to human infrastructure:an alternative water supply will be provided for them.Another conservancy, Doro !Nawas, some 35 kilometres west of Khorixas, received N$40 000 to raise awareness about the impact of off-road driving on the environment.The smallest grant – N$30 000 – went to the Namibia Environmental Education Network (NEEN) – to produce an Environmental Directory of its networking partners.Brown encouraged projects which needed help in putting a proposal together to approach the NNF for assistance.Brown said the Danida funding was helping empower people to take control of their lives which was not always considered by many projects developed by donors and consultants.