Global climate change destructive for Namibia

DESERTIFICATION and climate change, which are topping the agenda of a United Nations climate conference in Nairobi, Kenya, was also discussed at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

During a session at the UN summit specifically dealing with African countries, Namibia’s Ambassador to the UN, Dr Kaire Mbuende, was among the contributors. The continuous encroachment of deserts had a serious negative impact on Namibia and its fragile ecology, and increased the vulnerability of its people, Mbuende said.”The implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a matter of life and death for Namibia,” he said.”The high climatic variability in the form of persistent droughts, unpredictable rainfall patterns, variable temperatures and scarcity of water that characterise Namibia make the spectre of desertification real,” he said.”The prevalence of deforestation, overgrazing, deterioration of rangeland and bush encroachment present a real threat to desertification.The desert ecosystem is also threatened by the collection of desert plants by unscrupulous individuals who illegally trade in these plants.”Sporadic droughts caused considerable stock losses and reduced grain production, severely affecting the poorest farmers and rural communities.”They threaten their livelihoods as rain-fed cereal crops, which are vital to ensure the food security for most rural households, frequently fail,” Mbuende said.”In areas linked to environmental change and degradation, we have established projects to ecologically restore these areas.My Government continues to promote environmental sustainability through improved land-use by supporting communal land boards and promoting land-based approaches to livelihood,” Mbuende said.”Our continuous dependency on a fragile ecosystem and on an economy that relies heavily on subsistence agriculture and livestock production systems remains to be addressed,” he noted.”In order for the Government and the entire nation to be prepared and to limit potential impact of uncertain climate change scenarios, we call on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its partners to come up with accelerated approaches in the areas of climate change adaptation.Both institutional adaptation and adaptive management capacity are urgently required.We are looking to our development partners for capacity building in order for us to roll back the ever-expanding frontiers of desertification,” Mbuende urged.He requested development partners to mobilise additional resources to support the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in African countries.The continuous encroachment of deserts had a serious negative impact on Namibia and its fragile ecology, and increased the vulnerability of its people, Mbuende said.”The implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a matter of life and death for Namibia,” he said.”The high climatic variability in the form of persistent droughts, unpredictable rainfall patterns, variable temperatures and scarcity of water that characterise Namibia make the spectre of desertification real,” he said.”The prevalence of deforestation, overgrazing, deterioration of rangeland and bush encroachment present a real threat to desertification.The desert ecosystem is also threatened by the collection of desert plants by unscrupulous individuals who illegally trade in these plants.”Sporadic droughts caused considerable stock losses and reduced grain production, severely affecting the poorest farmers and rural communities.”They threaten their livelihoods as rain-fed cereal crops, which are vital to ensure the food security for most rural households, frequently fail,” Mbuende said.”In areas linked to environmental change and degradation, we have established projects to ecologically restore these areas.My Government continues to promote environmental sustainability through improved land-use by supporting communal land boards and promoting land-based approaches to livelihood,” Mbuende said.”Our continuous dependency on a fragile ecosystem and on an economy that relies heavily on subsistence agriculture and livestock production systems remains to be addressed,” he noted.”In order for the Government and the entire nation to be prepared and to limit potential impact of uncertain climate change scenarios, we call on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its partners to come up with accelerated approaches in the areas of climate change adaptation.Both institutional adaptation and adaptive management capacity are urgently required.We are looking to our development partners for capacity building in order for us to roll back the ever-expanding frontiers of desertification,” Mbuende urged.He requested development partners to mobilise additional resources to support the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in African countries.