Himarwa Iithete the best debaters

HIMARWA Iithete Secondary School came out tops, with Ruacana High School scooping second place and Shatipamba Combined School third, in a debating competition organised by the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty project (Nilaleg) last week.

Nilaleg spokeserson Melba Mabuku says the competition is aimed at raising awareness of and promote restoration and conservation efforts in the country.

The competition was held at Himarwa Iithete Secondary School on 22 April, with over 150 attendees.

“The competition highlighted the collective efforts of Nilaleg to create awareness of conservation and restoration issues,” she says.

The initiative is in line with the United Nations’ global agenda for restoration, and is one of the many mandates of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Mabuku says.

She says Nilaleg is taking action to combat land degradation and promotes sustainable development through its inclusive tree-planting initiative.

“Despite the low perception of extracurricular activities like debate in Namibian schools, the project recognises the benefits of such activities and is using them to educate and involve students in their tree-planting initiative,” Mabuku says.

She says the initiative aims to plant 10 000 indigenous and fruit trees in schools and to provide educational sessions for students to learn about the importance of land restoration and environmental conservation.

The Nilaleg project, led by the environment ministry, is taking action to combat deforestation and promoting sustainable development.