Plastic pollution of Namibian ocean minimal – ministry

Although plastic pollution of Namibia’s ocean is minimal, largely due to the fact that the country’s entire coastline is in protected areas or national parks, the government welcomes any efforts geared towards protecting the ecosystem.

So says Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda.

Namibia restricts the entry of plastic bags into national parks, he says.

“Additionally, there is not so many residential areas along our coast,” he says.

Muyunda recently said this in reaction to reports that South African non-governmental organisation OceanHub Africa has launched a competition for start-ups from African countries, including South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, to submit biotechnological, artificial intelligence and other innovative projects to ensure the survival of marine diversity and submit them for funding.

This is OceanHub Africa’s fourth annual competition.

Its call for projects comes in the wake of the historic adoption of the High Seas Treaty by the United Nations.

“We are learning about this initiative for the first time, but we welcome any effort geared towards protecting our ecosystem.

“We are hopeful that more great ideas would come from this initiative to aid the ongoing interventions in the preservation of our ecological systems,” Muyunda said.

“As the ministry regulating and managing the country’s national parks, we also have an effective solid waste management strategy for the coast, ensuring waste does not end up in the ocean,” he said.

With 11 million tonnes of plastic entering Africa’s waterways each year, OceanHub Africa is looking for 12 green solutions to help protect the continent’s marine ecosystems.

The call for projects, which closes on 14 May, is aimed exclusively at green start-ups led by young entrepreneurs, and focuses on the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to OceanHub, the main focus is on SDG14, which calls for respect for animal and plant species living in aquatic environments.

The candidates of the fourth cohort of OceanHub Africa would therefore have to propose concrete techniques to reduce overfishing and pollution by waste at a time when the survival of marine biodiversity is seriously threatened.

The innovations selected on 18 June will benefit from a series of training courses on ecological transition over eight months, as well as funding of up to US$10 000 (N$180 000) per project.

Muyunda said although plastic pollution in Namibia’s ocean is minimal, it has the potential to harm marine life, because some of these plastics contain harmful chemicals.

“For a country such as Namibia, where fishing is a key economic driver, this situation could be detrimental to the economy,” he said.

Muyunda said the protection of the ecosystem is core to the ministry’s mandate as provided for in the Constitution.

“To ensure this, we have created an enabling environment by developing appropriate laws and policies.

This includes the development and implementation of the Environmental Management Act and the Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975 and its amendments, among others.

“Through these pieces of legislation, Namibia has established an extended protected area network, and 20 national parks were established to protect biodiversity and maintain ecological systems,” he said, adding that the community conservation programme gives rights to communities to protect and sustainably utilise natural resources,” Muyunda said.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na