President Hage Geingob said Namibia will focus on the prospect of seabed mining precariously to create ocean wealth.
This forms part of three critical areas Namibia will direct its energies to as part of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy as known as the Ocean Panel.
The Ocean Panel is an ad hoc group focused on the seas that are made up of serving world leaders with direct authority to trigger, amplify and accelerate action worldwide.
Co-chaired by Norway and Palau, the panel comprises Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia and Portugal, with support from the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.
This comes at a time where possible phosphate mining has rubbed environmentalists and the fishing industry the wrong way saying that it will cause more harm than good.
Both industry players fear that the mining activities could permanently cause damage to the country’s marine resources, and endanger fishing activities.
Seabed mining is concerned with the retrieval of the number of minerals occupying the ocean floor is potentially large.
The phosphate targeted by seabed mining is concentrations of phosphorus-containing solid particles buried in the sediments on the continental shelf, also technically known as ‘phosphorites’.
Geingob said through Ocean Wealth the country also wants to focus on creating sustainable ocean food, transport, energy and tourism.
At the same time, the president said the country will also pay close attention to ocean health to ensure she reduces greenhouse gas emissions, protects and restore marine and coastal ecosystems as well as reduce ocean pollution.
