By: Dwight Links
The Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (NILALEG) program received a monitoring and reporting system to monitor environmental agreements.
The system is developed and managed by the University of Namibia.
Professor Simon Angombe, Associate Dean and Principal Investigator of the unit behind the monitoring and reporting system, provided a presentation on what the features of the platform are.
“The main output was for the national system for monitoring purposes for the spatial targets in multilateral and environmental agreements. Since these agreements are scattered across three UN conventions,” Angombe indicated.
He added that the system is paperless, relying on digital infrastructure for its monitoring and data capturing capabilities.
The platform is currently accessible through the UNAM website which provides a specific feature to the monitoring ability.
Kenneth Matengu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Namibia outlined that natural resource management and biodiversity conservation are critical exercises for the country.
“This monitoring system demonstrates when government institutions, academia and communities work together. These partnerships deliver results aimed at enhancing environmental stewardship,” Matengu said.
Matengu gave reference to a period in 2018 when the country began producing a framework based on conservation areas of the country.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that this does not translate into an end of the program, but should enhance the cooperation between government and its agencies.This, according to him, will lead to knowledge development systems being empowered.
“The success of sustained environmental monitoring depends on sustained partnerships, continuous data generation and strong institutional support,” Matengu added.
KNOWLEDGE INTEGRITY
Matengu described that systems like the monitoring and reporting one would allow the country to generate its own knowledge and databases.
“This will allow us to identify which data and information is valid and necessary to our needs. This will culminate in how it will be sustained locally, rather than rely on expatriates from somewhere else,” he added.
Jonas Nghishidi, project manager for the NILALEG, explained that the program’s origins came from a time period when Namibia was busy developing the national biodiversity strategy.
“At that time, at the COP (Conference of Parties) level, was the strengthening of synergies between the three Rio conventions,” Nghishidi said.
These three are the UNFCCC, CBD and the UNCCD – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
TARGETS
Nghisidi noted that another aspect they had to take into account is whether other treaties also had scope and relevance into this framework.
“This was so that we could check on how to create the synergy, and not duplicate efforts. This project is basically a multilateral environmental framework which then guides the project with the practicalities on the ground,” he added.
Nghishidi cited that their target was to reach 20,000 people, but surpassed this by reaching 64,000 people.
“This includes examples of more than a thousand community members doing land restoration in regions like Kunene and Omusati. We had projects for youth, clearing of riverbeds, zero of which have been degraded and were infested with bush,” Nghishidi outlined.
A signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding related to the system, which would have been between the Vice-Chancellor Matengu and the Executive Director of MEFT, Sikongo Haihambo, was moved to another date.
The NILALEG program by MEFT tries to champion integrated landscape management and livelihood for communities.
“It is about fostering sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity protection in key agricultural and forest landscapes, restoring forests as carbon sinks,” the ministry explained.
Another dimension of it is to strengthen institutional coordination that allows for improved governance and coordination to achieve the successful integrated landscape management.
