UNDP calls for urgent action to revive ecosystems
WINDHOEK - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative to Namibia, Dr Armstrong Alexis, has said there is a need for urgent collaborative action to revive damaged ecosystems which all people depend on for survival.
Alexis said this during the commemoration of the World Environment Day held at Himalwa Ithete Senior Secondary School in Mpungu village in the Kavango West Region on Saturday. In a media statement issued by UNDP on Wednesday, Alexis also highlighted that the commemoration, held under the theme ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, coincides with the work of the Integrated Landscape Approach to Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (NILALEG) project.
“The project was designed to promote a landscape management approach that integrates key agricultural and forest landscapes; reducing poverty through sustainable nature-based livelihoods; protecting and restoring forests as carbon sinks; and promoting Land Degradation Neutrality,’ Alexis said. Speaking at the same occasion, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Executive Director, Teofilus Nghitila, noted that the Zambezi Region has great potential to increase food production, which can be done through sustainable harvesting of natural resources. He further said having the Directorate of Forestry as part of the ministry presents an opportunity to ensure maximisation of forest resources conservation. “Healthier ecosystems with richer biodiversity assist in yielding greater benefits such as more fertile soil and larger stores of greenhouse gases. Without doubt, this is our moment.
We cannot turn back time but we can assist in growing trees such as mango trees and many others, which I note are a lot in the region,” Nghitila said.
Additionally, he urged the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), responsible for facilitation of activities at local level in the region, to see to it that the planned activities not only focus on tourism, but also on sustainable livestock farming.
“I, therefore, call upon all stakeholders to join hands and work together towards assisting in making our country greener and healthier than ever before,” said Nghitila.
On his part, Mpungu Constituency Councillor, Titus Shiudufonya noted that due to many factors such as climate change, the landscape has changed tremendously. “In the midst of all these changes, there is hope, which will be brought through NILALEG interventions and will contribute to livelihood transformation,” he said.