Written by: Pippa Howard
The southern African country of Namibia has been high on Fauna & Flora International’s (FFI) agenda since early 2007.
Both Pippa Howard and Dave Wright from FFI’s Business & Biodiversity programme have written lauding the dramatic beauty and high level of biodiversity of the Namib Desert’s varying landscapes. In these blog posts, they also outline some of the challenges to the long-term sustainability of the Central Namib in the light of short-term developments such as uranium mining.
All those who have visited this part of the world have developed their own special affinity with the place, and everyone agrees that the sustainable development of this ancient and unique desert is essential.
Supporting sustainable and responsible development in the Central Namib
In April 2011, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, through its Strengthening Protected Areas Network programme, commissioned FFI to undertake a landscape level assessment (LLA) of key biodiversity vulnerability and land use within the uranium province in the Central Namib, in collaboration with international and local specialists.
The LLA arose out of a seminal piece of work that was completed in 2010 – the Strategic Environmental Assessment for the central Namib Uranium Rush. This assessment highlighted the multitude of positive and negative impacts associated with different development scenarios. It also provided a number of recommendations that, if implemented, will address key gaps and support sustainable and responsible development of uranium mining in the Central Namib, for the benefit of all its inhabitants.
The strategic assessment highlighted the need for a LLA of biodiversity in western Namibia’s Erongo region to identify biodiversity priority areas.
The LLA employed a systematic conservation planning approach to develop a powerful decision-support tool for:
• Identifying priority areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Central Namib, based on defensible data and a robust methodology
• Supporting decision makers and stakeholders in evaluating the cumulative impacts of mining and other land-uses on biodiversity and ecosystem services
The LLA produced a series of maps and data sets that have helped us to better understand the impacts of uranium mining and other developments on the environment and identify where conservation priorities and other land uses exist within the landscape.
Building a strong case for conservation
As one of the uranium mine managers commented: “The problem with the environment is that it is such a hard sale.”
When decision makers in government are faced with a choice between short-term development initiatives (like mines or heavy industry) versus longer-term sustainable livelihoods or biodiversity conservation, we need persuasive arguments underpinned by verifiable data to guide them towards more sustainable decisions.
The outputs from this assessment, coupled with the work of the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management project, give biodiversity a stronger position in the debate and make a meaningful contribution towards the sustainable management of the Central Namib landscape for the benefit of both people and biodiversity.
Download a fact sheet about the Landscape level assessment in the Central Namib Desert (PDF).
Learn more about the Landscape level assessment of key biodiversity vulnerability and landuse in the Central Namib, Namibia (PDF).
Article Disclaimer: This article was published by the Fauna & Flora International and retrieved on 06/18/2017 and posted at INDESEEM for information and educational purposes only. The views and contents of the article remain those of the authors. We will not be held accountable for the reliability and accuracy of the materials. If you need additional information on the published contents and materials, please contact the original authors and publisher. Please cite the authors, original source, and INDESEEM accordingly.