Wezi Tjaronda
9 September 2008
Windhoek — The Friends of the Parks Association is the first project that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism through the Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) Namibia Chapter wants to undertake.
Deputy Director: Wildlife Utilisation in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Louisa Mupetami said at the President's Breakfast that preceded the council meeting of LCA last week that the project, the first one that the national LCA Chapter may implement, was identified after a needs assessment.
The association is envisaged to become a consortium of devoted supporters from the business community, institutions and individuals throughout Namibia and the world whose commitment will help unlock the economic potential of parks.
The association aims to increase people's awareness of the important role national parks play for conservation and development. It will also be a support arm for park management and education.
Although the parks form part of Namibia's national heritage and contribute about 60 percent of the country's GDP, they need support to unleash the potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation and national and regional development.
Mupetami called on all interested businesses to become members of the Friends of Parks Association.
A study on the value of Namibia's protected areas found that parks in Namibia generate between N$1 billion and N$2 billion in income annually even though the ministry only spends about N$50 million on maintaining and running them.
At the same time, the study found that 23 percent (between N$230 and N$460 million) of the income benefited poor households, thus contributing to poverty reduction. In addition, 17 percent of the income generated by parks (between N$170 million and N$340 million) was taken by Government as taxes and fees.
However, the study found that the money the ministry was injecting into the parks systems for operations and maintenance was not sustainable because the parks' capital base is being eroded and this threatens the rapidly growing tourism sector.
"The current government expenditure on the parks system is inadequate. The system is being degraded and the sustainability of the parks system and the income generated from it is threatened in the long term," says the ministry.
Parks occupy almost 18 percent of the total surface area of Namibia mostly in the west and north.
Apart from conserving biodiversity, parks support a large part of the country's tourism sector. Many tourists visiting Namibia visit one or more parks. It is assumed that their visits are primarily because of the presence of parks.
The study said increased annual spending on parks by the ministry would generate positive rates or return of 23 percent, making it economically viable.
The LCA was established in 2006 to influence international and national business leaders to get involved in national conservation efforts and to facilitate national and international conservation led social economic development.
Namibia's national LCA Chapter was launched last year.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
