Wezi Tjaronda
22 October 2008
The Equator award given to the N#a Jaqna Conservancy is confirmation that the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme is Namibia's most significant achievement in the sustainable resource management sector, Minister of Environment and Tourism Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said.
The N#a Jaqna Conservancy in Tsumkwe was one of the 25 winners of the Equator Prize 2008 out of 300 nominations that were vying for the prize. N#a Jaqna joins 78 past Equator Prize winners that stand at the forefront of translating local action into global sustainable development.
The Equator Initiative's Technical Advisory Committee named the conservancy for its outstanding accomplishments in ecological management and social empowerment.
The conservancy received US$5 000 (approximately N$46 000) and a Certificate of Achievement, which were presented to coordinator of the Conservancy Nico Tjimungua and Dominic Muema at the Equator Prize Award Ceremony in Barcelona, Spain, recently.
The prize forms part of the four core focal areas of the initiative's activities, representing a prestigious international award that recognises outstanding local efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who officiated at the handover ceremony on Friday, said Namibia has gained worldwide recognition for its innovative approaches of linking conservation to poverty alleviation through the communal area conservancy programmes and pro-poor tourism initiatives.
"This reputation has been founded in dynamic policy adjustments by the Government through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism that have devolved rights to wildlife and tourism to many of Namibia's marginalised and poorest communities, by providing any communities with unprecedented incentives to manage and conserve wildlife," she said.
The conservancy management, which allows for different land uses, said the ministry contributed to rural poverty reduction, which made the conservancy deserve the Equator Prize.
N#a Jaqna Conservancy chairman, Edward //Xari, said the prize recognises that indigenous and traditional cultures have safeguarded the diversity of their environment through sustainable lifestyles and practices over the years.
"In so doing, they have developed an understanding and wisdom on how to co-exist and live in harmony with nature, which should be integrated into current efforts to protect diversity of life," he said.
United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, Simon Nhongo, said the award was recognition for N#a Jaqna's outstanding work and the country's efforts to reduce poverty through successfully managing natural resources and through that, empowering communities.
"Furthermore, as sustainable community initiatives, such as N#a Jaqna, continue to develop and thrive, they are laying the foundation for a global movement of local successes that, collectively, make a significant contribution to our common goals of conserving biodiversity, responding to climate change, all contributing towards the achievement of the millennium development goals," Nhongo said.
Winners of the Equator Prize are profiled in the Equator Initiative's best practice database to inform and shape international policy and practices in the field of poverty reduction through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
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.
