Windhoek — The next "Park Talk", facilitated by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC), will introduce the so called NAM-PLACE Project: the Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative.

The talk takes place in Tuesday, February 19 at six O'clock at the FNCC Cinema and entry is free. NAM-PLACE is a project of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), which has been under implementation since August 2011. The project is co-financed from the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme. It is aimed at lifting barriers for the establishment of large scale networks of protected landscapes in the country. It further aims at ensuring that land uses in areas adjacent to existing Protected Areas are compatible with biodiversity conservation objectives, and corridors are established to sustain the viability of wildlife populations.

To date, five landscapes have been established: the Greater Sossusvlei-Namib and Greater Fish River Canyon in the south, Mudumu in the northeast, and Greater Waterberg and Windhoek Green Belt landscapes in central Namibia.

This Park Talk will be presented by Michael Sibalatani, project manager of NAM-PLACE with over 14 years experience in Biodiversity Management. He has served at a variety of positions within the Ministry of Environment, including an 8 year tenure as the head of Etosha National Park and Skeleton Coast Park. His extensive experience within MET is sandwiched by 4 years of teaching and project management respectively. His academic qualifications include a Master of Science in Tourism and Conservation from the University of Kent at Canterbury in the United Kingdom.

CAPTION: Michael Sibalatani, Project Manager of the Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (NAM-PLACE) who will deliver a talk on the project on Tuesday, 19 February at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC)'s Cinema.