THE impacts of climate change have already started affecting Namibia's economic development, impacting the country's agricultural sector - particularly rural households and small-scale farmers who depend on rain-fed subsistence farming.
This was said by Caroline Garus-Oas, the deputy environmental commissioner in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, at the handover of equipment and the project closure of the intergrated early warning systems (EWS) in Namibia on Wednesday by the World Food Programme (WFP).
"Fisheries and tourism are not spared either. These threats can directly reduce our country's gross domestic product and cause economic losses that may undermine our efforts to achieve our national development goals," she said.
Garus-Oas said Namibia takes climate change very seriously, and it is for this reason that the government has mainstreamed and integrated climate change into its development plans.
"A cross-sectoral national climate change committee was established in 2001 to oversee all climate change-related activities in the country. In 2011, the national climate change policy was finalised, followed by a Cabinet-endorsed national climate change strategy and action plan in 2013."
She further said the government was grateful to receive the donated equipment, as well as for the capacity development provided to public institutions, such as the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, the environment ministry, and the Ministry of Works and Transport.
"Integrated early warning systems receive high priority on our national developmental agenda, as it plays an instrumental role in disaster-risk reduction through proactively generating timely climatic data that ultimately makes provision for early warning information to trigger early action.
"This information, if disseminated appropriately, could lead to better-informed decision-making that would enhance the adaptive capacity of farmers and enhance food security," she said.
Elvis Odeke, WFP head of programmes, at the event said climate change and climate-related shocks pose an ever-growing threat to food security and reduced nutrition worldwide, and Namibia is particularly vulnerable.
This vulnerability is only growing, as climate-related shocks increase in scale and frequency.
Odeke said the WFP has since positioned itself as a valuable technical partner to the government - not only in emergency response, but also in preparedness, resilience building, nutrition improvement, and social protection.
The WFP in Namibia continues to implement its country strategic plan through five strategic outcomes which complement national priorities and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
"As a developing country, Namibia continues to put adaptation and resilience building at the forefront of its climate change response, and the WFP, in partnership with the government, has been making concerted efforts towards building resilient communities through the Project 2030 fund," Odeke said.
The objective of Project 2030 was to facilitate the development and strengthening of EWS in Namibia.
In particular, it aimed to enhance drought-monitoring systems which use data to inform early mitigation action and long-term investments, thereby building drought-resilient communities.
The WFP's primary role was to provide technical assistance to key government partners and enhance their ability to make policy and programme decisions which are supported by evidence-based analysis.
"The importance of early warning systems and the work undertaken with our esteemed partners is that we can be proactive, we have a head start, and can make the first move in mitigating or preventing the adverse consequences of climate shocks," said Odeke.
"Today we are honoured to hand over this equipment to our government partners - confident that it would be used to build on the critical work that has already been done together.
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"It will enhance their ability to map and visualise climatic conditions at a country level, to collect and analyse data, and to produce and disseminate crucial information - all with the end goal of improving the capacity to make timely, evidence-based decisions and share key information with those who need it.
"Namibia is now better equipped to taking timely shock-responsive actions and make long-term structural investments toward building more drought-resilient communities, thereby bridging the humanitarian development gap.
"The Project 2030 fund has officially come to a close, but this is not the end. Our government partners are now better equipped to carry this work forward, and the WFP will continue to engage with partners in developing a project proposal to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, focusing on the further development, refinement and integration of early warning systems in Namibia," Odeke said.
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