News

News

The structured visioning workshops have been completed, with the last workshop held in Oranjemund on 19 July 2008. A total of 49 workshops were held, covering 20 towns or settlements.

In total 1552 people attended. Demographic representation in these workshops was well balanced between different population groups, youth, elderly, rural and town areas, and gender. A wide range of categories of issues emerged in these workshops. They included: education, awareness, and capacity building; community and public participation; grassroots involvement; specific management issues; management authority systems; social responsibility, youth development; land ownership and access to coastal lands, and access to coast; the need to have infrastructure and basic services; multiple use, planning, and zoning; conservation; mining, economic opportunities; sustainable options for fulfilling essential future energy and water needs; transparency and simplicity; strategies for sustainability; tourism; culture; geographic reach of the policy (must cover land and sea); and environmental health.

In addition 1000 questionnaires were completed in Erongo and Karas Regions, while radio programmes was employed in Kunene Region, and additional visioning workshops were conducted in Hardap Region.

The writing of a draft Green Paper is currently in process with assistance of the PLWG (Policy and Legal Working Group), as well as external experts in coastal policies. It is anticipated that the draft will be available on this website end of September. Its release will be well publicized as it is very important for the local public and stakeholders to give input.

SEA for the coastal areas of Kunene and Erongo regions

The final SEA study for the coastal areas of Kunene and Erongo regions is available on NACOMA webpage in the section Reports & Publications. A publication version will be available by end of September 2008.

One of the outcomes of the SEA of the coastal areas is a SEA Decision Support Tool (DST). The DST is an easy to-use GIS application for visualisation of the results of the SEA for the coastal areas of Erongo and Kunene regions. The DST has the role of informing the decision making process on land use options in the two coastal regions, and does not provide decisions per se. The DST has been developed as a stand-alone application which can be viewed in the widely available ArcView 3.2 as well as in the freeware ArcExplorer. For more information, please contact Nathalie Cadot: ncadot@nacoma.org.na / 064-403-905.

SEA for the coastal areas of Hardap and Karas regions

DHI has been contracted to undertake the SEA for the southern regions (Hardap and Karas regions). The consultancy started in August 2008 with several meeting in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Mariental, Keetmanshoop and Luderitz. The objective is to have a draft SEA study report before the end of the year.

Implementation of SEA recommendations on the Kunene and Erongo Coast

The Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA) has been contracted to implement key recommendations of the SEA for the coastal areas of the Erongo and Kunene regions, in order to improve conservation management on the Kunene and Erongo Coast.

In July and August, the consultant team has held a number of stakeholder meetings in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Langstrand and Khorixas, in which government, local authorities, special interest groups and interested members of the public were invited to contribute ideas and knowledge. The meetings sought consensus on the priority conservation areas along the coast and ideas on how best these areas may be protected. Interestingly, there appears to be very strong agreement amongst conservationists, the public and developers about the need for these protection zones. Stakeholders have also offered zonation ideas for all the parks and recreation areas, and it seems likely that previous conflict areas (e.g. beaches and dunes between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay) can be zoned to include all reasonable needs of users and interest groups.

The idea now is to build on this consensus, zone the parks according to various types of usage and protection, and then develop regulations for each zone. With this in place, government will likely reproclaim the areas individually as National Parks, or perhaps consider the option of joining them together and proclaiming the entire area as a single National Park. This is an exciting prospect as this would be the world’s largest single National Park. We may even succeed in also obtaining World Heritage Status for this park under UNESCO listing.

Soon, the consultant team will wrap up the process by circulating draft park management plans for final discussion so that work can commence on the proclamation of the parks.

The consulting team consists of Dr. Peter Tarr, Dr. Chris Brown, Dr. John Mendelsohn, Dr. Jon Barnes, Mr. Cormac Cullinan and Mr. Morgan Hauptfleisch, and the above process will be completed by November 2008.

The main contact person is Mr. Morgan Hauptfleisch:
Ausspannplatz, PO Box 6322, Windhoek
Tel: 061-220-579
Fax: 061-279-897
Email: morgan.hauptfleisch@saiea.com

The final report of the 'Namibian Islands' Marine Protected Area' is available on this website, section Reports & Publication.

During July the Matching Grants Program received a total of 58 proposals for funding for catalytic & practical projects that benefit people and biodiversity. The process of finalising detailed applications and costing of proposed selection is underway and expected to be completed by the end of September.

Coastodian campaign should place coast in spotlight

The lack of interest in Namibia’s coastal area and its unique biodiversity and sustainable development opportunities could mainly be ascribed to low awareness and knowledge levels among Namibians and visitors.

For them to participate in the economic social opportunities and utilze the coastal resources appropriately, a sustained and managed information and education campaign is of utmost importance.

The Government of the Republic of Namibia through its Ministry of Environment and Tourism in collaboration with other line ministries, and with support of NACOMA and other stakeholders introduced a Coastal Awareness Campaign.

Though the awareness campaign has been running for nearly a year, it was decided that it would have much more impact if it was spearheaded by an easy recognizable brand, providing a visual focus and association.

A lengthy development process was followed to bring about a brand that the Namibian public would accept and identify with.

A public logo competition was launched in November 2008 and lasted for 3 months, it was advertised widely in media, at all NACOMA consultations and the public was invited to enter names, slogans and design a logo for the coastal campaign.

A selection committee processed the entries and from that suggested new ideas. A professional graphic designer illustrated them and four logo options were submitted to a pre-selection group of 20 knowledgeable people.

Their favourite’s ones were amended accordingly and submitted to a further group of 110 people for selection. The two top logos were refined and a third was developed from the two. The top management of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the NACOMA Steering Committee had to select a favourite from the three.

The Coastodian brand was developed as result of long, transparent, inclusive process. It has passed many hands and shaped by many views, including the youth.

The objectives of the information campaign are:

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism will be applying the brand in various ways to spread information and knowledge about the coast as wide as possible.

The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Honourable Nandi Netumbo-Ndaitwah in Walvis Bay officially launched the Coastodian Campaign on 31 July 2008.

At the occasion the Ministry introduced and acknowledged the first four Honorary Coastodians. This is a way is to pay tribute and honour individuals who have contributed significantly towards the promotion and conservation of the coastal natural resources as part of the campaign. More individuals will be honoured this way in future.

The Coastodian Awareness Campaign would be sustained by means of further special communication, marketing and education programmes. These would be refined and implemented in due course:

The copy right of the campaign and its brand will be owned and managed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

The NACOMA Project will promote the campaign and its brand through its media liaison, and conferences, public relations activities, information and consultative meetings, its website, newsletter, information pamphlets, posters, information boards, special events, exhibitions and promotional material.

It is hoped that whenever and wherever people would see the Coastodian Brand that they would associate it with their raised awareness levels and newly obtained knowledge on coastal conservation.

The NACOMA project hopes that this will spur them on to collectively:

The process is now reaching an important stage when pre-scheduled visioning workshops are drawing to a close, and the writing of the Green Paper will start in earnest. A total of forty-eight workshops were held in the coastal areas of Namibia, with almost all towns and communities having had two workshops. Oranjemund is the only town where still no visioning workshops have been held, but a visioning workshop for this town has been arranged for 19th July, 2008.

The workshops were attended by a total of 1540 participants, and further inputs have been received in hard copy and by e-mail. Over 500 hundred questionnaires were also completed, bringing total participation in the process to well over 2000 people.

Participation involved a good balance between the different groups, age structures and rural and town residents and the demography of the coastal areas is reflected well in attendance records. As a further step in public participation, a SMS campaign is being planned for July. Youth involvement in the process is recognized as being very important. This year alone there have been 15 coastal field trips and/or film festivals aimed at the youth who has responded very positively.

A first glimpse at the results of the Visioning Workshops

Soon after the workshops started it became clear that the Namibian people feel very strongly about their coast. Data analysis is still in progress, but the following broad trends are emerging. It should be noted that analysis has not been completed, and that there may be more issues emerging, and that the ones listed below may be modified:

The draft vision of the coast is:
"We, the Namibian people want our coastal areas used in a wise manner, with sustainability as our common goal. Therefore social, cultural, environmental and economic concerns need to be balanced carefully, so that our natural resources are not depleted and the unique attributes of our coast will remain intact as far as possible. In the pursuit of a better and lasting future for our people we acknowledge that conservation and economic progress must go hand in hand. We will strive to develop our natural and human resources accordingly so that we can be good custodians of our valuable resources, making good use of them in an integrated and holistic manner, with fair and transparent access to opportunities for all, now and into the future."

Extent of the Coastal Areas

Exactly where the Namibian coastal areas begin and end has been a matter of discussion since the early stages of project preparation. The Policy and legal Working group, specially created to provide expert input into the process, has also been debating the issue and reviewed a Coastal Areas Options Paper prepared by the General Facilitation Team.

Four possibilities for the landward border of the coastal areas surfaced:
a. an ecological/environmental definition proposing that the coastal areas go as far inland as the reach of the coastal fog (the fog is generated by the sea and determines many of the characteristics of the coastal areas);
b. a social definition proposing that the coastal areas go as far inland as there are communities that can significantly benefit from coastal resources;
c. an administrative definition proposing that the coastal area go as far inland as the eastern border of the lattice of coastal protected areas, and
d. that the coastal areas should be considered those areas that are impacted on by coastal activities such a mining, tourism and so on.

The four options were also presented to the participants of the visioning workshops for their opinion. By and large, all four were considered important, but option c. had least support followed by option d. In the end it appears that a combination of the a. environmental and b. social definition will work very well, as all the communities fitting the description of b. also fall inside the coastal fog belt.

Public participation is ongoing

Any stakeholder can still give input by writing to the Facilitator or Coordinator throughout the preparation of the Green Paper which will be finalized toward the end of August. There will also be further opportunity for input once the Green Paper has been published, as well as during the development of the White Paper.

SEA for the coastal areas of Kunene and Erongo regions

The final SEA study for the coastal areas of Kunene and Erongo regions is available on NACOMA webpage in the section Reports & Publications. A publication version will be available by end of July 2008.

One of the outcomes of the SEA of the coastal areas is a SEA Decision Support Tool (DST). The DST is an easy to-use GIS application for visualisation of the results of the SEA for the coastal areas of Erongo and Kunene regions. The DST has the role of informing the decision making process on land use options in the two coastal regions, and does not provide decisions per se. The DST has been developed as a stand-alone application which can be viewed in the widely available ArcView 3.2 as well as in the freeware ArcExplorer.

The Decision Support Tool has been finalised in April 2008 and has been disseminated to MET, MFMR, Walvis Bay & Swakopmund municipalities, Erongo and Kunene regional councils etc. Further dissemination will take place in the coming months. For more information, please contact Nathalie Cadot: ncadot@nacoma.org.na / 064-403-905.

SEA for the coastal areas of Hardap and Karas regions

DHI has been contracted to undertake the SEA for the southern regions (Hardap and Karas regions). The consultancy will start in August 2008. The objective is to have a draft SEA study report before the end of the year.

Implementation of SEA recommendations on the Kunene and Erongo Coast

The Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA) has been contracted to implement key recommendations of the SEA for the coastal areas of the Erongo and Kunene regions, in order to improve conservation management on the Kunene and Erongo Coast.

The SEA found that conservation management of coastal areas needed to be improved, particularly for areas such as the Walvis Bay Nature Reserve, and the area of land between Walvis Bay and the Ugab River. For this purpose SAIEA will consider best-practice management planning methodology in either revising existing management plans, or developing new management plans to ensure effective management of these areas, considering socio-economic needs and conservation priorities. Such planning would include the classification of land for various uses, updating and formulating relevant regulations, ensuring the conservation of areas of biodiversity significance, and the consideration of maximising benefits to communities in the regions.

A number of key activities will be undertaken. The activities will be implemented in phases as described below:

Phase 1:
     - Developing best practice guidelines for the development of management plans in coastal         protected areas.

Phase 2:
     - Development of a land-use plan, zonation map and management plan in order to facilitate the         proclamation of the Walvis Bay Nature Reserve
     - Development of a coastal land-use plan, zonation map and management plan to guide         management of the NWCRA
     - The review of land-use planning, zonation and management plans for the Namib Naukluft Park         and the Skeleton Coast Park, to ensure the inclusion of coastal management and conservation         priorities, as identified by the Nacoma SEA process.

Phase 3:
     - Formulating of regulations for newly proclaimed protected areas and agreed land-use zones, as         well as review regulations for existing protected areas.

The above process will be completed by November 2008, and will be consultative in nature. This implies that the views of all stakeholders in the concerned areas will be sought, to inform the development of management plans, zones of use and regulations.

The consulting team consists of Dr. Peter Tarr, Dr. Chris Brown, Dr. John Mendelsohn, Dr. Jon Barnes, Mr. Cormac Cullinan and Mr. Morgan Hauptfleisch, and have commenced with Phase 1. Consultations with MET, as well as coastal stakeholder consultations are currently being planned for July 2008.

The main contact person is Mr. Morgan Hauptfleisch:
Ausspannplatz, PO Box 6322, Windhoek
Tel: 061-220-579
Fax: 061-279-897
Email: morgan.hauptfleisch@saiea.com

The Honourable Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr. Iyambo, has received in May 2008 the final version of the cabinet submission for the proclamation of Namibia's Islands' Marine Protected Area. He has stated that he intends to call a briefing meeting with the other Permanent Secretaries and Ministers involved, in order to garner their input, before proceeding to cabinet for approval of this important issue.

The revised final draft of the 'Concept note, background document and management proposal for the declaration of Marine Protected Areas on and around the Namibian offshore islands and adjacent coastal areas' is available on this website, section Reports & Publication.

The capacity building and training have not progressed well as anticipated, and continue to be carried out on ad hoc basis. This is mainly due to the fact that the PCO team does not have the easy implementable Training and Capacity Building Strategy and Action Plan (TCBSAP). Initial efforts to have the TCBSAP in time have failed as the hired consultant failed to deliver acceptable and implementable TCBSAP. The PCO team is now in process of re-launching this task for speed implementation. This involved reformulation of the TCBSAP task, redevelopment of the terms of reference and re-procure the service for new consultant. NACOMA however continues to carry out urgent and priority training and capacity building activities as necessary, with the latest one being the training of coastal Regional Councils (RC), coastal Local Authorities (LA) and Line Ministries (LM) in usage of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in application of Erongo and Kunene coastal SEA results and recommendations. Other ad hoc trainings that took place to date include SEA & EIA trainings to MET and some RC’s and LA's staff members (both inside Namibia and in South Africa); project cycle management to all coastal RC’s, LA’s and LM’s staff, etc.

EcoAfrica has been contracted to support the development of specific conservation and sustainable use investment proposals at site and landscape levels that can be financed by the NACOMA Matching Grants. The two leading consultants are:

The first phase of the task is to collect coastal project proposal outlines. For this purpose, an advert has been published in June 2008 and will be published again in July 2008 in Namibian newspapers. Please, see the advert below.

Call for coastal project proposal outlines

The NACOMA Project’s main objective is to enhance coastal and marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of coastal resources. This is being achieved through supporting the development of coastal policy, institutional and technical capacity and by co-financing of practical investments that result in tangible benefits to people and biodiversity.

The NACOMA Matching Grant programme will fund projects from N$10,000 to N$360,000 (projects exceeding this budget will be treated on merit). The NACOMA Project hereby requests brief project outlines (not more than two pages) that address practical solutions for supporting biodiversity and catalyzing sustainable use of natural resources.

Projects in the following fields, but not limited to, could be funded:
          - Biodiversity and conservation monitoring and enforcement
          - Habitat rehabilitation and restoration
          - Environmental impact reduction projects (e.g. fencing, boardwalks, interpretation signs)
          - Wise use of coastal resources (e.g. craft or medicinal use)
          - Coastal environmental awareness (e.g. signage, improved communication, events, books &              promotional material)
          - Eco-tourism (e.g. eco-labeling, guide training, marketing material, upgrade of existing              facilities, trail development)
          - Waste management solutions, (e.g. litter control and recycling)
          - Water conservation and renewable energy systems
          - Aquaculture, mariculture and agriculture projects
          - Support to small businesses wishing to use biodiversity sustainably

Projects will be supported in the coastal and adjacent terrestrial and marine areas only. Applications are open to all, inclusive of individuals, community groups, non-governmental organisations, private sector, local authorities, regional councils and line ministries.

The two (2) page project outline should include & address the following:
          1. Project description, objectives and broad budget requirements (quotes not compulsory)
          2. Project benefits to the coastal environment
          3. Project benefits to people and society
          4. Project benefits in terms of potential job creation or business opportunities
          5. The potential for matching or contributing to the project (financial or other commitment)

Applicants of selected projects will be contacted for further project development. The two page proposals should be sent via e-mail, fax, mail or hand delivery to NACOMA Project before Tuesday 15 July, 17h00:

NACOMA Project Office
Standard Bank Building, First Floor, Room 8
Sam Nujoma Avenue
P O Box 7018, SWAKOPMUND
TEL: 064 – 403905, FAX: 064 – 403906
E-mail: nacoma.project@gmail.com AND dguterres@nacoma.org.na

Action Plan for Namibia’s Coastal and Marine Birds

In order to address the increasing threats to our coastal and marine birdlife, NACOMA together with numerous other partners met in April 2008 to develop a Namibia Coastal/Marine Bird Action Plan and Working Group. The mission of the plan is to conserve Namibia’s coastal and marine birds and their habitats. The main threats include habitat loss or degradation, pollution, over fishing, by-catch, lack of awareness and ownership.

The action plan is being implemented by the Namibia Coastal and Marine Bird Working Group, a partnership between NACOMA, Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), and institutions within MET, MFMR, Local Authorities and civil society groups (e. g. Coastal Environmental Trust of Namibia (CETN), BirdLife International Albatross Task Force, Namibia Bird Club, Namibian Environment and Wildlife Society, Wetland Working Group); and many private individuals.

The proposed actions following the priority issues identified are: to promote communication and cooperation, to obtain and manage information, promote conservation awareness, address threats to birds, reduce seabird by-catch, develop rescue and rehabilitation protocol and promote project sustainability. These actions complement NACOMA’s project and global objective to “strengthen conservation, sustainable use and mainstreaming of biodiversity in coastal and marine ecosystems in Namibia”.

For more details please check the proceedings document below or contact Ann and Mike Scott at ecoserve@iway.na / 064-404-866.

The second round of workshops is in progress. Erongo has already been completed, and by now already over one thousand (1000) people have attended meetings to express their concerns, aspirations and views on how the coast can be used. More public, private sector, special interest and line ministry workshops are being held to discuss the pillars of the Green Paper, the coastal zone definition and the National Draft Vision.

Prof Odendaal welcomes written submissions and comments to be sent to the NACOMA Coordinator Mr Timo Mufeti at tmufeti@nacoma.org.na, and copied to him at francois@ecoafrica.co.za. Such written submissions on issues, process and the Draft National Vision will be treated as input into the official process.


DRAFT COASTAL VISION:
"We, the Namibian people want our coastal areas used in a wise manner, with sustainability as our common goal. Therefore social, cultural, environmental and economic concerns need to be balanced carefully, so that our natural resources are not depleted and the unique attributes of our coast will remain intact as far as possible. In the pursuit of a better and lasting future for our people we acknowledge that conservation and economic progress must go hand in hand. We will strive to develop our natural and human resources accordingly so that we can be good custodians of our valuable resources, making good use of them in an integrated and holistic manner, with fair and transparent access to opportunities for all, now and into the future."

Brand for promoting the coast is on its way

The NACOMA Project launched a competition through which the public could submit an appropriate name, slogan as well as a logo for promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the coast.

The closing date for entries was 15 January 2008 and the winners were supposed to be announced by the end of January.

A selection committee perused all the entries in February 2008. The committee concluded that none of the entries were appropriate enough for a coastal campaign. However, the committee was impressed with the high standard of the entries and decided that the best ones should be acknowledged.

The project received 66 entries. About 99 per cent of them were from people living at the coast. A number were from learners at schools at Walvis Bay. The project would like to thank all the participants for their effort and trouble.

The NACOMA Project decided to split the prize money of N$3,000 between the following people who submitted recommendable logo designs and names for the campaign: Bryony van der Merwe, Petrus van der Westhuizen, Christina Tshapumba, Lutz D. Wahlers, Sandy le Roux and Jessica Kemper. Each, thus, will receive N$500. NACOMA wish to congratulate and thank them for their work.

The NACOMA Project was also impressed with the entries from the schools mentioned below and would like to express its gratitude to those teachers who encouraged their learners to submit entries. It was decided that book prizes would go to the following children:
            - Dolphin Secondary school, Walvis Bay / Teacher Mrs De Joger: Ingrid Blazic and Ivan Blazic.
            - Dolphin Elementary School, Walvis Bay / Teacher Mrs De Joger: Francois Malherbe.
            - Duneside High School, Walvis Bay / Teacher Mr. Feras: Edouardo Riobo.

The reception of the prizes will take place in Swakopmund or Walvis Bay in May when the campaign for the promotion of the coast, its natural resources, biodiversity and sustainable development will be launched. The name, slogan and colourful logo will be revealed then as well as how it will be promoted among all coastal residents, businesses and the different levels of government. More information will then be released about this important coastal campaign.

FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE DRAFT COASTAL VISION

The second round of workshops for the Coastal White Paper started on March 5 in Walvis Bay. In the meeting in Kuisebmond, the facilitator Prof Francois Odendaal revealed the Draft Coastal Vision that emerged from the first round of visioning workshops along the coastal areas of Namibia. He says that the Draft Coastal Vision will still undergo some changes through the ensuing workshops, but it is unlikely that the key components in it will change because that comes from the long series of first round workshops.

However, some panel beating and adjustments may be necessary along the way in terms of making it clearer or wording it better so everyone can understand its meaning. The Draft Vision must also still pass through workshops with Government officials, line ministries and the Legal and Policy Working Group of NACOMA. So it really is a straw dog that can be tugged and pulled, and comments are welcome.

Prof Odendaal also welcomes written submissions and comments to be sent to the NACOMA Coordinator Mr Timo Mufeti at tmufeti@nacoma.org.na , and copied to him at francois@ecoafrica.co.za. Such written submissions on issues, process and the Draft National Vision will be treated as input into the official process.


DRAFT COASTAL VISION:
"We, the Namibian people want our coastal areas used in a wise manner, so that social, cultural, environmental and economic concerns are carefully balanced with sustainability in mind, and conservation and economic progress going hand in hand. All our resources should be developed to their full, including our natural and human resources, with fair and transparent access to opportunities for all, now and into the future."

Debate about coast heats up

The debate about the conservation, management and utilization of the natural resources along Namibia’s coast is heating up and will do so even more with the next round of public meetings starting next week.

Consultants of the Namibia Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) Project will be convening 13 meetings for Namibians to express their views, concerns, priorities and aspirations on the current and future use of coastal areas and resources. This is a follow-up to the first round of meetings, which were held in November and December.

According to Mr. Timo Mufeti, Coordinator of the NACOMA Project, the meetings aim to obtain inputs and comments from the public as part of a process to formulate a White Paper, which will be the forerunner to a coastal policy that will lay the template for the management of coastal resources.

This process is an initiative of the Namibian Government and the White Paper will become a government document stipulating the future policy on the management of the coast and from which the possible legislation may flow.

Mr. Mufeti pointed out that the NACOMA Project believes in a consultative approach and that this process is merely in the beginning stage. The project and its consultants wish to seek the participation of the public as well as stakeholders during the various opportunities afforded. Although the coming meetings will be mainly at the coast more meetings will also be convened in Windhoek for those who have business interests or properties at the coast. Individuals and interest groups are also invited to visit the project’s website (www.nacoma.org.na) for more information or send proposals and comments to its office in Swakopmund.

According to Dr. Francois Odendaal, General Facilitator of the team that is drafting a Namibian Coastal Management White Paper, the White Paper process concerns the entire coastal area from the Kunene to the Orange rivers and not only certain parts.

With the previous round of meetings participants said they preferred an integrated development and conservation approach among the many issues raised. A key concern was the limited access to the coast. Some people felt unhappy that parts of the coast were restricted and that they were not fully informed about the reasons. Others felt unhappy that driving along the coast was restricted, including the dunes between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

Mr. Mufeti said the NACOMA Project will shortly also be consulting the public about the future utilization of certain areas along the coast. One such area is the proclamation of the area between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay (including the Kuiseb Delta) as part of the Namib Naukluft Park or as a separate national park and the West Coast Recreational Area also as a national park.

The consultant for this matter will most probably start in March working on various matters regarding the zoning, utilization and management of all the various areas in the Kunene and Erongo Regions.

Mr. Mufeti said all the consultations with the public are not ‘window dressing’ exercises but they are serious efforts to include the concerns, views, aspirations and ideas of the public to shape a collective Vision and Policy as an initiative of the Namibian Government to formulate a national policy for the Namibian Coast. Thus, not only Government will decide on a policy but it will be a collective effort.

The final SEA study for Kunene and Erongo regions is available on NACOMA webpage in the section Reports & Publications. The Decision Support Tool will be finalised by April 2008.

The SEA for Southern Namibia (Hardap and Karas regions) will be launched beginning of April 2008.

Brand for promoting the coast is on its way

The NACOMA Project launched a competition through which the public could submit an appropriate name, slogan as well as a logo for promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the coast.

The closing date for entries was 15 January 2008 and the winners were supposed to be announced by the end of January.

However, a committee who perused the entries decided that it needed more time to consider the entries as well as other options. NACOMA hopes to impleme