Awareness & Education

Lack of awareness about the coastal environment and biodiversity has been identified as one of the main bottlenecks for sustainable coastal development in Namibia. Environmental awareness and education develop skills, knowledge and values that promote behaviour in support of sustainable development.

NACOMA's awareness and education activities aims at:

Everyone can make the difference and it is necessary to involve all namibians and visitors now. Through this activtiy, NACOMA wants to build awareness that will lead to protecting and using wisely the coastal environment and its resources.

Since September 2007, NACOMA project is assisted by a Communication and Public Relation Expert to design, compile, produce and support the dissemination of information about the coastal environment and its management to media (press, TV, radio and internet) for improving the general public understanding with regard to the importance and associated benefits of their coast and its resources. Please contact this person for any relevant information and news about the protection and management of the Namibian coast.

Coastodians take care of the Namibian coast

The Government of the Republic of Namibia through its Ministry of Environment and Tourism in collaboration with other line ministries, with support of NACOMA project and other stakeholders introduced a coastal awareness campaign for encouraging Namibians and visitors to promote biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of the natural resources and development in harmony with Namibia's coast. The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Honourable Nandi Netumbo-Ndaitwah in Walvis Bay officially launched the Coastodian Campaign on 31 July 2008.

It was decided that it would have much more impact if the campaign was spearheaded by an easy recognizable brand, providing a visual focus and association.

The brand name, Coastodian, was selected from a number of options after a lengthy development process. It was chosen because of its simplicity, symbolical appeal and originality.

Coastodian was derived from the words custodian and coast. Custodian implies a person(s) who has the responsibility to look after something and be accountable for it, hence the name: Coastodian, and the slogan: Caring for the coast – Caring for the future.

This colourful logo spearheads a sustained awareness campaign for Namibia’s coast and will be applied widely to ensure its effectiveness and impact.

The logo depicts stylized humans, holding hands – emphasizing Namibians collective obligation towards safeguarding the coastal areas and natural assets.

The yellow and orange of the dunes symbolize energy and the longevity of the Namib Desert. The blue sea represents the Atlantic Ocean’s live-giving Benguela current.

The circle encompasses the harmony between mankind and nature, while the green represents biodiversity, renewability and growth.

What Namibia wishes for is that people state: “I am a Coastodian, are you?


Objectives of the COASTODIAN awareness campaign

        1. Give a visual identity to (brand) the Namibian coast or coastal zone,

        2. Promote the Namibian coast or coastal zone,

        3. Promote conservation of the coast and its natural resources, its biodiversity as well as
            sustainable development,

        4. Forster a culture, beliefs, policies and practice in accordance with the above,

        5. Embrace the future policy of how the above should be achieved. Thus the policy emanating
            from the current Coastal White Paper Process would be synonymous with the brand,

        6. Promote the brand through effective communication and marketing to represent all the above
            values, practices and beliefs,

        7. Feature the logo on all possible applications in terms of communication and marketing in
            support of the coast, and

        8. Develop programmes in support of the promotion of the brand.

The campaign is currently manage by NACOMA project on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. In the future, the authority in charge of the coastal management will be in charge of this COASTODIAN campaign.

For more information about the different programmes and products of the COASTODIAN campaign, consult the paragraphs below.

Since March 2009, NACOMA started through this Coastodian campaign a specific activity to develop and implement, in close collaboration with teachers, coastal awareness and educational activities in identified coastal schools for the purpose of creating knowledge, positive attitudes and behaviour changes in relation to coastal values. The first coastal schools identified to participate in this process are:
      - Kamwandi Junior Secondary School, Henties Bay
      - Tamariskia Primary School, Swakopmund
      - Westside High School, Swakopmund
      - Flamingo Primary School, Walvis Bay
      - Duneside Primary School, Walvis Bay
      - Narraville Primary School, Narraville
      - Diaz Primary School, Luderitz
      - Luderitz Secondary School, Luderitz

In the framework of this activity, NACOMA collaborated with the Non-Governmental Organisation NaDEET (Namib Desert Environment al Education Trust - http://www.nadeet.org) to develop a specimen of their youth magazine Bush Telegraph dedicated to the Nambian coastal areas and its resources. You can download this Bush Telegraph with the link below.

Did you know there are more birds living along Namibia’s coast than there are people in our country; that the average bath uses 90 litres of water but a five-minute shower only uses 20 litres; or that your actions – both good and bad – have an affect on our coastal environment and our future? Yes? No? The more you learn about Namibia’s coastal environment, the more you’ll want to know!

Celebrating the wonders of Namibia’s coast, this book contains information on the usual and important nature of our coast, the industry and the life it supports, plus fascinating facts and a variety of activities to challenge you at school, at home and outside. From understanding your physical place in the environment to understanding how we are all connected to the land, the animals and each other through biodiversity, the topics in this book range from biology to conservation, from English to the arts.

So be inspired, be challenged and become a Coastodian!

You can download this resource book with the link below. To obtain hard copies, please contact NACOMA office in Swakopmund..

"The Namib Desert Coast" is a documentary film of 25 minutes about the Namibian coast produced for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism - Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) project by Francois Odendaal Productions (2009). The film was officially launched on 30 July 2009 in Swakopmund.

Film synopsis:
Home to animals that swim in the sand, plants that grow for thousands of years, and such environmental extremes that, at times, fish walk out of the water, Namibia’s coast is a fascinating place, rich in history and biodiversity. It is worth exploring, learning more about, and certainly worth protecting. Stretching some 1570 kms from the border with South Africa in the south to the border with Angola in the north, our coast is also home to human settlements and industries such as mining, fishing and tourism that contribute significantly to the nation’s economy. Increasing human pressures over the past years highlight the urgent need for sound coastal planning and management to ensure sustainable and optimal use of coastal areas and their resources for future generations. Now is the time for all Namibians and visitors to rally together to conserve and use wisely our unique coastal and marine environment. This film presents the beauty, diversity and resources of our coastal environment and encourages us to be COASTODIANS, caring for our coast, caring for our future.

The film can be screened on this website on the page Film: "The Namib Desert Coast" under the section Our Coast.

DVD of the film "Namib Desert Coast" can be obtained from NACOMA office in Swakopmund.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism would like to acknowledge and honour the contributions of individual people who have played significant roles in the promotion of the conservation of the natural resources and environment along our coast, in some or other way.

Under this Coastodian campaign, it was decided to nominate as Honorary Coastodians these individuals who are an example for all of us. Every year, one to three persons will be acknowledged for their work and involvement towards the protection and sustainable use of the coast and its resources.

During the Coastodian campaign official launch on 31 July 2008, Honourable Asser Kapere, Mr. Rod Braby, Mr. Keith Wearne (late) and Mrs. Merrilyn Leippert were the first Honorary Coastodians acknowledged and thanked.

ESSAY COMPETITION FOR GRADE 10 AND 11 LEARNERS

If you were the President of the Republic of Namibia, what would you do to protect our coastal environment? The Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) project poses this challenge to Grade 10 and 11 learners from the Kunene, Erongo, Karas and Hardap regions to enter essays into its competition with excellent rewards and wide-ranging awareness raising.

The NACOMA project under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has decided to extend the closing date for entries from 28 February till 30 April 2010. Mr. Rod Braby, Coordinator of the project, said    learners need more time to do extensive research and to suggest practical solutions.

Mr. Braby said Grade 10 and 11 learners should write essays of about 500 words on how they would safeguard the coastal biodiversity and environment. They would have to highlight the threats facing the Namibian coast and propose actions and policies to preserve the life in and on the beaches, the desert, wetlands, riverbeds and sea.

Mr. Braby pointed out that the essay competition would also support and create further awareness on the coast as the United Nations proclaimed 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity with the slogan: Biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life. (International Day of Biodiversity = 22 May 2010)

On its dedicated website (http://www.cbd.int/2010/about/) the United Nations states that this year should be “a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives”. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth.

Mr. Braby said the hyper-arid Namibian coastal ecosystem is home to a significant and unique array of biological and ecological diversity, including uniquely adapted plants and animals, rich estuarine fauna and a high diversity of migratory shore and seabirds. In particular, Namibia’s coastal zone is considered as a refuge for a number of endangered species.

• The winning essay will be published in Flamingo, Air Namibia’s in-flight magazine, and the winner will receive N$ 1000 from Venture Publications, publishers of the magazine. The winner will also go on a guided tour in the dune belt between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, sponsored by Living Desert Adventures.

• The second placed writer will receive an amount of N$500 and a similar desert trip for two persons by Tommy’s Tours, while the learner in third place will get N$250.00 and a three-hour marine boat trip for two persons from Walvis Bay, sponsored by Levo Dolphin Tours and Chalets.

• Mr. Braby said the project would shortly disseminate more information about the competition and where to do research, to all coastal secondary schools. They may also visit the project’s website: www.nacoma.org.na

Grade 10 and 11 learners at the coast are urged to commence with their research and start writing. They should submit their entries in hard copies, titled Essay Competition, plus contact details, to the NACOMA project office in Swakopmund (Sam Nujoma Avenue, Standard Bank Building, 1st Floor, Room 8) or mail it to P.O. Box 7018, Swakopmund on or before 30 April 2010.

For more information and downloading reports linked to this activity, please visit Reports & Publications.