KEETMANSHOOP: Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta said the major threats to forests in Namibia are the expansion of land for agriculture, the cutting of wood for domestic use and clearing for infrastructure development.
Shifeta who was speaking at the first international conference on afforestation and reforestation in Brazzaville, Congo on Friday said some of the other threats to the country’s forests include uncontrolled wildfires, selective logging through timber concessions, legal and illegal timber harvesting, climate change, and habitat destruction by elephants.
The minister in a speech availed to Nampa on Saturday said in 2020 the directorate of Forestry reported an estimation of the forest area of 6.6 million hectares down from 8.7 million in 1990 translating to more than 2.5 per cent of the forest area that disappeared since 1990.
‘The increase of population goes hand in hand with the increase in unsustainable use of timber for fuel, housing, fencing, and fire, which pose
s a severe strain on the environment as deforestation not only leads to the loss of resources used for human activities but results in desertification and severe degradation of land. This is a cause for concern to us and measures are being put in place to reverse this negative situation,’ he added.
Shifeta said Namibia is committed to contributing to environmental sustainability, conservation of biological diversity, sustainable forest management, and protection of natural resources.
He went on to say that within the country’s updated National Determined Contributions submitted to the UNFCCC in 2021, Namibia has identified ambitious measures contributing to climate change mitigation which include the reduction of deforestation rate by 75 per cent, reforesting 20 000 hectares per year, planting 10 000 ha of trees per year under agroforestry and planting 5 000 hectares of trees under urban forestry.
He added that the measures also include the restoration of 15.5 million hectares of grassland and to increase
in the share of renewables in electricity production from 33 per cent to 70 per cent.
‘In addition, Namibia is committed to the global call for reforestation and afforestation action through the commemoration of Arbor Day annually, in October, marking the start of the tree planting season which coincides with the rainy season. Annually, Namibia distributes seedlings as part of reforestation and afforestation efforts,’ said Shifeta.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency