Namibia

National Focal Point

• Ministry of Environment and Tourism

National Strategic Documents and Timeframe

• NDC: 2020-2030
• National Policy Framework, Vision 2030
• Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) (in development)
• National Adaptation Plan (NAP) (in development)
• National Policy on Climate Change (2011)
• National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan: 2013-2020

National Institutional Arrangements

The NDC sets out that the multi-sectoral National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) will oversee the implementation and coordination of sector-specific and cross-sectoral NDC activities while also providing advice and guidance on them. The NCCC will report to Cabinet through the National Planning Commission while the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration will advise Cabinet on relevant policy matters. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the National Focal Point to the UNFCCC, will report on NDC activities to the UNFCCC. Sectoral activities will rest with the respective Ministries through their concerned Directorates.

Priorities and Needs

The NDC describes that Namibia is one of the biggest and driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with characteristic high climatic variability in the form of persistent droughts, unpredictable and variable rainfall patterns, high temperature variability and scarcity of water. Due to this climatic situation, Namibia stands a high risk to suffer from the impacts of climate change.

It provides that Namibia is dependent on development sectors highly sensitive to climate change. Primary economic sectors which are natural resource based such as agriculture, fisheries and mining account for about one third of the total GDP. More than half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture and in drought years, food shortages are a major problem in rural areas.

The NDC states that Namibia is potentially one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The predicted temperature rise and evaporation increase as well as higher rainfall variability will exacerbate the existing challenges that Namibia is facing as the driest sub-Saharan country. The potential effects of these climatic changes could prove catastrophic to the communities, population and economy at large.

Current and Planned Adaptation Efforts

Namibia’s NDC sets out that the near term vision for adaptation is prevention and repair, while the long term goals and targets are to instil resilience to impacts of climate change in the most vulnerable sectors of the economy. It explains that as Namibia is still to prepare its NAP, it has not yet developed an advanced adaptation strategy and plan (at time of preparing its NDC), but it sets out the following broad avenues for adaptation to climate change:

• Improving technical capacity at the national and sub-national levels to develop a greater understanding of climate change and its effects
• Developing and implementing appropriate responses and adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of floods, low rainfall and high temperatures on people, crops, livestock, infrastructure and services
• Agricultural adaptation strategies could include: coordinating the timing of ploughing and crop planting with rainfall events; using drought-resistant crop varieties and livestock breeds; shifting livestock to alternative grazing areas and; implementing soil and water conservation policies and practices
• Improving ecosystem management, protection and conservation
• Developing common goals and facilitating better integration of different policies and practices in vulnerable sectors
• Developing policies and programmes that accommodate and encourage new and diverse livelihood options while generating financial capital

The NDC then goes on to describe some of the major adaptation actions under way in Namibia:

• Risk reduction to lower the vulnerability of the people and production systems
• Setting up appropriate early warning systems to avoid losses and reduce impacts
• Elimination and control of the invader bush to restore pastureland to their original state
• Promotion of Climate Smart Agriculture and Conservation Agriculture
• Urban and peri-urban agriculture
• The green scheme (establishing of irrigation schemes along the perennial rivers of Namibia for food security)
• Promotion of better adapted crop varieties and livestock species
• Biodiversity conservation
• Protection of forests
• Community forest management
• Rationalization of the use of water resources for different economic sectors
• Improved rural water
• Recycling of Windhoek’s wastewater into portable water
• Artificial recharge of aquifers – ‘banking water’
• Surveillance and prevention of diseases
• Protection of the shoreline and beaches
• Dredging of the port of Walvis Bay
• Surveillance of the lagoon protecting the port of Walvis Bay

Synergies with Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts

Namibia’s NDC describes that for Namibia, the most destructive first order climate risks, most evidence and empierced in the recent years, are long lasting floods and droughts.

Broad avenues for adaptation to climate change in the future include developing and implementing appropriate responses and adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of floods, low rainfall and high temperatures on people, crops, livestock, infrastructure and services.

Some of the major adaptation actions under way which have synergies with disaster risk reduction efforts include: risk reduction to lower the vulnerability of the people and production systems, and setting up appropriate early warning systems to avoid losses and reduce impacts.

Requirements for Additional Planning, Financial and Technical Capacities

The NDC states that in addition to capacity building and technology transfer, Namibia estimates that some US $22.6 billion at 2015 prices will be required to implement the adaptation component of the NDC successfully.

In the preamble, it notes that multiple shortcomings and constraints will have to be overcome while fulfilling the needs for systemic, institutional and human capacity building, access and transfer of the latest environment friendly and clean production technologies, and sufficient financing in a timely manner for smooth and successful implementation of the NDC.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Data is collected by the various government departments and fed to the National Statistics Agency for regular analysis to help assess progress and achievement of government plans and enable updating of strategies and plans. These analyses will serve as a barometer and support Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) for identifying vulnerability areas, mitigation activities and other more specific needs. They will also serve as indicators to evaluate progress of the adaptation components of the INDC.