Combating land degradation in Namibia over 23 years: learning what matters in DLDD

Abstract

Namibia's variable environment has been punctuated by droughts and floods for as long as records are available. Since independence of Namibia in 1990, the challenge of desertification and drought has been high on the agenda of government, various NGOs and farmers of every ilk. Several major programmes and a number of ancillary projects addressed the challenge from a variety of angles, with moderate success, although with limited uptake and long-term implementation. Key results included, inter alia, recognition of the importance of interactive communication from community to policy level, formation of and long-term back-stopping for community institutions as well as individuals, and local level monitoring of land condition. With Namibia's opportunity to host the Conference of Parties (COP11) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September 2013 came the opportunity to review and consolidate the diverse efforts. Under the overall title: ‘Combating Land Degradation in Namibia over 23 years: Learning what matters in DLDD’, five side events were presented. The purpose of this paper is an overall review of efforts to combat desertification in Namibia.

Keywords:

• COP11
• CPP
• DLDD
• Napcod
• UNCCD