Resources

Mon Mar 25 2019

The Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) is deeply concerned about the current commercial harvesting of slow-growing hardwood trees in the north east of Namibia (mainly Kavango East and West, northern Otjozondjupa and Zambezi).

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Timber harvesting
Fri Mar 08 2019

Namibian conservation organisations support Botswana’s democratic processes regarding elephant management.

We, as Namibian conservationists, including environmental NGOs, researchers, community representatives and conservancies, hereby join a group of international conservationists in voicing our support for Botswana’s consultative process to address the challenges associated with managing its large elephant population. We applaud President Masisi and Botswana’s parliament for establishing the consultative process that looks to balance wildlife conservation with the needs and…

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Bots Elephant
Mon Dec 11 2017

The Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) would like to congratulate the Namibian Cabinet and the Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources (MFMR) for making this important decision. We recognise that the Ministry is sometimes placed in a difficult position, and has to weigh up fish resource sustainability with business interests and jobs. However, it is important that the health of the fish resource must take priority. Because without a healthy resource, there will be no long-term businesses and no long-term jobs. Responses to a declining resource base must be taken quickly – and far…

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Sardines
Wed Jun 14 2017

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday 1 June 2017 that the United States, one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.

The USA joins only two countries in the world that have not signed the Paris Agreement. The other two are Syria, which is in the midst of a civil war, and Nicaragua, which felt the goals were not ambitious enough. In the view of the Namibian Chamber of Environment, this decision is short-sighted. It will have negative consequences for the US economy and for the…

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Namibian civil society deplores the US President’s decision to abandon the Paris Climate Agreement
Tue Mar 07 2017

Various newspaper articles in the last two weeks quoted the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernard Esau, as admitting that he ignored the scientific evidence and resulting recommendations for a moratorium on sardine (pilchard) fishing from his own fisheries scientists. Instead, he “took a gamble” in allocating a fishing quota for sardines for 2017. This is most disturbing at many levels.

Namibia has been praised internationally for its forward-thinking Constitution which, in Article 95, safeguards the “maintenance of ecosystems, essential ecological processes and…

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Sardines
Thu Jan 05 2017

After receiving an Open Letter about wildlife crimes committed by some Chinese nationals in Namibia, the Chinese Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Namibia, His Excellency Qiu Xuejun, invited a delegation of representatives from the Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) to meet with him and his delegation at the Chinese Embassy in Windhoek on 4th January 2017 to discuss the matter.

An open and frank exchange of views took place, followed by a constructive discussion of how to move forward. The Ambassador and his delegation stated that the Chinese government is…

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NCE meets with Ambassador Qiu Xuejun
Wed Oct 19 2016

The Namibian Chamber of Environment believes that properly conducted environmental assessments by independent and competent professionals is the correct basis on which to take informed decisions regarding major developments in Namibia. This is the requirement of the Environmental Management Act, and this is also consistent with international best practice. The Office of the Environmental Commissioner has followed this approach to arrive at a decision to allow the phased mining of marine phosphates. Because of the sensitivity of the marine ecosystem and a perceived impact on the fishing…

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Mon Oct 10 2016

The Namibian Chamber of Environment firmly support s the environmental clauses in the Namibian Constitution, including the sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future. However, the Chamber is opposed to the capture of rare and endangered marine animals for the Asian (and any other) aquarium trade for the following reasons:

  1. Conservation: a number of the species in question are uncommon, rare, seriously declining in numbers or comprising small isolated populations in Namibian waters. Every effort should be taken to protect and…
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