Enviromental Affairs

About the Department of Environmental Affairs

The Department of Environmental Affairs is a dynamic institution, home to approximately 35 full-time staff whose main mandate derives from Article 95 (l) of the Namibian Constitution. This article reads that the state shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting policies aimed at the “maintenance of ecosystems, essential ecological processes and biological diversity of Namibia and utilisation of living resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future…”. The DEA also serves as the focal point to many of the environmental conventions that Namibia is party to, such as the UN Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification and the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes.

The wide-ranging scope of its mandate requires that the DEA operates using a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach. As such it is home to a variety of professions including economists, scientists, legal experts as well as development planners.

The main functions and objectives of the Directorate are to:
   • promote sustainable development;
   • protect biological diversity;
   • improve environmental awareness;
   • encourage democratic environmental planning and management and
   • involve Namibia in regional and global environmental issues, programmes and treaties.