Launch of the National Policy for Climate Change in Namibia
Despite the full agenda of all institutions at this time of year, invited guests and the public came out in their droves on Monday 21 November 2011 to the official launch of the National Policy on Climate Change for Namibia (NPCC) and the Namibia Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Windhoek Country Club was teeming with climate practitioners, local authorities, government officials, private sector and members of the civil society all in supporting roles of the national climate change response.
Minister of Environment and Tourism, Honourable Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah launched the two important documents while reminding all that in light of the effects of climate change, Namibia has made bold strides in climate change planning to meet our goals to be an industrialised country as outlined in Vision 2030. She added “Namibia ranks high in Africa’s development landscape and we need to hinge on opportunities such as climate planning to maximise on the opportunities for sustainable development posed by climate change.”
MET Permanent Secretary Dr. Kalumbi Shangula welcomed all participants and Honourable Governor of Khomas Region Samuel Nuyoma opened the event by pronouncing the commitment of regional bodies and institutions to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The workshop aimed to engage various national stakeholders on the implementation of the National Policy on Climate Change for Namibia, its associated Strategy and Action Plan and to officially launch the Namibia Second National Communication to the UNFCCC. The Minister also highlighted that the policy will be meaningless if not understood by the communities it is meant to support and introduced the Community Based Climate Change Adaptation Toolkits for all regions of the country which provide practical tools for communities to adapt in accordance with the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change in their region.
The launch was also an opportunity to reinforce that implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into operational rules and programmes. The coordination of resources both financial and personnel to achieve the intended goal of the Policy is an integral part of the implementation strategies as outlined in the draft Policy Strategy and Action Plan.
With the 17th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC to be held in Durban just one week away, the Minister stated “As a strong African player at the negotiation table, there is plenty of evidence in these books to document our commitment to address climate change and uphold the countries past pledges to do exactly that.”
The NPCC and SNC are available from the Directorate of Environmental Affairs and will be on the MET website for electronic access soon.