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Environmental Economics Programme (EEP)
Institutionalisation of the
Environmental Economics Unit |
Prior to independence, the
environment was treated as a source of
‘free goods’ and was consistently
subject to unsustainable use. Decisions were
made either on a purely conservation basis
or on a purely economic basis, but the two
perspectives were not linked and the welfare
of the majority of Namibians received little
consideration. In 1993, with donor funding,
the Directorate of Environmental Affairs in
the Ministry of Environment and Tourism
(DEA, MET) introduced a small environmental
and resource economics unit (the economics
unit) on a trial basis to support government
in bridging the gap between conservation and
economics.
The economics unit defined a goal and
objectives which guided the policy support
it provided to the DEA, the MET, and to
other government sectors. However, the unit
was quickly overwhelmed by the demand for
its input and could only provide this
support in an ad hoc manner, limited by
staff, funding constraints, and the lack of
a formally-defined role. Despite the
limitations, the economics unit has been
highly successful and MET has given high
priority to institutionalising it. Evidence
of this priority is the fact that the MET
has chosen to reduce posts elsewhere in the
Ministry in order to obtain three new posts
for the economics unit.
In 1995 the Natural Resource Accounting
(NRA) Programme was started within the
economics unit with funding from Sida. This
brought a fresh element of dynamism to the
economics unit, forging links with
government economists working in other
ministries, and establishing a programme of
data collection which will extend beyond the
project’s lifespan. With the imminent
passage through Parliament of the
Environmental Management Act, and the
establishment within DEA of the Office of
the Environment Commissioner and the
Sustainable Development Commission, the
economics unit will experience even greater
demand for its services in the future. Much
of the donor support for the economics unit
was from the Sida-funded NRA programme which
ended in 2000. In October 2000 a project
agreement was signed between the Government
of Namibia and Sida to provide core funding
for the economics unit for the following
five years.
This programme has three main
components:
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To continue to provide government with
essential technical support in
environmental economics.
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To establish a comprehensive
capacity-building and training programme
for junior Namibian economists.
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To compound efforts established by the
NRA programme in building environmental
economics capacity in other relevant
government ministries.
A comprehensive technical and general
training programme for the Namibian
economists is a key element of the project.
To infuse accountability and to ensure
efficiency, an Environmental Economics
Steering Committee will be established.
Three Namibian economists have already been
appointed to government posts, with the
intention of hiring and training several
more. Some of these posts will rise to mid-
and senior-level posts by the end of the
five-year project.
The project will result in a cadre of
trained Namibian environmental economists,
within a unit capable of providing ongoing
support to policy-makers in DEA, MET, and
other government ministries. The result will
be a policy environment in Namibia that will
ensure that development is economically
efficient, as well as sustainable and
equitable.
Contact: Helen Suich;
jbarnes@iafrica.com.na
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