The Regional Environmental Profile Project provides environmental information, compiled on a regional basis, for planning, managing and monitoring natural resources for sustainable development. In 1995, the governments of the Netherlands and Namibia signed an agreement to initiate the first environmental profile.

The information compiled by the project is environmental in the broad sense and not only includes baseline information on natural resources such as water, soils, fauna and flora, but also information on climate, demography, agriculture, infrastructure, environmental threats and issues, and land tenure and governance. The information is gathered from various organisations – government, non-government and private – as well as from studies initiated by the project both in the field and from remote sources, such as satellite images and aerial photographs. Wherever possible, data is collected with geographical co-ordinates to allow the information to be mapped and used in spatial analyses.

Current rojects

The Caprivi was chosen as the first region to be covered by the Profiles Project. This is because this region was thought to be relatively simple, with a diverse ecology and cultural heritage, and a relatively good base of information, as well as being the centre for many conservation projects. The Caprivi profile was completed at the end of 1997.

The second profile of the Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshikoto Regions, including the Etosha National Park, was completed in 2000. Natural resource mapping in the Kavango has also been initiated for the third environmental profile, while it is envisaged that a profile of Kunene Region will begin later this year.

Outputs and publications

Each profile produces:

• a database containing information compiled by the project (North-Central and Caprivi Regions)

• a publication describing the region and highlighting environmental issues and concerns.

Information compiled by the Environmental Profiles Project is freely available while that derived from other sources can be used after getting permission from those organizations. Copies of the data are available in unprojected latitudes and longitudes in ArcView shape files. Other data are available as MS Excel files. A description of the data files is also provided. The data are available at no cost in the spirit that human development is stimulated by the unrestricted flow of information.

Besides these digital data, there are satellite images, aerial photographs and bibliographies available on the regions covered by the project.

The data on the north-central and Caprivi regions can be downloaded from  the North-Central data and Caprivi web pages. Additional data, and data collected by the project on the Kavango, can be obtained from the Directorate of Environmental Affairs. Contact John Mendelsohn.

To date, two publications have been produced by the project:

• Mendelsohn & Roberts, (1997). An environmental profile and atlas of Caprivi. Gamsberg Macmillan. ISBN 99916-0-154-1. Available from the publishers (gmp@iafrica.com.na) or from local bookstores. Price approximately N$100.

• Mendelsohn, el Obeid & Roberts, (2000). A profile of north-central Namibia. Gamsberg Macmillan. ISBN 99916-0-215-1. Available from the publishers (gmp@iafrica.com.na), or from local bookstores. Price approximately N$145. Extracts of the information contained in the book can be found on this website.

Contact

For more information on the Regional Environmental Profiles Project please contact John Mendelsohn (mendelso@windhoek.alt.na) or Carole Roberts.