Bush encroachment offers vast opportunities

While bush encroachment is an environmental challenge, it also presents enormous opportunities for wealth and job creation for people.A total of 45 million hectares of Namibia that are bush-encroached could generate a massive 1.5 billion tonnes of biomass, of which 30% could be harvested sustainably.To date, nearly 2 million tonnes of biomass are harvested every year, translating into thousands of job opportunities for the youth.Economic growthThis is according to tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta, whose speech was read on his behalf at the Biomass Fair held last week at Gross Barmen.The theme for this year’s Biomass Fair was &#039;Igniting the Growth of the Biomass Sector in Namibia&#039;.Shifeta said the theme underscored the enormous opportunities that exist in the biomass sector for economic growth."The biomass sector has grown in leaps and bounds over the past ten years, thanks in large part to the cooperation between Namibia and Germany, which saw significant investment into the biomass sector through the GIZ Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation (BCBU) Project."With the last phase of the BCBU project coming to an end in March 2024, he commended their all-season partnership with Germany for advancing social and economic development in both countries."It is now vital that our Namibian institutions carry on the good work beyond the duration of the bilateral project."Working together He added that the Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG) and the Charcoal Association of Namibia (CAoN) have grown during the past years to professionally represent the sector while maintaining a positive relationship with the ministry.He said the partnership is something they want to continue to leverage for the benefit of Namibia’s rural population as sustainable bush utilisation continues to grow."If we look after this resource well, we are assured that it will be with us for a long time. The ministry has noticed with concern that some people in the biomass sector resort to unsustainable methods of bush control. I implore you to desist from these practices."Framework exploredShifeta said government wants to work with the industry to ensure bush biomass resources are exploited in a responsible manner to achieve rangeland restoration while safeguarding environmental well-being.He emphasised that government is also acutely aware that some sections of Namibian society are not fully participating in some of the bush value chains, such as charcoal production.To this end, a study is being commissioned to develop a community area governance framework that will guide the forest directorate in considering bush harvesting permits in these areas.The results of this study will be validated on 21 September in Windhoek, and the ministry will soon implement recommendations resulting from this consultative process.

Bush encroachment offers vast opportunities

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-24

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Bush encroachment offers vast opportunities

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-24

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