1 250 people benefit from boreholes

A total of 1 250 community members in the !Han /Awab Conservancy are benefitting from potable water through the Sustainable Livelihoods, Water Utilisation and Management Project, funded to the tune of about N$1.2 million.Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta this week handed over rehabilitated boreholes to the conservancy, which is located in the Berseba constituency, //Karas Region.It is funded by the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) under the Empower to Adapt: Creating Climate Change Resilient Livelihoods through Community Based Natural Resources Management in Namibia (CBNRM EDA) project.Boost against vulnerabilityThe project aims to enhance environmentally sound water utilisation and management.This will be done by implementing solar-powered water pumping systems as a clean technology option for delivering water security and replacing fossil fuels as an energy source, thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from diesel-powered systems.The conservancy rehabilitated and retrofitted 10 boreholes from diesel to a solar-powered system.Each water point is equipped with 10 000-litre tanks and an animal trough to supply water for livestock and human consumption, respectively.ImpactShifeta said that persistent drought caused by low rainfall as a result of climate change is recognised as one of the greatest global challenges."Namibia and especially the southern regions are some of the geographical areas in the country that are vulnerable to the effects and impacts of climate change."He said climate change has negatively affected the region’s economic development, making it one of the poorest in the country."Water scarcity is a global phenomenon that in some areas is a result of reduced precipitation, a lack of proper infrastructure to supply water and the absence of good management policies."Shifeta said that by 2030, nearly half of the global population will likely face water shortages."Arid and semi-arid regions are faced with water scarcity issues due to low or non-availability of rainfall. The situation has been exacerbated by climate change, which has introduced a greater variability in rainfall patterns.”Access to waterHe said that access to potable water sources has come increasingly under threat during the past 50 years."The effect of climate change and the demand for water due to the global increase in populations, especially in arid areas, are two major causes."According to him, the unsustainable exploitation of scarce water resources, overuse, decrease in quality, wastage, poor effluent disposal and pollution compound the issue even more."The livelihood of hundreds of millions of people are therefore seriously at risk."In total, the EDA-CBNRM project has rehabilitated and retrofitted more than 164 boreholes across different regions of the country.

1 250 people benefit from boreholes

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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1 250 people benefit from boreholes

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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