Bush: Turning threat into opportunity

ELLANIE SMITWINDHOEKA review of whether Namibian biomass can be used as a renewable energy source in Hamburg, Germany, will take until July this year.In early 2020, the Hamburg ministry of environment, climate, energy and agriculture decided to investigate the feasibility of potential imports of Namibian bush biomass.This came after a study tour by Namibian representatives of government, academia, and private sector to Germany the preceding year, Asellah David from the Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation Project told Namibian Sun. “The authority assesses whether Namibian biomass can be used as a renewable energy source in Hamburg, contributing to the phase-out of coal. This review process will take until July 2021.” She said German and Namibian stakeholders from the government, private sector and civil society participate in working groups and workshops in Hamburg - including the GIZ Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation Project (BCBU).“GIZ BCBU is not evaluating or deciding, but is contributing its knowledge from seven years of experience with biomass projects in Namibia.” David said GIZ also mediates between stakeholders from Namibia and Hamburg by networking with them.“This way it ensures that Namibian representatives from the state, the private sector and civil society, including environmental organisations, are involved.”The results of the assessment will be made available by the middle of this year.“If fundamental prerequisites for possible exports are met and the involved parties agree to proceed, Namibian law will require further formal assessments to ensure full social and environmental compliance.”Protests against the project flared up in Hamburg last week.Climate activist group Red Wood said the plan would go against the goal of a “climate-friendly, socially just energy supply.” “If we burn Namibia's ecosystems for warm living rooms here in Hamburg, it is harmful to the climate, endangers biodiversity and is unfair,” it said.However, David said bush encroachment of savanna landscapes is one of the main forms of land degradation in Namibia.Estimates are that 45 million hectares of productive land is affected by encroacher bush.This phenomenon harms biodiversity, groundwater recharge and land productivity.She pointed out that invader bush has turned from a threat into an opportunity for Namibia, which is evidenced by employment figures in the biomass industry. Since 2016, rural employment in the biomass sector has increased from 6 000 to more than 11 000 workers.Jobs are created primarily in the production of charcoal for export, and increasingly also in the production of animal feed, says David. According to David more than 800 farmers benefited from being able to feed their herds with bush-based feed during the drought of 2019.Moreover, encroacher bush has been successfully marketed on international markets in the form of charcoal and briquettes for several decades.The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has since 2014 been supporting the environment ministry to address bush encroachment through the Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation (BCBU) Project. David says the aim is to rehabilitate affected areas by selectively reducing the bush and making economic use of the resulting wood.

Bush: Turning threat into opportunity

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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Bush: Turning threat into opportunity

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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