If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
We were surprised to read that double the amount of money needed for the reaction and adaptation to the effects of climate change is needed than that for mitigating or preparing for climate change.
Namibia is very vulnerable in this regard and the reasons for this are many. Firstly, we are a dry country, prone to drought and we have navigable rivers only at our northern and southern borders, meaning, we share those resources. Secondly, our country's history indicates limited development in this regard with South Africa only developing what was important and needed at the time, and where. Hence, our dams and water storage in the north of our country, where more than half of our population lives, are limited, or non-existent. In the third instance, we have a large rural community that relies on subsistence farming to get by and thus, need adequate, reliable rainfall. Finally, the continued existence of the red line at its current position has limited the possibility for northern farmers to truly access markets and farm forward, so to speak. So why are we not ready? Why do we need almost N$260 billion to react to climate change? Reactionary measures have become far too commonplace in this country. We do not plan. We react. There are countless issues which can be used as an example. Take the massive urbanisation and the influx into Windhoek, with three meagre dams built decades ago for less than half the population. No measures were put in place to halt this migration, no decentralisation policies were implemented and actually made a difference. Now we have sprawling informal settlements and Hepatitis E because there are no services and no proper sanitation. The issue of the 'struggle kids' eventually came to a head and led to violence, repeatedly, before training programmes were implemented. Erven, or plots as they are so popularly referred to, were an issue that had to be forced by youth activists like Job Amupanda… in this country, everything must reach burning point before we take action. This is how we are. Climate change is here and it is real. And we should have planned, a long time ago, and implemented those plans.
Namibia is very vulnerable in this regard and the reasons for this are many. Firstly, we are a dry country, prone to drought and we have navigable rivers only at our northern and southern borders, meaning, we share those resources. Secondly, our country's history indicates limited development in this regard with South Africa only developing what was important and needed at the time, and where. Hence, our dams and water storage in the north of our country, where more than half of our population lives, are limited, or non-existent. In the third instance, we have a large rural community that relies on subsistence farming to get by and thus, need adequate, reliable rainfall. Finally, the continued existence of the red line at its current position has limited the possibility for northern farmers to truly access markets and farm forward, so to speak. So why are we not ready? Why do we need almost N$260 billion to react to climate change? Reactionary measures have become far too commonplace in this country. We do not plan. We react. There are countless issues which can be used as an example. Take the massive urbanisation and the influx into Windhoek, with three meagre dams built decades ago for less than half the population. No measures were put in place to halt this migration, no decentralisation policies were implemented and actually made a difference. Now we have sprawling informal settlements and Hepatitis E because there are no services and no proper sanitation. The issue of the 'struggle kids' eventually came to a head and led to violence, repeatedly, before training programmes were implemented. Erven, or plots as they are so popularly referred to, were an issue that had to be forced by youth activists like Job Amupanda… in this country, everything must reach burning point before we take action. This is how we are. Climate change is here and it is real. And we should have planned, a long time ago, and implemented those plans.
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