Omaheke gets land-use plan

Omaheke has become the sixth region in the country with an integrated regional land-use plan (IRLUP). Land reform minister Utoni Nujoma handed over the plan to regional governor Festus Ueitele last week at Gobabis. Ueitele said due to population growth, the competition for arable land as well as land for other uses has become immense, while the available land is finite to an extent that use conflict is prevalent. He said the IRLUP will therefore serve as a tool to not only better manage the resource, but also to allocate land to the most productive uses, as dictated by the various zones contained in the document. “Under my watch, this document will not gather dust,” said Ueitele. He also called on the Omaheke regional council to convene and pass a resolution for the adoption and implementation of the plan.Ueitele added that a component of the IRLUP, the strategic environmental assessment that ensures the plan is environmentally friendly, has been added to the process, in line with the Environmental Management Act (2007). He said the land-use plan will ideally form the basis for development planning in the region from which all stakeholders should draw up their various development plans.He said the plan aims to combine various existing projects in the region and its development vision. Nujoma said a land-use plan is a tool for the systematic assessment of land potential that prioritises the allocation of land to the most suitable or high-yielding uses. He said the key outcome of a land-use plan is the sustainable utilisation of natural resources, which ensures the same resources are available for future generations. “It also unlocks the investment potential for the region and the concomitant benefits to the communities.” German development bank KfW and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) were also recognised for supporting the new approach for the IRLUP, both financially and with the requisite technical expertise. According to Nujoma, GIZ assisted the lands ministry in the development of the new approach and a methodology for the production of IRLUPs during 2007 to 2011 in the //Karas and Hardap regions. He said during this period, four important principles, which were deficient in previous plans, were identified and formed the basis of the production of IRLUPs. These principles include strategic environmental assessment, participatory land-use planning, geographic information systems and ecosystems services. ELLANIE SMIT

Omaheke gets land-use plan

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Omaheke gets land-use plan

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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