Sperrgebiet to be opened for tourism

To improve access to the Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park, the tourism ministry aims to reduce the boundaries of Diamond Area No. 1 by de-gazetting 70% of the park that falls outside the Namdeb mining licence.After a decade since its proclamation as a national park, access is still strictly regulated by the mines ministry through the Diamond Act.To improve public access to one of the world's major biodiversity hotspots, the tourism ministry has been in discussion with the mines ministry and Namdeb about access into the park for both tourism and park management. The two ministries are working on amending the Diamond Act to allow for controlled tourism and restricted traversing rights for tourism concessions holders through the diamond areas and to empower park officials to enter these areas. Both processes are expected to be completed by March 2019. Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing with Namdeb on controlled tourism access to parts of the park under its mining licence.The German embassy said in a statement that in preparation for tourism development, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with support from the NamParks IV Project, is revising the park tourism development plan to guide tourism development in park. Other investments include the development of park-specific regulations, tourism information signage, the revision of the park management plan, the provision of park management equipment and staff capacity development.According to the embassy, the tourism ministry has officially launched the construction of staff houses, offices and park entry gates at Tsau //Khaeb.The groundbreaking ceremony took place last week at the Kolmanskop Ghost Town near Lüderitz, where the first diamond was discovered in 1908. The development will include the refurbishment of the old historic post office building at Lüderitz as the local tourism ministry office, the construction of a new office at Aus and an extension to the existing offices at Rosh Pinah and Oranjemund. Furthermore, park entry gates will be constructed at the Lüderitz Peninsula, Kolmanskop, Rotkop, Garub, Aus, Obib, Sendelingsdrift and Swartkop.This valuable infrastructure has been funded through the Namibia National Parks Programme (NamParks) Phase IV with a total amount of 21.499 million euro. The German government through KfW committed a grant amount of 14.499 million euro for the implementation of activities and 7 million euro was committed by the Namibian government in support of the country's development and conservation initiatives. The new park management infrastructure to be constructed, as well as the ongoing construction of the Buffalo Park management station in the Bwabwata National Park and at Shuno in the Mudumu National Park, represents the latest phase of NamParks, which has been running since 2006. Previously, new stations were built at Mahango, Susuwe in Bwabwata, Ngenda in Mudumu and at Khaudum and Sikeretti in the Khaudum National Park. All these stations in the north-eastern parks are operational and provide ideal conditions for enhanced park management.German ambassador to Namibia, Christian Schlaga, also handed over park management equipment to enhance the management of the park. The equipment includes a 4x4 truck co-financed by the German government and the tourism ministry through the Game Product Trust Fund, park tourist information signage, water point equipment, tool boxes for water maintenance, fencing materials, biodiversity monitoring equipment, GPS equipment, as well as cameras and office-based equipment.These high-quality new stations and equipment will improve the ministry's ability to manage Tsau //Khaeb, which was proclaimed in 2008, after being closed to the public for over a century. Prior to the proclamation of the then Sperrgebiet Diamond Area No. 1 as a national park, diamond mining was the area's main land use. Today, the park is part of what has become one of the longest protected coastlines in the world, stretching from the Iona National Park in south-western Angola, bordering the Skeleton Coast Park, through the Dorob National Park, the Namib-Naukluft Park, to the /Ai-/Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park and the Ramsar Site at the Orange River. In addition to the terrestrial parks, Tsau //Khaeb lies adjacent to Namibia's only marine protected area proclaimed by the fisheries ministry. The efforts and results of the Namibian-German cooperation to develop Tsau //Khaeb and the north-eastern parks, are steadily improving the effectiveness of park management. This is having a positive effect on wildlife numbers and the park environment. Proper park management, therefore, also influences the experiences of visitors positively, and is bringing considerable benefits to the region in general and to local communities in particular. ELLANIE SMIT

Sperrgebiet to be opened for tourism

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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Sperrgebiet to be opened for tourism

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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