Working towards three Rio conventions

ELLANIE SMITWINDHOEKNamibia is making progress through the implementation of several projects to protect its biological diversity, adapt to climate change and combat desertification.The country has accumulated significant knowledge and experience from the ongoing projects and initiatives implemented under the three Rio conventions, which can be scaled up to build resilience of communities and ecosystems.Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says Namibia has ratified the three Rio conventions, namely the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).“Since then, Namibia has embraced the concept of implementing the three Rio conventions in a synergetic approach to promote sustainable land management, build resilience of communities against climate change and conserve biodiversity.”Shifeta was speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, that is being held in Glasgow, Scotland.ProgrammesHe said the projects the ministry is implementing include a six-year Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project through the United Nations Development Programme. The project, titled ‘Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (NILALEG)’, is intended to reduce poverty through sustainable nature-based livelihood strategies, which also promote the protection of biodiversity, restoration of forests as carbon sinks, and contribute to avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation.Furthermore, the ministry is also implementing a five-year Green Climate Fund (GCF) funded project. The project, titled ‘Building Resilience of Communities Living in Landscapes Threatened Under Climate Change Through an Ecosystems-Based Adaptation Approach’, aims to increase climate change resilience of productive degraded landscapes in Namibia through the implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation actions that strengthen social and ecological systems to sustain livelihoods at local level and facilitate value chains associated with natural resources.“Our national strategies and action plans are developed in a synergistic way taking into consideration the objectives of all three Rio conventions, leveraging on areas of commonalities, shared human and financial resources and reinforcing each other at institutional, programming and policy levels,” said Shifeta.

Working towards three Rio conventions

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-16

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Working towards three Rio conventions

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-16

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