New Money for Etosha National Park

There was a interesting article in last weeks "New Era" about obtimal use of funds for the protection of the Etosha National Park. Etosha is one of the biggest area of wild wild Oryx.

WINDHOEK – Namibia’s environment and tourism sector, which has been earmarked for the Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG), promises to use the money allocated to it to the best of its ability.

“The ministry is committed to TIPEEG and undertakes to provide positive feedback to this house next year this time,” Environment and Tourism Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, said in parliament during her budget statement.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism received N$798 852 824 from the 2011/2012 budget, a 56 percent increase on the allocation of the previous year.
Of the allocation, N$428 857 824 is earmarked for the operational budget, while N$369 995 000 is earmarked for the development budget.

According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the ministry has set out eight programmes where major activities would take place.
An amount of N$189 774 000 is earmarked for the wildlife and protected areas management programme.

Under the programme, the funds will be used for the construction of an 80-km electric game and predator-proof fence on the Etosha National Park’s northern boundary.

Still under the programme, management plans for the Ai-Ais–Richtersveld Transfrontier Conservancy Areas will be implemented, while the implementation of bilateral agreements regarding the Iona-Skeleton Coast Park will be fast-tracked.

“Funds under this progarmme will also be used to strengthen efforts to establish a world-class transfrontier tourism and conservation area known as Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA),” the minister added.

The transfrontier park is aimed at uplifting the rural communities in the five countries of Botswana, Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

More than N$53 million will be used for the protection and management of key species and natural resources.

The funds will be specifically used to develop and maintain camps for rare species such as roan, sable, tsessebe, puku oribi, lechwe, wild dogs, to mention but a few.
The money would ensure breeding success and also the implementation of the National Policy on Human Wildlife Conflict Management.

In addition, the funds will help translocate 182 head of game to Cuba.
Under the third programme, N$19 684 000 will be used for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programmes, whereby services to new conservancies and community-based tourism enterprises will be expanded.

“The ministry will concentrate on new product development, for example, commercial trade in medicinal plants like devil’s claw, while protecting indigenous knowledge,” Nandi-Ndaitwah noted.

Another N$40 439 000 is earmarked for the regulation of environmental protection and sustainable resource management.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said these funds would be used to improve the ministry’s contribution to state revenue and improve the understanding of the value of the assets that the ministry is responsible for and the costs of maintaining them.

“Funds will be used to improve the institutional capacity in environmental assessment and monitoring compliance and to finalise the Environmental Impact Mitigation Strategy,” she added.

More than N$354 million will be used for tourism development as well as to conduct research and statistics.
A subsidy of N$70 million will go towards the Namibia Tourism Board for the development of an innovative tourism marketing strategy.

A grant of N$266 530 000 goes to Namibia Wildlife Resorts for redevelopment of Gross Barmen, Hobas, Torra Bay, Popa Falls and Hardap resorts. These projects will create direct and indirect permanent jobs, the minister said.

A further N$2 million will be used for the operation and management of gambling, the Casino and Lotteries Boards’ activities and in particular putting appropriate monitoring and surveillance systems in place.

“The ministry will formulate a strategy to promote responsible gambling, so that this form of entertainment does not become a social problem,” Nandi-Ndaitwah stated.
For the development and maintenance of infrastructure in conservation areas and national parks, N$138 799 824 has been set aside.

The money would be used for the rehabilitation of tourist roads in the Namib-Naukluft and Etosha National Park, construction of offices and staff accommodation.