| | A Lighthouse for Environmental Awareness
6 October 2008
The Municipality of Walvis Bay launched its report on the biodoversity of the coastal area as part of the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Programme, last week on Friday. The report was unveiled during a special meeting of the local steering committee on biodiversity. Walvis Bay is one of ten world cities that have been chosen to participate in the international initiative aimed at gauging and creating awareness of the biodiversity of its unique ecosystem and environment. Officially launching the report the Mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, said the report is a "milestone of strategic planning on the way to Vision 2030, so that the achievement of its targets as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) in Namibia works with, and not against, our natural resource base especially biodiversity."
She said Walvis Bay is blessed with a rich biodiversity which thrives in the scenic Namib Desert dunes, the Walvis Bay Lagoon, the ephemeral Kuiseb River Delta and other ecosystems. "Biodiversity forms the basis of our tourism sector. Therefore its preservation is critical to the sustainable growth of the sector and the entire economy of Walvis Bay. Since Walvis Bay’s reintegration in 1994, the city has taken great strides towards the sustainable management of its biodiversity. Formal environmental management by the Municipality of Walvis Bay started with the implementation of the Walvis Bay Local Agenda 21 Project. The project's aim was to achieve a workable balance between protecting the environment and promoting economic and social development - the real challenge of sustainable development," she said.
Nambahu noted that the Municipal Council has committed itself to achieving sustainable developmental goals through continuous networking and learning from other local authorities and institutions worldwide. Therefore, Walvis Bay will strive to be engaged in ICLEI's initiatives such as the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Project. "I am confident that this report will be a useful working document that will provide baseline information for the successful implementation of the Walvis Bay LAB Project and beyond."
The Mayor recently attended the 2nd International LAB workshop in Durban, South Africa where the groundbreaking international Durban Commitment for biodiversity was signed by 21 local governments participating in ICLEI's LAB project.
The Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) is a three-year project initiated by the International Council for Local Environmental initiatives (ICLEI), of which the Municipality of Walvis Bay is a member since 2003. LAB aims at enhancing planning and management of biodiversity at the local authority level. A total of 20 cities worldwide are taking part in the LAB project. Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni (formerly the East Rand), Durban and Johannesburg are the only participants from Africa.
The Manager: Solid Waste and Environmental Management, David Uushona noted that the report will be distributed to various stakeholders. "We are proud to present this report to our various partners in the conservation of our fragile and unique environment. It will also be provided to other local authorities as an information sharing and transference exercise between local authorities known as the lighthouse effect. Our action plans and projects are of such a nature that other local authorities can adopt and adapt them to suit their environmental management needs. This report provides an overview of the interaction between human habitation, ecosystems as well as the impact on the environment. We are also happy to announce that the draft green paper on the Coastal Management Policy is available and NACOMA will present a number of workshops to discuss this important tool for managing the coastal environment."
For more information on the Walvis Bay Local Action for Biodiversity contact:
David Uushona: duushona@walvisbaycc.org.na
or Olavi Makuti: omakuti@walvisbaycc.org.na
Tel: +264 64 214 300, Fax: +264 64 214 310
Download a PDF copy of the Walvis Bay LAB report here (3.4MB).
Read more about the draft green paper on the Coastal Management Policy at www.nacoma.org.na
Read more ICLEI at www.iclei.org
Related articles:
International Day for Biological Diversity
Walvis Bay recognised as LAB city
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