NAMIBIA needs about N$3 billion to fully achieve the second national biodiversity strategy and action plan of 2013 to 2022.
Speaking at the resource mobilisation for biodiversity conservation project stakeholders' dialogue in Windhoek yesterday, deputy minister of environment and tourism Bernadette Jagger said the current expenditure is slightly more than N$1 billion per year.
She emphasised that the value of ecosystem services in Namibia exceeds N$13 billion per year.
Jagger noted that Namibia's essential ecosystem services include livestock, ground and surface water, fish, soil formation and composition, the chemical condition of fresh and saltwater, global and regional climate regulation, tourism and recreation, and spiritual interactions.
Many of these services are facing pressure from habitat change, pollution, invasive species, climate change, illegal use, and exploitation.
"The strategy aims to identify and implement a range of innovative financing instruments that can increase revenue and funding towards biodiversity conservation and broader environmental protection," she said.
Jagger further noted that through a consultative process of the strategic plan, the identified biodiversity financing instruments include raising park entrance fees, the identification and introduction of environmental levies for reinvestment into ecological protection, eco-labelling, funds raised from lotteries and gambling, and leveraging public and donor funding.
The deputy minister said if the implementation of some identified financial instruments transpires, Namibia will be able to maintain and enhance the health of its environment, as well as the ecosystem.
- Nampa
