Programme areas

The main purpose of the NCE is to support its Members to achieve the Aspirational Objectives, to fill gaps, and to promote sound environmental management in Namibia. The NCE does not compete with its Members, neither in the area of project implementation nor in the area of fund raising. In this context, the NCE wishes to respond to the collective requirements of its Members, both in how best it could provide support to the Membership, and also how the NCE and its collective Membership should prioritise work to enhance conservation and sustainable development in Namibia.

The Objectives are implemented through eight strategic programme areas.

Programme Area: Environmental Policy Research

Establish a policy research Forum to identify, prioritise, research and publish in area of environmental policy and other policies impacting on the environment. There is currently a vacuum in this area and, as a result, environmental planning, policy development and management suffer.

There is currently a vacuum in this field in Namibia. An Environmental Policy Research Forum was established, with SAIEA (Peter Tarr) as chairperson, and comprising some NCE Members and representatives from GRN and the business community. Their first task focussed on prioritising thematic areas. The top two were (i) urban environment & development, and (ii) business / corporate Namibia and environment.

The NCE assisted with the establishment of an NGO focusing on the urban environment – Development Workshop Namibia, and provided it with a small catalytic grant of N$80,000 plus funds to hire interns. This work attracted support from GiZ and more recently from the Finnish Embassy, resulting in a significant initiative on urban development, housing, access to land and related developments.

Work on the business / corporate sector and the environment is planned to start in June 2017, with the arrival of a professor in environmental audit and students from Germany, linking up with NUST students, funded by GiZ. The focus will be on impacts on ecosystem services, including carbon footprints, leading to the design of a larger policy research initiative, with the intention of producing a “Good Practice Guide for corporate Namibia”.