Sperrgebiet National Park Opens

The 6th of February saw the official opening of the Sperrgebiet National Park, marking a momentous occasion in Namibian history.

The Sperrgebiet, literally meaning ‘forbidden territory’, stretches around 26 000 square kilometres and, until very recently, has been off limits to the public for over a century and was used for extensive diamond and other mineral mining by Namdeb, Namibia’s biggest single diamond company. However all this changed in the December of last year when Namdeb announced that for the first time ever that the vast and unique wilderness would be opening as Namibia’s newest national park.

The official opening took place on Friday 6th of January in the atmospheric concert hall in Kolmanskop ghost town, which will become one of the gateways to the area, and was attended by many prominent figures from across Namibia, including representatives from the United Nations and the Namibian Government.

Park authorities intend to leave the majority of the area completely untouched and only renovate some of the worst mining sites (a multi-million dollar restoration project is currently underway) meaning that the rugged terrain and stormy landscapes will retain their natural beauty. Whilst this may be a geographically sound plan, it could cause problems for tourists who wish to see the area as the infrastructure is still fairly basic and as of yet there are no means of accommodating or catering for visitors. Authorities hope that the new park will reduce poverty within the Karas region and have said that they are ‘working closely with members of the local community’, regardless of the fact that not a single member of Lüderitz’s tourism businesses were invited to the opening event.

However, despite this, Travel News Namibia magazine predicts that the new area will have a positive impact on the diamond town, commenting that ‘the tourism potential [of the Sperrgebiet] is huge, the history is dense…the flora and fauna is unique…and the breathtaking landscapes range from sea cliffs to meteorite craters’ suggesting that the park opening will draw a healthy crowd of niche-market tourists to the area therefore giving towns such as Lüderitz and Rosh Pinah a much needed economic boost.

The park, the second largest of its kind in Southern Africa, will be split into several different zones which will dictate how the land is used, be it for tourism and recreational purposes or conservation and so on. As a result some areas of the park will still be off limits to the public on the grounds of preserving the rare natural environment, much in the same way as Etosha National Park is organised. However, park authorities have said that there is definite room for entrepreneurial activity, for example introducing quad biking or guided tours, and will consider all official proposals they are met with.

In addition the launch of the park has come hand in hand with the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Program (SKEP), an international project aimed at conserving Southern Africa’s rare plant life; “The Sperrgebiet in Namibia encompasses nearly all of the northern extent of the Succulent Karoo vegetation and is the only wilderness area in the Hotspot” [quote taken from official SKEP website]. SKEP hopes to maintain the fragile wilderness of the area without compromising its tourism potential. For more information on SKEP in Namibia turn to page 5 Please be aware that in order to enter the park visitors must have a permit.

Sperrgebiet ‘Shackles’ Thrown Off Triggering Wave of Demand in Local Community

Emboldened perhaps by the NovaNam strike of last month, several members of the Lüderitz community took to the streets on Friday 30th January to demand ‘their rights’. What did they want? The Sperrgebiet to be handed over to the public.

Although the newly opened Sperrgebiet area may be welcome news to many, there are some members of the Lüderitz community who do not share that sentiment; many believe that the national park will not add anything to the local community, detracting from the industry that mining brings and failing to replace this lost revenue with enough tourism to make it worthwhile. Instead they propose that the area be turned over to local people; “A park would not adequately benefit the Lüderitz community”, said a spokesman, “Namdeb have not considered the voices of this town, they don’t have any concern for local people”.

A group of approximately 30 protesters marched through town chanting and singing before handing over a petition to Namdeb officials asking them to consider their proposal to allocate land to the local community for ‘small scale mining and aqua and agricultural purposes’. Protesters were later seen at the gates of Kolmanskop on the day of the official park opening, holding hastily constructed banners bearing the words ‘It is time to be freed from the chains of the Sperrgebiet’. The group were restrained by police officers.

Namdeb told The Buchter News that the petition has been ‘handed on to the right people’ and has declined further comment.