Sponsored by the Swakopmund- based Ministerial organisation NACOMA (Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project), the clean up day was just one part of the year long Coastodian program that selected Namibian schools have been taking part in. Along with Diaz Primary School, Lüderitz Secondary School, Kamwandi Primary School (Henties Bay), Tamariskia Primary School & Westside High (Swakopmund), Narraville Primary School, Fla- 5 mingo Primary School and Duneside High School (Walvis Bay) have also been learning about the different flora and fauna native to Namibia’s coastline and how to protect and maintain this unique environment (similarly to the SKEP project that ran earlier this year- issue # 221).

On the 5th June, incidentally also World Environment Day, Diaz Schools Grade 6 learners gathered along the road to Agate beach armed with bin bags and enthusiasm to collect paper, plastic, glass and metal which was later picked up by the Town Council.

Congratulations to all learners for collecting almost twice the amount of litter that they picked up in the previous year.

The Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Program (SKEP) was initiated in 2001 in an effort to help preserve the natural beauty along the Western coast of Southern Africa. Since then the program has set itself a target to protect 135 species of plant and numerous globally threatened animal species by the year 2021. SKEP is hosted by the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) with Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, the government of Japan, Macarthur Foundation and the World Bank.

What is SKEP doing?

SKEP has recently launched a new awareness campaign, linked directly with the opening of the Sperrgebiet National Park which encompasses several different activities and projects based along the Lüderitz coastline. This includes:

• Developing a tourist information system and tour guide service in Aus

• Surveying wild brown hyenas in order to gain a better understanding of the animals habitat and behaviour (research run by Ingrid Wisel)

• Initiating a number of educational environmental awareness projects within schools in Lüderitz and Aus.

Activities include studying animals native to Namibia, visiting areas of specific natural beauty and encouraging care of the natural environment by carrying out various clean up operations.

Luderitz Schools First to Visit Bogenfels

On the 24th of January learners from Diaz Primary School and Helene Van Rhijn Primary School were the first to visit Bogenfels archway as part of a joint-venture between the Namdeb, the Southern Star Cluster schools and funding from SKEP. Learners were there to observe the rehabilitation of the succulents by Namdeb, to learn 5 more about the special plants (endemic) and to start gaining an awareness of the need for conservation of Namibia’s flora and fauna. The first visits will have a total 126 learners over a period of three weekends.

Learners From Brightstart Montessori Help Clean Up Desert

Tuesday the 11th February saw a group of around 40 children aged between 6 and 13 from Brightstart Montessori begin a month long litter pick operation along the road out to Agate Beach. Children were armed with rubber gloves and bin bags and spread out along the dusty roadside, picking up anything from plastic bottles to old tin cans. The two hour session was one of four weekly clean ups carried out throughout February in accordance with the SKEP educational program. Later in the year students will learn about the unique plant and animal life of the Sperrgebiet Park area.

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.