The ministries of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, and Environment, Forestry, and Tourism held a sub-basin landscape level inception meeting at Ndiyona Constituency in the Kavango East Region.

The meeting was meant to sensitise locals to the project and eventually get them to buy into it.

The five-year project, launched at Rundu on the first of March this year, is funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented through the two ministries at a cost of N$6 million.

It aims to reduce, reverse, avoid further degradation, and support the sustainable use of natural resources in the Mopane-Miombo belt in northern Namibia.

10,000 people will directly benefit from the project in three selected landscapes, which are the Omusati, Oshikoto, and Kavango East regions.

Of these, 40% will be women.

2,000 beneficiaries will be from Kavango East, 5,500 from Kunene Cuvelai, and 2,500 from Etosha.

"This programme embodies our firm belief that the protection and restoration of forests and degraded lands can go hand in hand with the socio-economic development of rural areas. By focusing on sustainable land management, we aim to strike a delicate balance between environmental preservation and livelihood improvement, ensuring that future generations inherit a healthy, resilient ecosystem capable of supporting diverse plant and animal species," explained Amon Andreas, the Deputy Director of Forest Management in the northern regions.

All the beneficiaries are expected to benefit from the planned landscape interventions in cropland, rangeland forest, woodland, and the sustainable green value chain.

In Kavango East, the project will take place in Mashare, Ndongalinena, and Ndiyona constituencies.

It is hoped that the project will reduce poverty in the region.

"It is no doubt that the majority of our people depend on farming, eating much of what they produce, and selling what they can. However, the returns from crop fields have not been promising due to shifting weather patterns caused by climate change, making farming increasingly difficult. As pressure on ecosystems grows, people urgently need alternative sources of income beyond farming. The sustainable use of non-timber forest products (NTFP) can unlock great potential, resulting in social, economic, and environmental security. These initiatives can fight poverty and improve food security while reducing environmental degradation and securing livelihoods," said regional governor Bonifatius Wakudumo.

During the meeting, community members questioned why the Kavango East Region has the lowest number of beneficiaries and how the money will be divided among the selected regions.

Responding to the questions, the National Project Coordinator, Isak Kaholongo, said the number of beneficiaries is based on the population of the regions.

"The funds are not allocated per region, divided per region per se, but the funds are there to implement the project activity based on what the community themselves feel is an activity that will make an impact on their livelihood. Then the funds will be allocated in that fashion, but of course, we have to make sure that we cannot allocate, let me say, 60% of all the allocated funds to one region. All the regions have to benefit, so all the regions will have an equal share of benefits. This also goes with regards to the number of beneficiaries; I think they are based on the population of those landscapes and also the area the landscape is supposed to cover."

The members of the landscape management committee who will serve and endorse all interventions at the landscape level have yet to be nominated.