The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has launched the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty project. 

Supported by the Global Environment Facility and the UNDP, the project aims to promote sustainable landscape management, reduce poverty with nature-based livelihoods, protect forests, and achieve land degradation neutrality.

The conference brings together environmental leaders, industry experts, academics, and policymakers to discuss strategies for addressing Namibia's pressing environmental challenges.

The Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, highlighted the urgent need for innovative and integrated approaches to landscape management. 

"As we advance, it is important that we integrate the use of digital tools such as remote sensing, geographic information systems, data analysis, and machine learning. Equally important are systems support, mobile applications, season science smart centres, data-sharing platforms, and cloud computing. This has been proven to be a great digital tool that can tackle the challenges of climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity laws in Africa as a whole."

The Resident Representative of UNDP, Alka Bhatia, emphasised the severity of the current crisis. 

Professor Osmund Damian Mwandemele, Vice Chancellor of IUM, welcomed participants and stressed the importance of collaboration in tackling these challenges. 

The conference focuses on leveraging digital integration to enhance environmental governance and livelihoods. Discussions will cover a range of topics, including sustainable agriculture, forest conservation, and the role of technology in supporting landscape management.