The Director of Forestry in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Johnson Ndokosho, has issued a stern warning that the directorate will not renew tree harvesting permits for farms in breach of harvesting quotas. 

Ndokosho made this warning during a community meeting underway at Outjo in the Kunene Region, which is aimed at engaging with charcoal farmers and workers who are affected by the ban on production on their farms.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) has handed over 20 boreholes, constructed at various locations in the country's north, to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The boreholes were constructed under the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (NILALEG) project.

The project itself was funded by the global environmental facility within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Romeo Muyunda, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, has confirmed the water situation at Ngenda.

Muyunda stated that samples were taken from the water treatment plant in 2023 for testing, and it was determined that the water posed a low health risk.

According to the report, the iron levels were found to be 1.72 milligrammes per litre. It is scientifically recognised that drinking water with iron levels up to 2 milligrammes per litre does not pose a risk.

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 body of a villager from Nongozi was retrieved from a swamp in the Nkasa-Rupara National Park in the Zambezi Region on Tuesday. 

The 29-year-old  Samupwa Lubinda's body was already in a state of early decomposition when it was retrieved. 

According to a police report, Lubinda drowned during a fishing excursion with two other men in the park on Sunday.

It is alleged that when they were busy removing fish from the nets, they saw anti-poaching officials and jumped into the water.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism is currently conducting an assessment to determine the extent of rhino poaching. In light of the recent poaching incidents in the park, the ministry has also requested an urgent high-level meeting with the security cluster.

To date, a total of 28 rhinos have been poached in Namibia. Out of these, 19 were poached in the Etosha National Park, while the remaining 10 were discovered during dehorning operations throughout the month of March.

The Zambezi Regional Council is ready to host the 34th Independence Celebration for the first time since independence.

Zambezi Governor, Alufea Sampofu, says all logistics have been put in place, and the established Regional Preparatory Committee is hard at work to ensure that come March 21st, it's all systems go.

The Zambezi Regional Council is ready to host about 10,000 people at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex, and Sampofu is looking forward to hosting the guests.

There is a global concern regarding the disappearance of wetlands over the last century.

The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism says wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate of three times faster than forests.

Wetlands are characterised by ecosystems that are primarily covered with water.

These can be both freshwater, marine, or coastal, and even man-made sites such as rice paddies, reservoirs, saltpans, and fishponds. 

The Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, announced on Monday the appointment of a new board of directors for the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB), with effect from November 1, 2023, to October 31, 2026.

They are Janette Fourie as chairperson to be deputised by Olavi Hamwele, and Ally Karaerua, Maggy Mbako, Nguvitjita Zatjirua, Efraim Nkoshi, and Rachel Nathaniel-Koch as members.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism and stakeholders handed over N$37 million in project funding, grants, and equipment to various conservancies in the Zambezi Region.

Of the N$37 million, N$20 million is intended for poverty-oriented support for community conservation, while N$17 million is directed towards community livelihood development and wildlife conflict management.

Two projects are co-financed by Germany and the Namibian government.