The National Coordinator for the Resource Mobilization for Biodiversity Conservation (ResMob) Project in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Ferdinand Mwapopi, said biodiversity expenditure in Namibia was the highest in 2010, having received 2,4 per cent of the total Government expenditure.
Martina Kasaona, the Chief Conservation Scientist in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, delivering a presentation on Namibia’s efforts towards biodiversity conservation at the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
A substantial increase on biodiversity expenditure became possible in 2015, due to the Federal Republic of Germany’s contribution. He applauded this contribution when he addressed a panel discussion of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development at the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancun, Mexico between 2 and 18 December 2016.
The ResMob project is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and GIZ, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The BMUB supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
The overarching goal of the ResMob project is to improve Namibia’s capacity in mobilizing resources for biodiversity conservation, specifically to enable the country to effectively implement its second National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2).
Mr. Mwapopi highlighted Namibia’s experience in tracking biodiversity expenditure. He reported on the progress made in disaggregating expenditure data, based on sources and activities. Namibia utilized the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Biodiversity Finance Initiative approach for public-private expenditure reviews regarding biodiversity and costing biodiversity-related projects.
At a Side Event on ecosystems values on 16 December, Mr. Mwapopi made a presentation on Ecosystems Services Assessments for Policy Impacts: Experiences from Namibia.
He said ecosystems and their services underpin Namibia’s economy and human well-being and thus need to be valued and conserved. Natural capital is a strategic national asset, as 70 per cent of Namibia’s population directly rely on it for their livelihood.
At a Business and Biodiversity Forum held from the 2 – 3 December, Mwapopi shared Namibia’s success story of the Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme, which has been instrumental in improving the livelihoods or rural communities while at the same time contributing to biodiversity conservation efforts.
In addition to this, he also shared Namibia’s experience about the expansion of private nature reserves, converting failed farm land to nature game reserves and boosting ecotourism.
Martin Kasaona, the Chief Conservation Scientist in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, addressed the conference on what Namibia has achieved in the conservation of biodiversity.
Ferdinand Mwapopi, the National Coordinator for the Resource Mobilization for Biodiversity Conservation Project, speaking at a panel discussion on Namibia’s budgeting and expenditure for biodiversity conservation at the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Cancun, Mexico last year.
Namibia is party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was Adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from the commercial utilization of genetic resources.
The conference opened with a High-Level Segment meeting on 2 and 3 December, under the theme Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Well-being. More than 8 000 international delegates participated in the event, representing governments, UN agencies, inter-governmental, non-governmental, indigenous and local community organizations, academia and the private sector.
The conference addressed jointly issues related to operations of the Convention, including integration among the Convention and its Protocols, and reporting. It discussed capacity building and technical and scientific cooperation, cooperation with other conventions and international organizations and resource mobilization, financial mechanism and the budget for the next biennium.
CBD COP 13 further considered a series of substantive, organizational and financial issues, and adopted 37 decisions.
Among other items, it reviewed progress on the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and related means of implementation. It considered strategic actions to enhance implementation of the Strategic Plan and achievement of the Aichi Targets, including the mainstreaming and integration of biodiversity within and across sectors.
The conference marked the move towards enhanced implementation of the Strategic Plan and Aichi Biodiversity Targets through decisions to mainstream biodiversity into productive sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, tourism and forests. It promotes integration of the convention and its protocols through the organization of concurrent meetings.
The President of Mexico, Mr. Enrique Peña Nieto told the conference that, “either we change our ways of life to stop biodiversity loss or that loss will change forever our ways of life.” These words aptly captured the motivation for the theme of the conference, “Mainstreaming biodiversity for well-being’.’