Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
National Rangeland Management Strategy/Policy for Namibia LPO Congress 2010 12th October 2010 (Mecki) S. Schneider LONG TERM TREND IN MARKETING 700000 800 700 600000 HEAD (TOTAL) 500 400000 400 300000 300 200000 200 100000 100 0 0 Year RAINFALL TOTAL PRODUCTION TOTAL SLAUGHTERING Poly. (RAINFALL) Linear (TOTAL PRODUCTION) Linear (TOTAL SLAUGHTERING) RAINFALL (NATIONAL AVERAGE) 600 500000 LPO-CONGRESS 2007 DISCUSSION POINT 2 Congress REQUESTED: 1. That government, specifically the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry, is requested to draft a National Rangeland Strategy. Such a rangeland strategy should cover all aspects of rangelands and the management thereof, with the aim that this resource can be sustainably utilized for future generations. 2. The producers take co-responsibility for an awareness campaign to be able to produce sustainably and profitably in the long-term. Working Group 1. L. Lubbe (Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry) Chairman 2. N. de Klerk (Part time consultant / part time farmer) 3. N. Neumann (Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry) 4. Colin Nott (Director: Integrated Rural Development & Nature Conservation) 5. B. Kruger (National Co-ordinator: Emerging Commercial Farmer Support Programme) 6. S. Schneider (Chairman) • STRATEGY / POLICY FOR GOOD RANGELAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES -------------PRINCIPLES OF GOOD RANGELAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES The 8 Principles of Good Rangeland Management 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Know your resource base Manage for effective rest Manage for effective utilization of plants (grasses and shrubs) a) Grazing to stimulate production b) Overgrazing c) Underutilization d) Growing season e) Non growing season Enhancing soil condition -- Soil Surface Addressing Bush Encroachment Drought Planning Monitoring of the resource base a) Records of veld b) Records of veld management c) Records of water Planning land use infrastructure THE NATIONAL RANGELAND MANAGEMENT POLICY AND STRATEGY (NRMPAS) DRAFT DOCUMENT September 2008 2008 28-Apr First meeting of stakeholders, agree on framework for document & principles of good rangeland management. To extend stakeholder partnership. Form working group to draft first few chapters: Leon Lubbe; B Kruger, N Neumann, C 30-May Nott, N de Klerk & S. Schneider (Chairman) 11-Jul Incorporate bush encroachment, climate change - discuss policy & legal framework of NRMPAS, start putting together a budget / funding applications to UNDP-SGP / Agribank. Publication of rangeland principles in Agriforum (two series), Republikein. 18-Aug Discuss progress on draft proposal, monitoring progress on two funding proposals. 23-Sep Discuss details on finalising draft document, extend funding proposal to Country Pilot Programme. 21-Nov Finalising the draft document with request that publications should adhere to spirit of the document. Agribank donates N$100,000 to NRMPAS budget, MAWF foresees funding parts of the NRMPAS budget (consultation phase). Next phase to present draft document to Ministries (Agric, LR, MET) for sensitizing, support before start of consultation phase. 25-Nov-08 Presentation to Mr. Hannu Shipena of the MLR, with recommendation to present to the LRAC. 2009 2-Feb-09 Presentation to PS, Mr. Ndishishi of MAWF. 6-Feb-09 Ryno v.d. Merwe meets with Minister Mutorwa to discuss 6 main issues incl. Rangeland management. 20-Feb-09 5-Mar-09 Presentation to Lands Resettlement Advisory Committee MAWF approval of funds for meals, refreshments, venues for consultation phase. 17-Mar-09 Presentation to PS, Dr. Shangula of MET 26-May-09 United Nations prepared to fund NRMPAS, if supported by MAWF. 19-Jun-09 MLR gives letter of support to NRMPAS 24-Jun-09 Rangeland discussion: necessary info exchange - express need for 3 - 4 annual meetings to exchange information. 3-Jul-09 22-Jul-09 Minister Mutorwa: Policy speech Discussion with John Pallet re CPP Policy review 7 Sept - 10 Sept 09 Conference on sustainable land management in the Drylands of Southern Africa Namibia's - Country Pilot Partnership Programme for Integrated Sustainable Land Management. One of the outcomes stipulated that impacts depend on the direct involvement of decision makers, with enabling policies that are incentive based. 29-Sep-09 Senior Management meeting of MAWF gives input to the NRMPAS document (postpones consultation phase until changes have been incorporated): Separate chapters on: Implementation of strategy - shortterm, medium term & long term, Effect of climate change, Communal land management, Economics of Natuaral Resources (what is economic effect of land degradation), Incentive scheme (to be split 50:50 between the land owner and government). MAWF favours incentive system instead of legislation to implement strategy document. Policy and Strategy should be separated - this document should be Strategy document. Recommendation by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry July 2009 1. That the policy and the strategy part of the document should be separated into two documents – completed; 2. That the rangeland policy should be part of the National Agriculture Policy - finalized, to be approved by senior management of the MAWF; 3. That the effect of climate change and options to manage this is included in a separate chapter - completed; 4. Specific attention should be given to the management of communal rangelands - completed ; 5. That a chapter on the economic implications of implementing good rangeland management principles to be included – economic valuation consultancy; 6. That a chapter on the short-, medium and long term implementation plans is included (possible use of consultants) – use of legislation not preferable rather through incentives – economic valuation consultancy. 2009 / 2010 18-Nov-09 Various stakeholders – also NGOs - express wide-spread support for NRMPAS 19 –Feb-10 Address implementing changes into the NRMPAS document as proposed by MAWF 4-March-10 Industry discussion evaluating importance of two proposed consultancies: economic evaluation on good rangeland management practices & effect of bush encroachment on underground water recharge (literature review with recommendations) 29-July-10 Successful funding application (CPP) for the economic evaluation project proposal, as well as the NAU receiving consultancy to explore possibility of formalising a Rangeland and Bush Encroachment Forum for Namibia (client being MAWF/DoF and NNF) 05-09-10 Successful funding application (GTZ) for the effect of bush encroachment on underground water recharge 10-09-10 Hosting workshop to determine the formalising of a Rangeland and Bush Encroachment Forum for Namibia 5-Oct-10 Allocating GTZ funded study on “Effect of bush encroachment on underground water recharge “ to environmental consultant Colin Christian & Associates CC BUSH ENCROACHMENT Comparison of Abstraction Evapo-transpiration Losses & Total Precipitation optimistic Comparison of Abstraction Evapo-transpiration Losses & Total Precipitation worst case Conclusions Bush encroachment has a severe, if not catastrophic influence on recharge to groundwater Declining water levels are approaching dangerously low levels (before start of 2006 season) In areas where de-bushing has taken place, groundwater evidently is recharged relatively fast Bush control on the long term will result in the recovery of groundwater resources With water levels recovered to the state when fountains re-occur, groundwater will be an asset which can be utilized more reliably: •Food production •Irrigation in general •Industrial use •Municipal supply CLIMATE CHANGE Africa temperature projections 2080-2099, Mean of 21 models, A1B scenario +4ºC +2 ºC Source:IPCC AR4 WG1 ch 11 Rainfall projections 2090-99 Median of 21 models, A1 scenario Models evenly divided All models agree it will get drier All models agree it will get wetter Economic impact of Climate Change on Namibia • Namibia one of driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa & highly dependent on climate sensitive sectors. • Natural resources as for agriculture and fisheries contribute substantially to GDP. • Namibian temperature forecast for 2100 ranges between 2 6°C rise in temperature. • Precipitation changes (rainfall reductions expected to be the greatest in northwest and central regions) • Evaporation changes (approx. 5% increase per degree of warming) • Frequency & intensity of extreme events are likely to increase. Economic impact of Climate Change on Namibia • Consensus that impact on agriculture will be direct, with indirect effects on other economic sectors. • Namibian economy depend on extensive agricultural activities (commercial & communal) = productivity of grassland, savanna and shrub-dominated ecosystems • Reductions in vegetation cover, increases in proportion of bare ground, and overall reductions in net primary productivity – this points to reduced potential of vegetation to support rangeland activities. (Midgley et al. 2005) • Greater aridity = shift to adaptable livestock CLIMATE CHANGE 1. Unsustainable land use practices also have profound implications on the soil and thus also on the health and well-being of local communities and the ecosystems in which they exist. This is further amplified by increasing climate variability. 2. Land is the key asset of the rural poor (FAO, 2009). “Whether the problem is expressed as soil or forest loss, reduced water availability, or poor yields on tired soil, such impoverishment of the land is being driven by inefficient or unsustainable land management practices and inappropriate or competing land uses”. 3. The livestock sector has deep and wide-ranging environmental impacts. Therefore, it should be ranked as one of the leading foci in mitigating climate change, as efforts here will have large and multiple pay-offs (Steinfeld et al, 2006). 4. Improved rangeland management has been identified (along with dietary supplementation) as the most effective way to improve efficiency and reduce emissions from this sector (contributing directly to mitigation) because they improve animal nutrition and reproductive efficiency. THE ECONOMICS OF GOOD RANGELAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Economics of Rangeland Management Most people think that natural resources is only about ecology and raising cattle, game, whereas economics is about profits, budgets and accounts and that the two have nothing in common. However, a key component of environment management is sustainable use of natural resources, while economics is about making good use of resources – so the two are closely linked. One of the key environmental problems identified in Namibia is the unsustainable use of rangeland and arable land and declining productivity. From an economic point of view, some of the causes can be seen as follows: that the value of resources is not known. This is usually because the resources are unpriced and the benefits are intangible, little understood and are often shared across many people. Similarly the costs of resource use and degradation are not realized. that often the costs of using resources are not paid by the resource user, as a result the costs are ignored and use increases. that resources are inefficiently used, and undervalued. The benefit gained from resources is low and users do not know how to increase their benefits, and resources will be under-valued. This can lead to their under-investment. Economics of Rangeland Management Rangeland economics may not be about maximizing profit, but it is about making good use of natural resources: efficiently, sustainably and equitably, taking into account the many different ways in which resources contribute to human welfare, such as through cash, subsistence production, ecological health, etc. It is also said by Jones et al. 1997 that resource economics is a tool and not an end in itself but a means to improved natural resource management. Success may possibly lie in the quantification of the problems. However for the application of resource economics to be successful, i.e. the implementation of good rangeland principles, incentives may need to be examined that co-insides with resource manager’s priorities, which will need to accept its value. The long term goal of the NRMPS should be to empower rangeland managers and users to use their rangeland resources in such a way that “animal production per hectare is sustainably improved, and that vulnerability of users to a highly variable resource base is decreased”. Financing 1. Agribank of Namibia – N$100,000 (NRMPAS document) 2. GTZ – N$266,050 (Consultancy: Effect of bush encroachment on underground water recharge) 3. CPP – N$190,000 (Consultancy: Economic valuation of good rangeland management) 4. Formalisation of Rangeland & Bush Encroachment Form of Namibia – N$21,400 FAO NNF MAWF DoF NFP Establishment of Rangeland and Bush Encroachment Forum of Namibia 10 Sept 2010 Workshop CHALLENGES Agribank submission to combat bush encroachment National Policy on Climate Change Study of arboricides on environment - Meat Board Bush encroachment and employment creation Wood utilization (charcoal production) vs rangeland management CBEND – Bush to Energy conversion - viability CONCLUSION The demand for food, and therefore for agricultural land, will also rise sharply as the world’s population rises and people’s diets contain more protein. Fertile soil is the basis for agricultural production. In the last 50 years 25% of all fertile soils have been lost and/or degraded, and intensive efforts will be needed to prevent this process speeding up (Pinstrup-Andersen 1999). Soils recover naturally and at an extremely slow rate and the costs of restoration are so high they are, in effect, unaffordable. Our rangeland, land and water are not limitless. More sustainable and efficient use of Namibia's natural resources is in the national interest, but is often not in the individual's private financial interest. This difference between what is best for society and best for the individual often occurs because the free market system generally undervalues environmental goods and services -- unless, that is, government implement frameworks (legal and/or incentives) for sustainable use of natural resources. The importance of agriculture for many developing countries cannot be overemphasized. However it can only secure the economic basis for a growing population if landscapes / rangelands are sustainably managed. The future of Namibia’s rangelands depends not so much on technical knowledge or financial investment (although both are important), but on their good governance – based on mutual respect and agreement between different stakeholders on the way forward.